Crucifixion?

Now, did he really break the seal

And rise again? We dare not say;

But conscious unbelievers feel

Quite sure of Judgement Day.

Meanwhile, a silence on the cross,

As dead as we shall ever be,

Speaks of some total gain or loss,

And you and I are free

To guess from the insulted face

Just what Appearances he saves

By suffering in a public place

A death reserved for slaves.

'Friday's Child', W. H. Auden