Simon Of Cirene Poem by Gert Strydom

All the way from Cirene I did travel to Jerusalem
and next to a dusty road that leads to a hill
I did come upon Him,
when a Roman officer commanded me to bear His cross,
from the whipping from the cat He was dumbfounded
and for a moment I was dumbstruck,
as such a man I have never met before
and it was clear that He did not deserve this punishment,
that He was noble and a man of God
but just there I did decide to serve Him,

to put His cross upon my shoulders
and carried it to where soldiers were digging a hole.
All of my sins were suddenly in my mind
and I looked at Him and prayed
to God for forgiveness

but did receive forgiveness and love from Him
when He hanged that afternoon on a wooden cross,
when thunder, darkness and an earthquake did suddenly come
and in my own sinful humanity I was scared

when the Son of God died there,
when even the Romans were astonished
and did acknowledge that He was Godly
and the prince of darkness was defeated.

I was forgiven
for the sins of a whole life-time
and when He did die as the Messiah
I was trembling.