Permanent Separations (A Poem)

And they will answer, “Lord, when did we rip
You from your mother’s arms? When did we throw
You fatherless into a cell, or strip
You of your home? O Father, let us know!”

The King will answer back, “Do you not know?
I screamed her desperate, clawing shrieks. I drowned
In fear as he was dragged away. Alone,
I wept with strangers, helpless to be found.
I hoped and prayed, until my hope was frayed,
To see my parents’ faces once again—
Until the merciless, relentless blade
Had severed us and numbed my heart within.

What you have done to them, you did to me;
You left them fatherless: so you shall be.”