The Politics of Easter (2)

Here is a poem by Faiz, which helped me appreciate the meaning of Easter.

 

 

 

Casement

So many crosses

Are fixed in my casement;

Each tinged with the blood

Of its own Messiah;

Each yearning for union with God.

On one of these crosses

They sacrifice the spring’s cloud;

On another, they murder the

Shining full moon.

The drunk bough is beheaded

On a cross over there;

And the soft morning breeze

Is crucified on this one.

Each day, these gods of grace and beauty

Visit my chamber of sorrow, soaked in blood;

And each day, as I stand watching

Their martyred bodies

Are raised alive.

Montgomery Prison, December 1954

(Poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz; Translation modified from Shiv Kumar; Painting by Sadeqain)