I can see
the scene unfolding…
hushed in the praetorium, the palace,
symbolically preparing to absolve himself,
to say our nation is not complicit…
taking off his clean navy blazer
an aide gathering a basin of water,
taking off his golden cufflinks, meticulously
rolling up his starched white sleeves…
Two accursed
men standing there,
Barabbas and Jesus, different actors,
nation-states, now, in this moment,
in the crucible of terror, of war,
standing in judgement of the Empire,
its Proconsul at the water basin…
Dipping
his hands in the waters,
a Christian passing judgement, no neutrality,
choosing sides in genocide, in terror,
murmuring a lie, a prayer, a confession,
saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood,”
giving the crowd Barabbas/Russia,
sending Jesus/Ukraine to the cross,
for our indifference, the sins of all of us…
But no
amount of water, no words,
will absolve him of the verdict,
history will judge him eternally,
he and his master, his dear leader,
as he steps away from responsibility,
as he sacrifices innocent blood…
Two men in
the battle, good and evil,
two nation-states in the crucible,
Cain and Abel, evil and innocent victim,
evil chosen for craven expediency,
the attention span of the moment,
washing his hands eternally,
but he will forever bear the stain,
the curse of innocent blood…
hushed in the praetorium, the palace,
symbolically preparing to absolve himself,
to say our nation is not complicit…
taking off his clean navy blazer
an aide gathering a basin of water,
taking off his golden cufflinks, meticulously
rolling up his starched white sleeves…
Barabbas and Jesus, different actors,
nation-states, now, in this moment,
in the crucible of terror, of war,
standing in judgement of the Empire,
its Proconsul at the water basin…
a Christian passing judgement, no neutrality,
choosing sides in genocide, in terror,
murmuring a lie, a prayer, a confession,
saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood,”
giving the crowd Barabbas/Russia,
sending Jesus/Ukraine to the cross,
for our indifference, the sins of all of us…
will absolve him of the verdict,
history will judge him eternally,
he and his master, his dear leader,
as he steps away from responsibility,
as he sacrifices innocent blood…
two nation-states in the crucible,
Cain and Abel, evil and innocent victim,
evil chosen for craven expediency,
the attention span of the moment,
washing his hands eternally,
but he will forever bear the stain,
the curse of innocent blood…
-------
Edited April 18, 2025
The stain of their blood – v2
Statements by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
as peace talks break down because Russia wants war, not peace,
and America seems to be ready to abandon Ukraine…
&
Edited April 14, 2025
Screaming into the Void – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/04/screaming-into-void-v3.html
Palm Sunday massacre in Sumy, Ukraine
Edited March 10, 2025
Betrayal – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/03/betrayal-v3.html
Edited March 6, 2025
we have become what we abhor – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/03/we-have-become-what-we-abhor-v2.html
Edited March 6, 2025
There is no neutrality in genocide – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2025/03/there-is-no-neutrality-in-genocide-v2.html
The blood of the dead in Bucha – v6
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-blood-of-dead-in-bucha-v6.html
September 10, 2024
The stain of innocent blood – v5
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-stain-of-innocent-blood-v5.html
This poem is about the character Pontius Pilate in the novel, Master and Margarita,
by Mikhail Bulgakov, where Pilate is spending eternity, not in heaven or hell,
but trying to wash the innocent blood Jesus Christ from his hands.
This poem is transferring that same nightmarish judgment on Vladimir Putin
for the innocent blood of the people of Ukraine...
originally drafted April 1, 2022, 38 days into the full-scale invasion
April 1, 2022
The stain of innocent blood
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-stain-of-innocent-blood.html
Poetry, God, love, Christ, Spirit, Pilate, Bulgakov, Master and Margarita, sin, stain, Putin, Russia, Ukraine, war crimes, innocent blood, America, Trump, Rubio, Good Friday, betrayal,
