The Sacrifice

I stood before his throne

He went through my life with a comb

And made all of my mistakes known

Faults my own for which I could not atone

So as I stand alone

Backbone on this cold stone

I kind of feel like Joan

Except this nightmare is my own

And when I open my eyes, I let them roam

To a grave in loam

And know that hole will be home

---

Cause I stood trial in a court

They showed my every wart

Each kind and every sort

And held up to the law, I saw, that I fell short

So I wait for Lucifer’s kiss

At the lip of this abyss

He cracks his whip with a swish

Singing “Death to the fish”

I`m bound at the wrist

Rope in a twist

Freedom, only a wish

I see the judge through the mist

Gavel in his fist

He reads from a list

Said “You’re guilty of this”

Jealousy, greed, deceit with hate mixed in

Stems from the heart within

Spreads to every limb

Comes out the skin

And taints the temple meant for him

This feels like the devils win

Light fades to dim

The verdict is grim

There’s no way to spin

I’m guilty of sin

---

It will cost me my life, my breath

I’m scared to death

Cold and numb

Clouds hide the sun

From the shadows come 

A man and his gun

Walking to the beat of a drum

Fe-fi-fo-fum

Hunts for blood and I’m the one

I fight the urge to run

The hope to which I clung

Was only some

But now it slips to none

Now I’m done

Because he done lift his gun

Points and holds it steady

Rain falls like confetti  

I`ve fallen already

Tears break the levy

Light-headed and heady

My hands are sweaty

Legs like spaghetti 

My breathing turns heavy

I am not ready

I shake, and then shiver

Quake, now quiver

Cry myself a river

I speak no words, let the silence linger

I witness his finger

Tease with the trigger

I saw him pull it

I faced the bullet

Watched it spin with vigour 

And grow bigger

Now coming quicker

But then… a flicker

---

A sudden burst of light

And a white figure

A man steps in the path

Of the bullets wrath                

And took the blast

His heart cracked on impact

As the shot ripped past

Still flying fast

He staggers back 

With a desperate gasp

He takes his last

Falls and lets his life pass

Lifeless in the grass

---

Standing at the foot of his demise

Surprise arrives in my eyes

As I realize

That I am alive

I pinch myself just in case

And feel his blood upon my face

What did I do that he should take my place?

How does one repay such a gift of grace?

How do I make this right?

I cannot pay the price

So will I live every day like

A living sacrifice 

To him who saved my life.

– circa 2010

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It has been awhile since I wrote this poem so I don’t remember how it came about. The concept is fairly simple: how do you repay someone who has given their very life to save yours? As born-sinners, each one of us is deserving of the eternal death penalty. We all are facing imminent death. But at just the right time, Jesus steps in and takes the bullet for us. That’s the picture I was trying to paint in the poem. It is awfully easy to take the sacrifice of Jesus for granted so we always need to be reminding ourselves in different ways of what really happened on that wooden cross two-thousand years ago. So, hopefully this poem does that for you.