Pilate

The dust mixed
With the stench
Of rosegardens
Sickened me

That day they brought him
Who preached that every man is kind
The fool he cured me
And I - repaid him with death
A painful death by crucifixion at Golgotha

The Moon that came
From underneath the stormclouds
Robbed me of sleep and so
I had my way
With Judas who lays dead now
And the temple priests whose filthy silver was returned
Stained with traitor blood

My mistress brought no comfort
Though her skin gleamed in the silver light
I fucked her till the end of night
I bathed and washed my hands again

O gods
You scorn me
Take me away
This dust, this city
Make me
A weak man
I long for Gaul's green fields

The fools, you hear, they revere me
I am their saint, yet I condemned their Christ
Some idiot wrote that I did see his light
And bowed to their barren god

My gods, you laugh at me
You mock me as a coward
Before the filthy crowd and their sweating bearded priests
I looked away as a good man was slaughtered

And if the moon would only
Deliver death as it brings no sleep
I would delight to walk and speak
To the kind prophet I condemned
...forever

Eternally as the moon shines
I am awake and roused
No wine no mistress satisfies
My shame is burning me
You are a coward Pilate
And you should die
And so I took my wretched life
...and threw it to the wind

No tomb would then accept my corpse
The rivers bulged and foamed as they rejected me
All but a lone dark cave
Conceded to become my grave

They say I'm seen every full moon, my ghost
Washes his hands in the cold stream below.