Joseph of Arimathea

A Poem for the Triduum

My offering for Holy Saturday is my attempted reimagining of Joseph of Arimathea, the man credited with taking charge of the burial of Jesus after the Crucifixion. My poem falls within the tradition of Joseph wandering from the borders of the Gospel into numerous other narratives, including the Grail legend that plays such an important role in the tales of King Arthur.

Thank you for taking some time to stop by today.

An Icon of Joseph of Arimathea

JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA
(John 19:38-42)

One would think that people never tired
Of hearing and retelling my story
Each time with slightly different details

At least one of which was certain--
I was indeed from Arimathea fragrantly named
As if it were spelled out in myrrh and aloes

Going to Pilate seemed a small service
He was only too glad not to be burdened
With another corpse taken down from the crosses.

It was one of those services for which someone
Of my rank was especially well suited
Making funeral arrangements for a dead messiah

We buried him in a tomb newly cut from rock
Not far from the hill called The Skull--a tomb
Some say I had paid for to be my own.

The stories report that the Jews immured me 
In outrage for begging Pilate for his body
But it was my own devotees who walled me up

In words about fantastic journeys bearing
The grail making my staff a flowering thorn tree
In words that rose course upon course

Till they reached the height of a castle wall
Keeping me alive with food brought by angels
Making a monument from which the dead could rise.