Walled Up Poem by Gert Strydom

In the sixteenth century
Phillip II sent the duke of Alba
to Flanders to destroy the Protestants
who were reading the Bible
in their own language.

A Bible was found hidden
in the house of the major of Bruges
and one after another the whole family
was questioned, but they did not know
how the Bible came to be in their house.

Lastly the young maid, the girl Wrunken
was questioned and she stated
frankly that she reads from it.
"No, she only own it, " said the major
trying to protect her.

Wrunken believed in telling the truth
saying that not only it belongs to her,
but that she reads from it and it is more precious
to her than anything on earth.

She was sentenced to die by suffocation
and a hole was hit into the city wall
where she was put into in chains
and her captors tried to convince her
to stop believing in the Bible and reading it
saying: "So young and beautiful and then
having to die."

Wrunken replied: "My saviour died for me
and I will give my life for Him."
They walled her in, cementing her off,
because she wanted to read
the word of God
and did not want to stop doing it.

[Reference: "Jesus Freaks" by dc Talk and The voice of the martyrs, Bethany House Publishers.1999. Pg.42.]