By: Ian Fletcher

They crucified Him
but He rose again
or so they claimed
to vanquish death
and worldly pain.

Who would have thought
people as meek as these
could bring proud Rome
to its knees and thus fall
under His holy thrall?

Yet who could blame
the desperate souls
of those dread times
for their naïve trust
in a God of love
promising them mercy
from Heaven above?

Alas, it could not last
for the age of reason
forced the sea of faith
to inexorably withdraw
so the age of miracles
has long since passed
and this earth is not
now as it was before.

If the pale Galilean
has ended His reign
is it not more our loss
than it is our gain?

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Born and raised in Cardiff, Wales, Ian has an MA in English from Oxford University. He lives in Taiwan with his wife, two daughters and cat. He teaches English in a high school. He has had poems and short stories published in Tuck Magazine, The Ekphrastic Review, Literary Yard, 1947 A LiteraryJournal, Spillwords Press, Dead Snakes, Your One Phone Call, The Drabble, Schlock! Webzine, Short-story.me, Anotherealm, Under the Bed, A Story In 100 Words, Poems and Poetry, Friday Flash Fiction, and in various anthologies.