Poem: Laughter

I was that gray mouse frozen
beneath the shadow of an owl—
a rock, a leaf, do not notice
this small tremor
in an empty moonless night.

It was the birth announcement.
Prayers returned to mock us,
We couldn’t see the barbed hook
you would pull to hurt us, entrap
the bitter with the sweet,

Her laughter wasn’t for you.

I should have warned;
our thoughts--a cloudless sky,
nothing hidden.

Were we responsible?

For your killing ground,
your wounded pride.

The accusation still comes
in each yellowed dawn,
dew mixed with sulfur,
I will always live,
that rotton stench
God help me live,
beneath that ash-soaked sky
the grass dust
when the mountains fell
to consume the valley

Now, the shadow of Moriah looms:
to kill my laughter,
to teach my son—
that even a loving Father—
can wield a knife.

This was the beginning of my wisdom.
There is no escape from you.