That King and that Crown of Thorns
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That King and that Crown of Thorns • Posted: Mar 29, 2020 12:18:41Comments WelcomeVote CoolPhotoblogsPurchase a PrintShare





That man,
     he spoke.
His words were kind,
     thoughtful,
     sometimes helpful,
     and comforting.

The fearful, the desperate,
     they listened.
     They were
     not afraid.
So many gathered
     to listen
     that the King,
     the jealous King,
     took notice.

The King seethed
     with contempt.
“No one, no one
     should garner
     more interest
     than me, the King.”
And so, the King
     spoke louder
     and longer.
And he mocked
     the man,
     the man who
     spoke kindly
     and thoughtfully.

The King’s men
     took cue
     and arrested
     the man.
To please the King,
     they muddied
     and beat the man.
They further mocked
     the man by
     dressing him
     as a fool,
     as a would be King,
     with a crown
     of thorns.

The fearful
     and the desperate,
     who had listened
     and felt comfort
     from the man’s
     thoughtful words,
Were suddenly
     paralyzed with dread
     of what next
     might happen
     to him.

Their fear was not
     without cause.
The King’s men
     strung the man up,
     along with two
     of the desperate.
The lesson was clear.
     Do not upstage
     the King.
     Listen only
     to his words,
     to his thinking.

But the fearful
     and the desperate
     were not comforted
     by words from
     the King.
The King’s words
     were not thoughtful,
     nor helpful,
     nor wise.
The King’s words
     were only about himself,
     about how
     great a King he is.

That King of yore is
     still with us,
     with us many
     times over.
“Listen to me,
     listen to me,”
     he insists,
     she insists,
     they insist.
But their words
     are not thoughtful,
     not helpful,
     nor comforting.
Not like those
     of the man
     they muddied
     and beat and
     mocked with
     a crown of thorns.

That man they mocked
     is still with us, too.
Though maybe not
     speaking with
     as many voices
     as would be
     truly helpful,
     and comforting,
     and inspiring
     of thoughtful
     kindnesses
     of our own.

Friday, March 2nd, 2018
Julian
CA
USA
NIKON 1 V1
44.2 mm 119 mm
1/100 sec
f 5.6
400