Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CHRIST CRUCIFIED, by ALFRED NOYES


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CHRIST CRUCIFIED, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Clear on the ghostly sky the sharp black cross
Last Line: And holy women; this was magdalen.
Subject(s): Crucifixion; Jesus Christ - Crucifixion


CLEAR on the ghostly sky the sharp black cross,
Bearing the lean white shuddering limbs, arose;
And the dark night grew darker than the depth
Of ocean with unutterable fear.
Then from a land beyond the stars it seemed
There crept a thin sad voice that cut the heart
To hear it, for so cruelly cried the Christ
That, of the women waiting there, two fell
Fainting; but the third woman silently
With white clenched hands clung upright to the cross;
And from her mouth a thin bright thread of blood
Ran trickling down; then darker grew the night,
And dark beyond all hope of any dawn,
Death sank upon the Christ who cried, "My God,
My Father, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"
When over Calvary the darkness waned,
Clear on the ghostly sky the sharp black cross
Bearing the naked lean white limbs arose;
And, of the women waiting there, two slept;
But one clung closely to the bitter tree.
Her mouth was bloody from her broken heart,
And Death e'en now was laying his cold hand
Upon her brow; the twain who slept were good
And holy women; this was Magdalen.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net