XIV - Jesus is laid in the tomb

(Jesus Laid in the Tomb by Michael O'Brien - found here)

Here at the centre everything is still

Before the stir and movement of our grief

Which bears it’s pain with rhythm, ritual,

Beautiful useless gestures of relief.

So they anoint the skin that cannot feel

Soothing his ruined flesh with tender care,

Kissing the wounds they know they cannot heal,

With incense scenting only empty air.

He blesses every love that weeps and grieves

And makes our grief the pangs of a new birth.

The love that’s poured in silence at old graves

Renewing flowers, tending the bare earth,

Is never lost. In him all love is found

And sown with him, a seed in the rich ground.

~Malcolm Guite