Places 20: That Day
Was nature still?
Or did winds stir?
Did leaves whisper
or branches rub to sigh?
Were there grasses high
enough to bend and sway,
to worship their Creator
upon that Holy Day?
What sounds surrounded Him?
Did footsteps on the road near-by
slow down
to plod, trod and tread
in quiet fear and dread?
Could any near the cross that day
recall the sounds of Abraham
or think of Joshua’s foot steps
once walking through the land?
Did anyone remember
the day Jerusalem’s streets
were filled with joyous music—
timed with David’s dancing feet—
or—feel faint echoes in the air
from the careful steps of Levite’s
carrying the Mercy Seat?
Did any birds, not anxious, sing?
Did any children watch that day?
Did any turn away to hide
burying their frightened eyes
into a watching grown-up’s side.
Who heard the rattling dice,
the cruelty
captured in sounds that cannot stop,
sounds that carry on?
Who listened? Who heard?
Who, besides His grieving friends,
paused with sorrow, felt the awe
inside His final words?
A thief, who hung beside Him,
clearly heard God’s Son.
Was He the only one with faith
before He said, “It’s finished”?
before That Day was done?
What were the sounds on Calvary’s hill?
It wasn’t music sweet.
Men of deceit, men without fear,
hard-hearted soldiers mocked Him and jeered.
Were there ugly laughs and curses?
Sneers to make the women blush?
Or underneath the cruelty
was there a holy hush?
What could men say
That Day, That Day?
That Day, just what did they say?
Did the women cry, comfortless?
Or wail, as was the custom?
Did John weep, or groan with loss?
Did the sky crack like the earth?
How could His mother be still?
As darkness deepened over earth
did she still hear the angel’s words
announcing her son’s birth?
Did she watch without whimper,
wait without words,
while Roman soldiers killed her son—
God’s only, only begotten One?
Could the old prophetic promise,
hidden deep within
hold her quiet, keep her still,
in acceptance of God’s will.
When the soldiers
ran the sword through Him
it pierced through her heart too.
Did she bleed for Him alone
or bleed for me and you?
What did she say,
That Day, That Day?
That Day, what could she say?
What were the sounds on Calvary’s hill
when He cried out, “It is done!”
and the earth quaked,
and the rocks split—
For a moment was it silent?
For a second was all still?
Or did men and women scream,
afraid, before God’s Holy will.
And what do we say today, today,
what do we say
about That Day?
© Ginny Emery; An earlier version was published in Places, 2011
Note: I don’t footnote all the Bible references. You can read about the crucifixion in Matthew 27, Mark 15 and Luke 23. Here’s a note on the line, “When the sword pierced her own heart.” When Jesus was taken to the temple to be circumcised, a devout man named Simeon “blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’ ” Luke 2:34-35
