Holy Friday, Good Friday: a poem

of all the Woulds

My Son could
have ridden and shed blood upon

mahogany, ebony,
maple, elm, oak,
fir, poplar, banyan, teak,
palm, bamboo, juniper, sequoia,

hawthorn, dogwood, magnolia, crab,
evergreen, balsa, birch, ficus,
peach, cherry, pear, persimmon, or

apple

the most common one
He'd allow
for
Himself to be spread-eagled on

would be yew.

Carl Winderl,  printed in  The Christian Century,  January 22, 2014

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 the photograph at the top of the page is the top of the St. Mary Altar 

(the one under the crucifixion window) 

after the linen was removed during the stripping of the altar 

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