He barely notices the first,
hitting his left shoulder
at the arm,
face, shining.
He looks upward as the second
pointed, sharp, tears skin
on his neck,
voice, calling.
The third and fourth together
herald the rock torrent
piercing, tearing, ripping,
wind, rushing.
The fourteenth aimed precisely
smashes the right side of his face,
absorbed in blood and light,
body, falling.
He murmurs forgiveness
through broken teeth,
his spirit soaring into
sky, darkening.
To see other poems submitted for One Shot Wednesday, please visit One Stop Poetry.
Photograph: Stones by Evette Murphy via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.
That was breathtaking bro'...
ReplyDeleteOh my. breathtaking is right.
ReplyDeleteWow.
Thanks for imagining what went down. Very Human. Very Spiritual.
ReplyDeleteWOW.
ReplyDeletejust WOW!
loved.every.word.
Great Glynn...
ReplyDeleteAnd we've felt it too. Yes? Not so much with stones but worse. Words. Lord help to respond the the tearing smashing words with the same shining forgiving love of your son.
you captured it with great imagery
ReplyDeleteWell done!
thank you
Torn skin, a smashed face, broken teeth. . . and yet a "spirit soaring". That there can be forgiveness in the heart of one so violated by violence speaks to the power of faith and redemption.
ReplyDeleteThat in the 21st Century such acts still go on in parts of our world shows how far we yet have to go.
This is quite amazing.
ReplyDeleteNate
face, shining
ReplyDeleteblood and light
wind, rushing
spirit soaring
so many images
that bring a whirlwind
of death into life
a wonderful work
victory in the face of death and dying ...
ReplyDeletevictory in forgiving
I'll echo the others: Incredible. We get upset if someone doesn't say hi to us quick enough at church and this man was being killed and asks God to forgive his killers. We need a deeper revelation of Jesus.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Amazing how we kill what we fear, what we do not understand...will we ever learn...my daughter is named after this Saint...blessings..bkm
ReplyDeleteThis makes that moment so much more real to me Glynn. Whenever I read Stephen's story I think of a Beth Moore Bible Study we did where she pointed out that Jesus was STANDING when Stephen saw Him. She said, He was so moved He stood to His feet. It just brings tears to my eyes to think of such love.
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed Thanksgiving Glynn!
Glynn this is a moving poem...you have captured that moment well in your words....
ReplyDeleteWow, this is amazing.
ReplyDeletePowerful, gripping and tears the heart out. Thanks-- J
ReplyDeleteYou set this up well, with the physical, deliberate impact of the stoning on the body, then you hit us with "the fourtheenth...". I suppose there were even more than that. And then, "murmurs forgiveness." Hard to imagine, but you have me imaginging this well-worn story by bringing it to life.
ReplyDeletethis was wonderful...for a moment just the descriptive of the stoning alone...and then you include the spiritual soaring...a really good write glynn...thanks for linking up with osw...pete
ReplyDeleteWow, very powerful indeed! The imagery was brilliant - your use of language and the way you describe each moment as it goes by, I felt like I was watching it myself and wanted to look away for a minute. Great finish too - murmuring forgiveness as his spirit leaves... Very well done! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGreat work. :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent poem, Glynn. A vivid depiction. I'm just about speechless after reading this one.
ReplyDeleteThis is really great poem Glynn, loved it :)
ReplyDeleteDear Glynn Young
ReplyDeleteAhh!!! Very powerful and vivid imagination... I could relate to this in empathy...
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
Twitter: @VerseEveryDay
Blog: http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com
Glynn, I've imagined this many times while reading the Scripture, wondering what the experience must have been like for Stephen. Your poem has put into words what my imagination never could. Very, very powerful.
ReplyDelete