The Cross

by Justin Wong (November 2024)

1.
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Within the Garden
It then begun
Where our world
Was that of ease
And our wrongdoing
Upset such peace
For promise of world more sweet than Eden
Thus, death was brought unto earth and man
Through a serpent’s false seductive speech
Spoken from when he hung upon a tree
Thus, was born
The son of man
Arriving to redeem
The way of things
Who with his suffering
Death crushed death
From when he hung
Upon a tree
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2.
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It all began with
Our father first
Who was formed
From the earth,
From him came men
Who would be to die
When breached he the garden’s only law
When hearing Satan’s wild, impassioned claims
From thence death had haunted those who live,
That was passed on in birth with just one blood.
Then from a virgin
Was born a lamb
Who lived a sinless
And exemplary life
Whose suffering
As man saved man
So that the lost
Within death find life
When man is washed
With just one blood.
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3.
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After they found
Guilty the heart
Of the purest man
They began the act
Crucifying him
And they Wrote
Upon his cross:
“Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ βασιλεύς τῶν Ἰουδαίων,
Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum; ישו הנוצרי מלך היהודים
Both mockery and
Mean spiritedness
Prevailed, Laughs
And Jeers could be
Heard from the lips
Of the vulgar mass
If he is a King as they say, why does he look so lowly
Why doesn’t he show off his wealth and his opulence
Why are common men such as we allowed to kill him
Why does he not command his multitudes to defend him
For the King must
Be infallible in the
Common perception
He isn’t weak and
He never falters
He is not injured
Nor conspired against
Cesar, being a
Lesser god is
Never assassinated
Nor does he raise
Men from the dead.
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4.
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What makes this
The cause of such
Grave misfortune?
Through this tree,
Man along with
All of creation
Fall subsequently
To rise once more
Of all the foods, it was the first to feed men
Within the Eden Forest where it all began
As if to cut off the source of our nourishment
Would imply naturally our consequent death
Or that the fruit
Was a poison slow
Remaining dormant
Within the blood
The cause of our
Loss is the cause
Of our salvation
With wood man—
Pulated by the
Hands of man
Whether the ark
Or the cross
Out of either
Their blessings
Were multiplied
And scattered thus
Across the earth
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5.
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Left Centre Right
Up Level Down
Heaven Earth Hell
πνεῦμα σῶμα ψυχή
Past Present Future
Father Son Ghost
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The Image of the cosmos is like the ark
That is split within distinct layers three
Of what’s here, above and what’s beneath
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And by the tree when
man did fall stood
Adam and Eve
And by the Saviour
When the world
Restored Stood
Mary and John
Beside the cross
Of layers three.
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6.
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Though what is the
More divine in fact
To act in ways
Considered right
Upholding straight
The ancient law
Or to possess
And hold dear
A simple faith
How is the writ of Leviticus rendered in the face of mercy—
The ordinances from God hath been beaten into a sword—
The Pharisee hath used it to prosecute righteousness
The martyrs will meet the fate of their Messiah
From thence on
To court death
One need not
Transgress,
Though believe.
Christ gave the
Glory of Glory
To the faithful
That committed not
The straw of works
Though had only
in him a simple faith
And would try not
to scorn him once
more as before
In a reversal strange
of that shadowed hour,
Thus, rendering the city
Earth and null
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Table of Contents

Justin Wong is originally from Wembley, though is presently based in the West Midlands. He has been passionate about the English language and literature since a young age. Previously, he lived in China working as an English teacher. His novel, Millie’s Dream, is available here.