The Ballad Of Judas Iscariot

For months and years, in grief and tears,

He walked the silent night;

Then the soul of Judas Iscariot

Perceived a far-off light.

A far-off light across the waste,

As dim as dim might be,

That came and went like the lighthouse gleam

On a black night at sea.

'Twas the soul of Judas Iscariot

Crawl'd to the distant gleam;

And the rain came down, and the rain was blown

Against him with a scream.

For days and nights he wandered on,

Push'd on by hands behind;

And the days went by like black, black rain,

And the nights like rushing wind.

'Twas the soul of Judas Iscariot,

Strange, and sad, and tall,

Stood all alone at dead of night

Before a lighted hall.

- Excerpt from a poem by Robert Buchanan.