On a hillside I once stood,

In muck and mud that stained my feet,

Where my son hung on cypress wood,

His precious blood pooling beneath.

The gifts he once received with joy

Are now mocked by thorns upon his head.

They told me I would bear this boy,

But spoke not of this path he'd tread.

I stand transfixed, my heart breaking,

As my child struggles for each breath.

My arms, that once cradled him, aching,

To shield him from approaching death.

"Father, forgive them," he whispers,

Then draws his final labored sigh.

The light leaves eyes I've loved forever,

As I watch my firstborn die.

They pierce the heart I once nurtured,

Inside my womb so long ago.

My boy, my hope, my cherished treasure,

Now cold as evening shadows grow.

My knees give way to crushing grief,

I fall, weeping to the ground.

My robes now soaked in blood and tears,

The son I bore, no more earth-bound.

The guards cut loose his broken body,

He falls lifeless where I kneel.

The child I carried now lies before me—

This nightmare cannot be real.

I reach with trembling mother's hands,

To touch the face I've kissed since birth.

A soldier blocks with stern command,

Denying comfort's final worth.

The spear that pierced my son's pure heart

Now threatens should I disobey.

Though I formed each perfect part,

I'm kept from him in cruel dismay.

I struggle upright, legs unsteady.

Another woman lends her strength.

Together, in our shared grief, ready

To give him peace at day's length.

Through tears that blind, I softly plead,

"Let me tend my firstborn son.

Let me wrap him as a mother must."

My final act of love begun.

From beyond the distant hills, I watch,
Where my son hangs upon his cross.
Too far to see the cypress grain,
Yet close enough to feel his loss.

I cannot stand among the crowd,
Forbidden to approach that place,
Where silver gifts and golden praise
Are mocked by thorns upon his face.

Though mountains and valleys separate us,
I feel each nail, each labored breath.
My heart connected to his suffering,
This ordained path that leads to death.

"Father, forgive them," reaches me,
Carried on winds across the plain.
My hands, though mighty, stay their power,
As my beloved son is slain.

They pierce his side with soldier's spear—
Blood and water, covenant new.
No father should witness, even afar,
What mortal men to my son do.

My spirit trembles with restrained sorrow.
I bow my head, unable to watch
The final moments of my cherished one—
This cup we both agreed to touch.

From my vantage point of exile,
I see his body lowered down.
I, who formed him, remain distant,
My grief a silent, unseen crown.

I yearn to cross the great divide,
To gather him back to my breast,
But the ancient plan requires distance—
This separation, love's hardest test.

The blood-soaked earth absorbs his offering,
As guards maintain their stern array,
While I, the father forced to absence,
Await the turning of this day.

A woman I entrusted holds him now.
Her tears fall where mine cannot.
She cradles and prepares my firstborn,
While I keep vigil from this distant spot.

Soon I will welcome him home to me,
This separation nearly done.
But this moment of enforced distance
Breaks the heart of a waiting father's love.

From this cypress cross I hang,
My feet pressed against rough wood.
The hillside blurs before my eyes,
As life drains out like crimson flood.

Once they brought me gifts and praise,
Now thorns encircle like a crown.
The nails that pierce my hands and feet
Hold prophecy's weight, pressing down.

I struggle for each shallow breath.
The pain transcends all mortal bounds,
Yet through this agony I see
My father's plan in all that surrounds.

My mother stands in silent grief,
Her robes now stained with mud and tears,
While father watches from afar,
Across the veil of heaven's spheres.

I feel my strength begin to wane.
My mission nearly at its end.
The burden of all human sin
Upon my broken shoulders bend.

"Father, forgive them," I whisper,
Though they know not what they do.
My final breath escapes in prayer,
This sacrifice both old and new.

Darkness falls across my vision,
The veil between worlds grows thin.
My body fails its earthly purpose,
As death finally enters in.

The soldier's spear finds my side.
Blood and water flow as one.
The covenant sealed in crimson tide,
The father's will at last is done.

My mother's anguished cries aloud
As they lower me to the ground.
Her hands reach out but are forbidden
To touch what soldiers now surround.

Soon she'll wrap me in clean linen,
With spices, tears, and tender care,
While I traverse the shadowed valley
To complete what I came to bear.

This suffering will soon be memory,
This cross a symbol, not an end.
Three days hence, the dawn will break,
And death itself shall I transcend.