“ . ..and when they were in the field, Cain set upon his brother Abel and killed him.”
–Genesis 4:8
Not the exile, nor the ceaseless toil,
nor the pain of childbirth or the shame
of nakedness; not the withering
of blossoms, or the slow festering
of fruit: none of it matters compared
to this. I confess. I saw Cain heave up
a great grey stone and hit his brother
with such beastly force he fell mute upon
the fields. Now I understand suffering.
Maybe if I’d shown more remorse after
that first sin, or drawn less sustenance from
Adam’s flesh He would have spared me this sight.
I know better now. For those who raise sons
that hate each other, God shows no mercy.