The Unfolding

One Word Poems for Holy Week

This series of five short poems tells the story of Jesus' death and resurrection by unfolding five words that take us from Maundy Thursday through Easter Sunday.

I wrote these poems in a very unusual way, restricting myself to words that could be formed from the letters in each poem's title. For example, in the first poem, letters from “Eucharist” can be rearranged to form the words “Their,” “Christ,” and “recast.”

This poetic form calls for creativity within intense limitations, which seems fitting for Holy Week — a time when Jesus crafted the most beautiful art this world has ever known within the constraints of his own suffering and death.

Scroll through the images or read the poems below the break. (If you’re reading this via email, you can scroll through the full-size images on my Instagram or Substack).

Note: In "Crucifixion," [INRI] is the abbreviation for “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum” (Latin for “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”), the notice which Pontius Pilate had affixed to Jesus’ cross.

Eucharist

Their Christ recast,
their hearts astir,
heirs trace his art,
etch this richest rite.

Gethsemane

Tense.
The stage set.
Sent as man's easement,
he sang an ashen amen.

Crucifixion

       [INRI]
       Ironic
icon: crux of our
        ruin,
        crux
          of
         our
         fix

Saturday

Daystar
as dust,
rays
rust.

Resurrection

Cinereous stone
unset—our sun
is risen!

Sin in ruins,
terror's tenure
torn,

one rescuer
incurs, inters
our curse,

returns to us
our cure, our rest,
our course.

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For more poems, check out my new Holy Week Poems page, which includes over a dozen poems I’ve written. Hopefully one (or a few) of these poems can help you, your small group, or your church to encounter the wonder of Jesus’ work in a fresh way.