This poem is inspired by Shevak, who suggested I "do a series of poems, each dealing with a separate part of the crucifixion process: the judgement, the stripping, the bearing, the nailing, The Rising (done!!!), the hanging, the thirst, the taunting, the view (from the cross), the night, the end."
I don't know if I have all of that in me, but here is a stab at the second one, "the stripping".
THE STRIPPING
Condemned!
Sentenced to die on the cross
Unexpected outcome
Cruel reverse
I cringe and shake
This was not to be
I was to get off light
Step forward, they said
Be honest, confess
Mercy will be yours
What next?
The court empties
I am seized
Hard calloused hands
Pin my arms to my back
I plead, and I cry
My legs give way
Lifted and dragged
Between two of them
To the courtyard outside
Blinding light
People surround
Both men and women
Excited, curious, leering
Drawn to spectacle
The condemned to be stripped
And publicly flogged
They press for a vantage point
This is not to be missed
“Get on with it” someone shouts
Escorted up wooden steps
To the platform on which
The whipping posts rests
White-washed and bright
But ominously stained with blood
Spun sharply around
To face the crowd
Hundreds of expectant faces
Stare up from below
Eager to witness my shame
“Strip her”, they shout
"Remove her clothes"
The executioner nods
And turns to my guards
“Prepare her” he growls
With a rending of cloth
My gown falls from my shoulders
And slips to my waist
Where, to my slender hips
It clings momentarily
I feel the hot sun
On my shoulders
On my bare breasts
My arms pinned behind
Unable to cover up
A moment later
My gown bunches around my ankles
I am told to step out
I slowly obey
To the roar of the crowd
I stand now before them
A human sea of movement and frenzy
Naked save for a tiny loin cloth
I close my eyes tight
In humiliation and shame
“More, more” chants the crowd
Eyes fixed on my loin cloth
My guards await orders
The executioner shakes his head
“Save it for later” he says under his breath
I am taken to the post
Arms raised and secured
High over my head
Breast wobbling and swaying
Stretched up on my toes
Panting and trembling
I know what comes next
As the crowd abruptly hushes
My back muscles tense
Lord, give me strength
Barbaria, 2014
I don't know if I have all of that in me, but here is a stab at the second one, "the stripping".
THE STRIPPING
Condemned!
Sentenced to die on the cross
Unexpected outcome
Cruel reverse
I cringe and shake
This was not to be
I was to get off light
Step forward, they said
Be honest, confess
Mercy will be yours
What next?
The court empties
I am seized
Hard calloused hands
Pin my arms to my back
I plead, and I cry
My legs give way
Lifted and dragged
Between two of them
To the courtyard outside
Blinding light
People surround
Both men and women
Excited, curious, leering
Drawn to spectacle
The condemned to be stripped
And publicly flogged
They press for a vantage point
This is not to be missed
“Get on with it” someone shouts
Escorted up wooden steps
To the platform on which
The whipping posts rests
White-washed and bright
But ominously stained with blood
Spun sharply around
To face the crowd
Hundreds of expectant faces
Stare up from below
Eager to witness my shame
“Strip her”, they shout
"Remove her clothes"
The executioner nods
And turns to my guards
“Prepare her” he growls
With a rending of cloth
My gown falls from my shoulders
And slips to my waist
Where, to my slender hips
It clings momentarily
I feel the hot sun
On my shoulders
On my bare breasts
My arms pinned behind
Unable to cover up
A moment later
My gown bunches around my ankles
I am told to step out
I slowly obey
To the roar of the crowd
I stand now before them
A human sea of movement and frenzy
Naked save for a tiny loin cloth
I close my eyes tight
In humiliation and shame
“More, more” chants the crowd
Eyes fixed on my loin cloth
My guards await orders
The executioner shakes his head
“Save it for later” he says under his breath
I am taken to the post
Arms raised and secured
High over my head
Breast wobbling and swaying
Stretched up on my toes
Panting and trembling
I know what comes next
As the crowd abruptly hushes
My back muscles tense
Lord, give me strength
Barbaria, 2014
Last edited by a moderator:
).....soon your final destiny will be fulfilled! 
