Good Silence

– “The Art of Crucifixion” by @saidelatabart

By Phillip Clark

This day is called “Good”
When God is silent
A silence leaving us orphaned
Horrifically loud silence
Swallowing the Crucified One
Enveloping futures
As a bomb severs a schoolgirl's hand in Minab
While she recites Rumi

The Nazarene writhes in naked agony
Colonial sentries jeer at his form
Mangled scarlet by a flagellum's cackle
Settlers gather on hillsides
Cheering on splintering shrapnel
Drenching a Palestine still occupied

Certainty no longer exists
Are we naive for believing it did?

“Why have you abandoned me?”
The Son of Humanity's lonely plea rings out
Through the centuries
Pealing unceasingly
In a world incinerated by silence
Where indifference scorches hope
To indifference

Yet holiness remains
Lodged in fear of state violence
Present in the midst of hunger pangs
Sojourning through death-filled valleys
Nailed to a tree

Can we ever comprehend why today is “Good?”
Maybe not
Rain begins to fall
Breaking the stillness
Quenching parched throats
Of those sentenced to be forgotten
As the sky sheds tears
From an ocean of souls

– Phillip Clark
April 3, 2026

See also the related Wild Reed posts:
• Via Dolorosa
• Feeling Abandoned
• From Spiritual Death to Rebirth
• Good Friday Reflections
• Jesus and the Art of Letting Go
• No Deeper Darkness
• The Most Dangerous Kind of Rebel
• The Passion of Christ – Jesus is Nailed the Cross
• The Passion of Christ – Jesus Dies