A couple of poems for you about the first recorded murder in The Bible, which happened to be between brothers (sticking to my usual cheery themes). They are a result of some writing I am doing in readiness for the Greenbelt Festival.
Abel
Cutting firstborn lambs
from their mothers,
you soothe their bleating
before silencing them quickly
and arranging the portions
on an altar to your God.
Your brother steps out from your shadow,
severs the family tie,
breaks you.
Lost decades shimmer
on a scarlet pool at his feet
alongside an unclaimed love,
and the face of your firstborn.
May the stench of you
turn your God’s head,
the stain of you
catch His eye.
Cain
Not left over fruit
or dry vegetables;
this sacrifice is precious -
doused in blame,
kindled with jealousy,
sparked to flame by failure
as rough and bitter
as the skin on your palms.
The flock is spared
as a shepherd’s body is broken -
a brother -
the ground sipping blood
for the first time.
Crumbling in one of your fields,
only to rise in dust that
will powder your sweating brow,
dry the back of your throat
