He said hard things, and they left him then;
That way they would not tread.
He who had healed at the close of day
Said hard things, and they went away;
For he would not take their mortal crown,
Who was the crowned of God.
He said hard things, and they left him then;
A woman to grind at her mill,
And a man who had seen the thousands fed
Went back to his fields to dig for bread,
In the sweat of his brow a wage to win
From the stubborn, sullen soil.
He said hard things, and they left him then;
They thought to see him die.
But he, obedient to God's law,
His crowned inviolate selfhood saw,
That out of reach of death and pain
Awaited Easter Day.
