CAINITE
Cain my son I feared for
milksop that he was
in love with vegetables
lentils mange-touts swedes and cauliflower
while his brother Abel
looked on every lamb for slaughter
as if it was
son to some mighty god or other
staring down our paltry desert pastures
shining on each stone
as if it were in truth a loaf
transubstantiated
awaiting the blessed blade
(Cainites were a Gnostic sect, who regarded the God of the Hebrew scriptures as a tyrant, and applauded all who protested against Him, including Cain. They were reputed to possess the Gospel of Judas Iscariot, whom they revered. The Lord refuses Cain’s vegetarian offering; He wants blood.)
Cain my son I feared for
milksop that he was
in love with vegetables
lentils mange-touts swedes and cauliflower
while his brother Abel
looked on every lamb for slaughter
as if it was
son to some mighty god or other
staring down our paltry desert pastures
shining on each stone
as if it were in truth a loaf
transubstantiated
awaiting the blessed blade
(Cainites were a Gnostic sect, who regarded the God of the Hebrew scriptures as a tyrant, and applauded all who protested against Him, including Cain. They were reputed to possess the Gospel of Judas Iscariot, whom they revered. The Lord refuses Cain’s vegetarian offering; He wants blood.)