Will you remain by my side?

A Good Friday lament

If the blind never see

nor the lame ever speak,

If the leper remains a pariah

and the paralyzed never rise,

If the deaf never hear

and the dead remain in graves,

If the outcast woman forever bleeds,

even then, will you remain by my side?

If I lay a road of palm leaves

and cheer as you come along on a donkey.

If the next moment I demand Pilot condemn an innocent man

even then, will you remain by my side?

If a criminal I am strung on a cross next to you

throwing taunts at the dethroned King of the Jews,

If I toss dice for your garments thrown aside,

even then, will you remain by my side.

If the morning never comes

and with my last breath I see light naught,

When the battle is lost and Death has won,

even then, will you remain by my side?

O Lord of the Hosts of Heaven,

God who walked to the Grave,

Who severed himself from God’s grace

so that for all time us who condemned him could remain by his side.