Another Closeup View

Yes, I was there, I’ll admit,

For all the world to see,

And yes, I was guilty, that I know,

As guilty as could be.

My vantage point was just as close

As anyone else’s could be

But unlike the other malefactor,

All I could see was me.

I’ll admit, though, I really must,

This man was truly different

But at that time, I wanted out,

I could never be repentant.

What I did I would do again,

That was the way of life for me,

I railed against him, you would recall

But I was being me, you see.

I knew of his exploits and miracles

Of his power and compassion,

And given the trouble we were in,

That was the time for action.

 

If you are the Christ, I called out,

Save yourself and us,

How I would have liked a miracle

From this man they called Jesus!

I was getting my just desserts

But this man had done no wrong,

All the more reason to act quickly

And from the cross get us down.

He did not respond to me

But an interesting thing occurred,

The other malefactor called out

And his request he heard.

 

It didn’t make any sense to me

What the other man requested

But upon the response of Jesus

He decidedly rested.

 

He referred to him as a king

And obviously, as having a dominion,

And asked to be remembered

When Jesus came into his kingdom.

in my desperate situation

I found that quite strange,

All of us in the same predicament,

That man had to be deranged!

You see, I too had a closeup view

But so very different from him,

His spiritual eyes were opened

However, mine must have been dim.

 

In this man, he saw something

That I certainly did not see

And in that enlightened moment

He believed it most assuredly.

The words were spoken with power

They spoke of that very day,

I wish I knew a little more

But that is all that I can say.

There was hope in the recipient’s eyes

Where before there was none

And even the Roman centurion remarked

That this Jesus was God’s Son.

Yes, I had a closeup view too

But that was to no avail,

While the other man was successful

It seems, I had totally failed.

Stewart Russell © April 2020