Poem: Jesus and the Black Body

Dedicated to Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery

Photo by Tito Texidor III on Unsplash

Arms and legs of burnished bronze

Carried our sorrows

Saved us from sin

Oppressed and afflicted

Despised and rejected

Betrayed by one

Tortured by all

“Crucify him” they yelled

Thorns in his head

Welts on his back

Mocked and beaten

Marred and disfigured

No longer human

Lamb to the slaughter

Nailed to the cross

Took up our infirmities

Pierced for our iniquities

Water and blood

By whose stripes we are healed

Died like a criminal

Committed no crime

Christ crucified

Cried out in pain

Poured out his life

Gave up his spirit

Body goes silent

He can’t breathe