Judas Walked Slower

Joseph Hunt

Judas walked slower
than the other apostles
when they went on promenades.
The billowing, brier-overgrown countryside —
breath-taking, humbling
in the fevered sun
to everyone else,
and Jesus' winding-down commentary —
was, to him, inferno.
Every footstep he placed down
sent thin streams of fire up his legs.
Andrew had taken it upon himself
to lag behind, and make sure he was alright —
to be kind to him
when everyone else's mind
was somewhere else entirely.
"Are you alright?" he asked him.
"Yes, I'm fine."