Sections 7 & 12 from Via Crucis

/ Issue 10.3 /

The Seventh Station

The Second Fall

There is no rest along the way.
I cannot lie here in the dust.
A stumble does not mean a stay.
There is no rest along the way.
My mission? Finishing this day.
Should I continue? Yes, I must.
There is no rest along the way.
I cannot lie here in the dust.

The Twelfth Station

Pater

My spirit longs to come to you.
Please pardon all that they have done.
Forgive whatever else they do.

Upon the cross in common view,
I hang between those most would shun.
My spirit longs to come to you.

As day gets dark, my hours are few.
Lots have been cast, the garment won.
Forgive whatever else they do.

I leave my friend, my mother, too.
My God, I am your only son!
My spirit longs to come to you.

When given sour wine on cue,
I drink, though it is fit for none.
Forgive whatever else they do.

My race is over. I am through.
I finish what they have begun.
My spirit longs to come to you.
Forgive whatever else they do.

Jane Blanchard

A native Virginian, Jane Blanchard divides her time between Augusta and Saint Simon’s Island, Georgia. She has earned degrees in English from Wake Forest and Rutgers Universities. One of her sonnets won the inaugural Letheon Poetry Prize and recently appeared in Anesthesiology. She has two collections—the shorter Unloosed and the longer Tides & Currents—both with Kelsay Books.

Also by Jane Blanchard (see all)

Author: Jane Blanchard

A native Virginian, Jane Blanchard divides her time between Augusta and Saint Simon’s Island, Georgia. She has earned degrees in English from Wake Forest and Rutgers Universities. One of her sonnets won the inaugural Letheon Poetry Prize and recently appeared in Anesthesiology. She has two collections—the shorter Unloosed and the longer Tides & Currents—both with Kelsay Books.