Look upon the cross, oh, pitiful man,
Look and don't look away.

Absorb the pain and agony,
Until your soul melts within.

Let the suffering take you,
White hot, liquid, pure.

Surging, searing, cleansing fire,
Til' you shake like a tree in the wind.

The destruction of mortality,
The rebirth of your mind,

Accomplished in the throes of pain,
The offering of sinless blood.

Accept the fellowship of His suffering,
Embrace the arrows of pain.

Open the door of wisdom's crypt,
Find compassion, the treasure within.

Patsy Lewis

This poem was written to be part of my next book, The Sins of Boggy Creek, co-authored by C. S. Lewis.