Good Friday

by Christina Georgina Rossetti — a poem card from Justes Mots

A theological meditation on the Crucifixion in which the speaker reproaches themselves for remaining unmoved at Christ's suffering, contrasting their coldness with the passionate grief of witnessing women, Peter, and the natural world. The poem calls upon Christ as the true Shepherd to awaken spiritual response in a hardened heart. Rossetti's devotional work expresses spiritual yearning and penitence.

Am I a stone and not a sheep
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy Cross,
To number drop by drop Thy Blood's slow loss,
And yet not weep?

Not so those women loved
Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly;…

Themes: love · new-baby · wedding · friendship