XII
SCALES

With His invisible hands beneath yours
which were enlightened by blood, your Father
holds up your cross which covers the vastness
like scales that were used to weigh the stars.           Isaiah 11:12.
Your pierced right hand offers freedom,
and with the hand of the heart you reveal
the equality which made you like us
—each being the same cross-timber—
and from the center of the cross to the sky,
like an offshoot, the stout beam
of brotherhood rises up from your heart,
the headboard of your deathbed
and the basis of Salvation. And the shape
of your cross is a trefoil which represents
the distant Triune God. You uphold
the infinite, and the oneness of the human
race; through your body we are brothers
and the children of your father. The sign,
where an astute Pilate attempted to indicate
the status of your royalty, is shining
above the headboard of your deathbed.
Death made you a reluctant king,           John 6:15.
as proclaimed by the multitudes
when your gifts satisfied their hunger.