is already judging themselves, and many of us are our own harshest judges. The neologism ‘memory-storm’ is an interesting way to describe a flood of memories. Who was the caring face? A family member, a friend or Christ himself? The third line is simply: ‘Or a bed’. There is a pause after this, and then we learn the speaker in the poem is considering making his heart into a bed ‘For Judas dreaming of the tree’. Judas was one of the twelve apostles, and the one who betrayed Christ. He later hung himself (from a tree). The type of tree he chose is now called ‘The Judas Tree’ (Cercis siliquastrum). This tree has beautiful pink blossoms, and the legend is that the blossoms were once white, but turned pink in shame after Judas’ betrayal and suicide.
The use of enjambment between the third and fourth stanzas is very effective. It is hard not to have pity for Judas, who was so filled with self-loathing and shame that he dreamed of the tree. The last three lines of this poem are presumably spoken by the Judas tree itself: ‘There now, there now, rest as best you can,/ Darling, rest your treacherous head/ And when you’ve rested, come home to me.’ There is a striking contrast between the endearment ‘darling’ and the description of Judas’ head as treacherous. Yet, the lines could also be spoken by Christ himself, forgiving Judas once he has done his penance. It is also possible the speaker in the first three stanzas of the poem is the Judas tree, and then the things he has considered doing with his heart (which is the centre of a tree) could be literal – a tree can certainly be a holder of autumn leaves, as they grow on its branches, a tree could be made into a building like a church or a brothel, a tree could be a welcome sight in a storm (literal and emotional) and finally, a tree could be the desperate final resting place for a man who made a terrible mistake that he cannot forgive himself for.
