I dare not tell a soul how I love my Lord
For they would mistake my devotion for desire
They’re placing bets and keeping score
For no harlot can escape the sinners’ fire
To him I am pledged until the earth claims my bones
I follow his path like a sailor chasing stars
I am naked of all pretenses for him alone
But they’ll never know a love as pure as ours
I could never lie with my Lord as a lover
For I shan’t sully such a body divine with my mortal touch
Yet what words can capture a feeling above all others?
Father, brother, friend—none have I adored so much
I taste his body as sacrament, but never in lust
I crave naught but healing from those hands I trust
How I pity these fools who doubt his pious lips
And see only sin in our companionship
He sheltered me in gracious robes
and rapped the fingers they pointed
He offered mercy where they threw stones
and embraced the body they exploited
In his companions, I arouse a hundred questions
They fear I’ve turned a good man weak
By my womb and bosom, they define our connection
As if flesh is all a wench may seek
A hundred moons ago, their whispers might’ve brought me pride
But they know nothing of their leader, for mankind is his only bride
These hands that heal the world cannot bear a husband’s ring
There can be no beloved for the man who loves all things
Dear Father, I need salvation from my savior
For my love is so fierce it has turned to fear
I would endure their stones again if only for his favor
I would join him on the cross only to keep him near
I would offer my body in his place
So no pain would cross his gentle face
If he knew how he wounds me, I know he would weep
But my sorrow cannot thwart a devotion so deep
His brothers will flee at the first spill of his blood
As he solemnly bears his final duty
Yet I will stand unmoving, a cairn in the flood
For I cannot tear my eyes from his beauty
When his heart expires, I shall dig him a home
Where he may rest far from the cruelty of our cursed kind
I shall guard his tomb from these heathens of Rome
As he once guarded me from my tormented mind
And when he returns at last, I’ll be first in line
To catch his soul as he once caught mine
