I saw Jesus hanging from a cross.
Strange tree.
(10,000 other bodies were hanging along the Roman highway.)
I saw Jesus in a boxcar, a yellow star over his heart. I saw Jesus in a camp, down in a hole, digging. I saw Jesus in the Holocaust Museum, shoeless, weeping.
I saw Jesus in court, in the dock, the public defender asleep. I saw Jesus in prison, clad in orange, shackles on his ankles. I saw Jesus on death row, praying, eating his last meal.
I saw Jesus in Salem, lashed to a stake, on fire. I saw Jesus in a women’s shelter, face battered. I saw Jesus in New York City, marching with suffragists.
I saw Jesus in Wyoming, body charred, tethered to a fence. I saw Jesus open a closet door, and another, and another. I saw Jesus dancing in a gay pride parade, smiling, waving, blowing kisses.
I saw Jesus in Mexico, following a coyote across the river. I saw Jesus picking strawberries, stooping, stooping, stooping in a cloud of pesticide. I saw Jesus in a union hall, painting a sign.
I saw Jesus sitting on a railroad track, facing a munitions train. I saw Jesus on Wall Street, toting a sledge hammer. I saw Jesus on the White House lawn, handcuffed, a flag burning at his feet.
I saw Jesus in the belly of a ship, crossing the Atlantic. I saw Jesus in the back of a bus. I saw Jesus in Selma, crossing a bridge, fire in his eyes.
I saw Jesus in a garden, under a stark tree, arms raised to heaven.
I saw Jesus in church, a noose around his neck.
I saw Jesus hanging from a tree.
(10,000 other bodies were hanging in the dark woods.)
Strange fruit.
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Check out Paula’s floral montage on the home page.
If only everyone had the same visions….
Bleeding hearts and blue bells, and so, “The wind cries, Mary.”
Line in quotes belongs to Jimmi Hendrix.
And now in the ICU in Harlem? Thanks for the insight!
Our history of oppression, powerfully and poetically expressed. Billie Holiday is good on a Sunday morning. Thank you.
And, by the way, your flag decal won’t get you into heaven anymore.
We just can’t seem to learn to love each other and try to walk in the other person’s shoes. Maybe don’t even need to love, just understand a little.
My mom introduced me to this song when I was a young man. I never got over the shock.