"Take my yoke upon you." Matthew 11:29
'I will not drink again this product of the vine until I drink it new with you in the
kingdom of my Father.' Matthew 26:29
Iscariot, you took the yoke of Christ
and bore it stoically, supernal bliss
perhaps the aspiration that sufficed
to keep you on the Way of Holiness.
What swayed your loyalty? The serpent's hiss,
scorning the Christly yoke as durance vile?
Both vinegar and wine be due the press.
Those who bear the burden share the grail.
Pray, when you carried out your clever heist
of poorbox monies, how did you dismiss
the inward odium? And when you priced
your honour with that final infamous
transaction, tell us, how did you suppress
the scream of conscience then? Or did you fail,
so supped the devil's cup of emptiness?
Those who bear the burden share the grail.
Death spared you this: your Mentor sacrificed,
suspended from a Roman nail; distress
etched deep across his brow; acetum spiced
with gall souring his blistered lip; duress
bursting his heart; yet dredging strength to bless
a penitent who shared the Roman pale.
The final anguished cry. The black abyss.
Those who bear His burden share His grail.
Judas, you sealed him with a traitor's kiss
and set the bar for ultimate betrayal.
You traded for your coin a saint's address.
Those who spurn the burden cede the grail.