Ahasver Incognito

Marc Chagall

“Curse God and die.” Job 2:9

In a world fraught with danger,
it is best to keep your eyes down,
your head cowled, your voice muffled.
To be noticed is to invite doom,
to be marked and measured
like Cain or a tattooed wrist,
measured into a deadly recipe
that worms its way to an oven.
You know from whom you hide.
Your know his righteous wrath.
Wear long loose robes of black.
Speak in a forgotten language.
Or you may be recognized,
some snitch might remind
God that you exist, and make
possible everything terrible,
even unto hanging you from
from the tree of revenge
and pronouncing you, Son.