the third day

When it was time for Christ
(so wholly human) to battle
his way out of God-forsaken hell back
to sunshine-blue middle earth, did Archangel
Michael lower Jacob’s ladder again from
somewhere beneath David’s star that shone
so brightly just thirty-three years before?

As the Good Shepherd
(who calls his sheep by name) climbed
with labored determination through layers of
man-made darkness, were the rungs of that splintered
ladder so slippery with blood that he had to
cling with both shredded hands whenever one
aching foot missed its mark?
When it was time for Jesus
(So Wholly Divine) to come out
of his borrowed tomb, did he get up from
that cold slab and fold his linen shroud
neatly, precisely the way his mother Mary
taught him, leaving it ready for the next
visitor who would happen by?

As the Logos
(who is and was and will be) pushed
and shoved the stone until it finally
rolled away, did he have to put his raw
carpenter’s back into it so he could step
out into birdsong morning and wait
for us to remember the plan?
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,
Emmanuel,
welcome back
to our lives.

~ Suzanne Bratcher