As they took him,

Fresh from his mother’s womb,

Placed on the slab, ripe for the slaughter,

He pleads with the shepherd—

Please let me say goodbye.

But it falls upon deaf ears.

Since Babel,

Men stopped trying to understand each other

And turned to speaking with their rage.

So the beasts have suffered.

They sheared his mother’s wool

And weaved Joseph’s coat.

Sin comes in many colors—

To appease a jealous God,

He must be the sacrifice.

His only crime?

Being born.

The knife sharpens.

A silver beam blinds him as it catches the sun,

And his life flashes before his eyes,

However brief it was.

Choosing to die in grace,

But not without a fight.

He looks to the sky

And bleats a broken prayer.

O Father,

Will you save me?

Is your jealousy pacified?

I will tell them that their false idols swaddle them in shame.

His neck swallows the blade.

O Father,

Can you hear me?

O Father,

Are you there?

O Father…