Beneath the hill where shadows spill
A lantern sways in tomb-dark still
The stone is rolled, the veil is torn
The sky forgets it once was morn

They say the blood was not required
Not tribute paid, but love inspired
Not wrath appeased by sacred screams
But God descending into our dreams

O Heart of nails, O ribs laid bare
You reached for us through cursed air
The trees stood silent, the sun withdrew
As death knelt down & passed us through

This grief, a chalice brimmed with night
Yet sweetened by eternal light
For in that agony-stretched span
We saw the face of God in man

No power high, nor hell below
No wound too deep, no grave aglow
Could sever soul from Love’s embrace
Or hide the warmth of Mercy’s face

We are not spared the lash, the thorn
But we are cradled in the storm
The longing etched within our bones
Is not for flesh, but for the Home
That waits beyond the breath’s last thread
Where even ashes are not dead

So gaze upon the crucified
Let heart break open, tender-eyed
For in that wound, the world is healed
The tomb unsealed, the soul revealed

The cross is not a price to pay
It is the Love we threw away
Returning still, without demand
To place a fire in every hand