Sometime During Eternity . . .

The cross upon which Jesus is crucified is euphemistically referred to as “the Tree” by the speaker multiple times throughout the poem (Lines 35, 38, 48, and 50). “The Tree”—or the Cross—is the poem’s most significant symbol, as it functions on two levels depending on whether one approaches the story from a place of skepticism or of belief. For the speaker and other skeptics, the Cross is no more than a “Tree” because it was literally made of wood; referring to it as such gives the speaker’s account of the crucifixion an irreverent and humorous tone, suggesting that there is nothing special or mystical about it.

However, for the believers the speaker describes in the poem, the Cross takes on a metaphysical meaning as well as a literal one: It becomes an icon of religious devotion and serves as a reminder of their hope in the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of the world. These two differing—and conflicting—interpretations of the Cross and what it represents embodies the tension between skepticism and belief in the poem (See: Themes), while adding yet another layer to the ways in which the same story can be retold and reinterpreted in myriad ways.