"I was a Roman soldier, battle hardened, tough, and mean. Conscripted in the most feared ranks the world has ever seen."
"I killed and maimed and tortured, many men in battle dress, beating worthless criminals, for all their wickedness."
"Blood and bruise and swelling, my eyes accustomed to. So what they brought before us, a beaten, bloody Jew?"
"Blasphemy! They charge him. He claims himself a king! The only king is Ceasar, great pain this charge will bring."
"Religious leaders of the day, his claims they do deny. They scream at us in outrage, they want him crucified."
"Pilote tries with reasoning, but cannot change their view. He gives him to us soldiers, this simple, beat up Jew."
"We take him to the courtyard, where we force him down to sit. Brutally, we beat on him. That's just the start of it."
"Kings display their royalty, from head and shoulders down. Sent one soldier for a robe. To me, assigned the crown."
Maker etched the poem into the tree, glancing down at his forepaw, heavily scratched and blood red. He sighed and trotted off, leaving a bit of his poem behind him.
