The entire poem is a reference to and the re-interpretation of the Biblical character Simon, a man of Cyrene. Simon the Cyrenian is believed to be one of the followers of Christ, and in the Bible he was mentioned as one of the people who was called upon by the Romans to bear the cross of Jesus after he was sentenced to be crucified.
This short poem is structured with four quatrains. The first stanza is made out of paradoxical lines. The speaker of the poem is Simon the Cyrenian, hence the title of the novel. He talks about someone never speaking a word to him, but calling his name nevertheless, and never giving him a sign, but despite that, he came. This someone Simon refers to is Jesus.
The second stanza is a little more enlightening about who Simon is. He is a Black man who was called upon by the Romans to bear the cross of Jesus. At first, he refused because he inferred that he was only targeted for this task for being a Black man.
Yet, the third and fourth stanza reveal that Simon changed his mind after hearing Jesus’ words and feeling his influence. He saw a gleam in his eyes that many men seek. Finally, he decided to bear the cross of Jesus out of pity and love, which is far stronger than the lash and stone of Rome.
