'wonder, is Judas an atheist'

'wonder, is Judas an atheist' timothy r gates, 7/07/2010

playing in the Garden
the two J's had a ball
chasing the goats
laughing at the pigs
looking forward to Paschal Lamb,
yummy well done Jewish party food.
The two J's
picked each other first for games,
Jesus always saw what is
Judas saw what might have been –
friends forever
i've wondered
did he weep when his friend
hung himself?
Would've he corrected the others,
his friend's name a byword:
Judas?
Saints and sinners,
prism's line
struggle to do more than pray,
or to not forget to pray.
The two J's
kept it going,
the one the movement's icon,
the other the movement's business manager.
After all of this,
i wonder if Judas is an atheist,
left hanging,
blamed for what was said to be
inevitable – or,
maybe he gets it like good friends do,
sometimes it's in the nature of the game,
the J's played.