The Cross, by Ellen Dooling Reynard

The Cross, by Paul Reynard (France) 1986. Click image for artist site.

The Cross

Agony ended in death's gentle dominion,
the cross now stands empty, washed
in the lingering hues of anguish and release.

The vertical timber rises verdant
from the blood-soaked soil
to blend with the crossbeam,
then stretches upward toward
the rainbow clouds and the pale
rays of the shuttered sun.

Evening falls, the crowds disperse,
the mourning mother cradles her son's head
then carries him to the sheltered cavern.
Colours fade into night; all that remains
is a simple wooden cross on top of a hill. ​

Ellen Dooling Reynard

Ellen Dooling Reynard spent her childhood on a cattle ranch in Jackson, Montana. Raised on myths and fairy tales, the sense of wonder has never left her. A one-time editor of Parabola Magazine, and co-editor of A Lively Oracle: A Centennial Celebration of P.L. Travers, Creator of Mary Poppins (Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation, 1999), her poetry has been published by Lighten Up On Line, WestWard Quarterly, Inscape, The Writer's Club, Current Magazine, and will appear in the spring 2020 issue of Muddy River Poetry Review. She is now retired and lives in Nevada City, California where she continues to write fiction and poetry.