O father, Adam,

I call upon you to witness the injustice of my brother. He had promised to murder me, and from all his promises, this he keeps. A thousand times, each day, the son of Cain extends his hands to me in harm; And I, my father, am often too weak to defend myself, and a hundred times as much too meek to stand up for truth and justice.

And at times; when I finally summon my strength, and the tides of my courage are at a high; fears of inflicting injustice run like poison in my veins, and self-accusations of hypocrisy paralyze me to the fingertips; I am afraid that –in fighting fire with fire– his offspring are going to be mine in injustice, and mine his.

O Father, father of the Father of the prophets,
Help me!
Recount to me all the tales of courage from your time to mine; Inspire me with stories of your descendants and my ancestors — righteous beings rewarded for their patience, perseverance, and strength.
Pray for me!
Pray that I might be granted wisdom to follow the righteous path, strength of belief to conquer my fears, steadfastness in face of oppression, and patience in trying times.

O Father,
Help my brother!
Reach him — where I can’t — in his sleep, for his conscience is in height of consciousness when his senses are in deep slumber.
Remind him that I am still his brother, that pain and humiliation taste the same to us all.
Pray for him!
Pray that he might be granted wisdom to recognize the righteous path, strength to admit erroneous ways, courage to repent, and steadfastness against corrupting desires.

O Father,
Help me help him;
for I love him;
for him and I are one;
for one’s lust for power grows out of the other’s ignorance and weakness, and one’s transgression feeds off the other’s compliance and meekness

O Father,
Behold my struggles, and these words;
to remind me–
when fates veer, and power exchanges hands;
remind me
to empathize with the meek, to give thanks,
and to respect the tides of fate.

(mar2003-jun2005)