note: from wherever it is in the Bible that Moses and the Israelites find manna in the desert. always such a moving episode. ~acb … Manna not from heaven, but from the road beneath; wandered in the wilderness, sought for what was meet in the vengeful eyes of god. Who could have sought such sugar, blended sour with the … More manna not from heaven
Lord of all Letters, Let our words be worthy, our paragraphs perfect. Let no bibliography go un-checked; let the spellcheck be just. As the night goes swiftly on, Let the coffee be bitter to better betray our beds. Let us not have heart palpitations. Let us not over-dose on caffeine. May our evidence be … More prayer for a paper
To give them what they want molds the bread and ruins the wine. Son, if you knew men and not what they should be, you would know that joy is not as necessary as the promise. … To give them what they need leavens the bread, lets the wine breath. Son, if you knew women … More Mary’s Lament at the Wedding
I sold him for silver and I did not curse the Word. I waited for the tenderness of his hand on my cheek before I set the wolves on the lamb, a poor shepherd indeed to the man who was mine. I kissed him like the frost does the hopeful bud in midwinter—so reluctant— … More The Lament of Judas Iscariot
Blame not the whore for loving what she wilt. I would give gold for plums in the dark midwinter. Do not expect to be loved. Desired, yes, always and in all places, wanted for what you had, not what you made with your hands. If I danced for them, I did not speak. Silence was … More Mary Magdalene’s Lament
Note: “Yosef” is the earlier, more accurate Hebrew pronunciation of the name “Joseph”. … The good Lord knows I am a simple man, Miryam; I took you for wife when you were too young to know sunlight is a blessing, rain more so and the earth is hard. I know how to make things strong … More Yosef’s Lament
Note: “Miryam” is the earlier, more accurate Hebrew pronunciation of the name “Mary”. … Before you, Yosef, I only knew the roughness of the white goat’s flank on my cheek. The mottled one bucked wild whenever it saw me come to milk, so your ginger beard was a surprise, like green things in the dessert. … More Miryam’s Lament
If I danced, it wasn’t because I wanted to please him. What happens when I use my limbs in that way isn’t something I can quite explain to those who use mere words to speak. If I knew grit and dirt once, I do know sweat and ill-gained jewels now. … If I move, I … More Salome’s Lament
They asked for my daughters. They smilingly offered cracked pomegranates when the market was done, asked for the sweet release only they could give. My girls grew quiet, scarlet-cheeked, tossed the insult back at them, ran alone through whipped streets, dust in the wind, home. They were no rotten jewels ill-formed, but permissions, whole and … More The Lament of Lot’s Wife
Lord, you know I was no man of renown in those days of old, when there were giants in the earth. Good men walked straight then, but there was no rest for the wicked or the saint when the Lord decided that he could not wait for the thing he did not have. Good men … More Noah’s Lament
anna-christina betekhtin 