crucifixion kills by suffocating. your hands
curl cold around the knives
pinned to the wall in glass cases
and an illegible display card
written in blood.
lungs full of words, thick slick and fluid
they rise in your throat and burn your mouth and you choke
the bile back
one more time onemore onemoretime
(and your arms outstretched to the sky
cannot support the earth's weight any longer)
she twisted your kindness into a crown
and set it on your head.