It is the way

Garden: tears of blood, cup

of bitterness; the taking and

the trial; beating; scourging;

the stabbing of thorns; the weight

carried; the heaviness bearing

down to the knees; the hammer

sound: metal striking spikes;

the tearing of flesh; the sponge

of gall; the darkness.

And so

the prison, the arena, the torture,

the death, the human torches;

the death amid jeers, laughter

and spit.

It is the way.

The cost is counted.

It is the way.

The cost is counted,

and accepted.

Today is another edition of Warrior Poet Circle hosted by Jason Stasyszen at Connecting to Impact. To see more poems submitted for the prompt “Count the Cost,” please visit Jason’s site.

Photograph: Jesus on the Cross by Jan Prikryl via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.