Cain's Entries

Helpless, powerless In all he tries, /Even his offerings/ Fall shy. With every breath he takes, Every feeling he bears, /Those feelings could be fair, If not met with despair./ The weight of a cursed self he wears. /Shame, perhaps?/ Look, look, look— See— All he’s done. /(But he could have won, Had he not been shunned.)/ Bow your head low, Applaud his show. A longing burns, /A need he cannot fill,/ Even though his heart yearns, His hands lack the skill. Long live, oh you! Long live, it’s true! -You gave us what we sought anew.- He envies, he seethes, But it could be tamed, Of course, he could breathe, If not for that snake, unnamed— Oh, that snake! Who came in a moment ill-fated, Whispering lies so cleverly baited. /“You’ll be the first, just do your part, Perhaps this is what must start. Take them far, leave them behind, Your duty then will cross your mind.”/ The devil spoke, and he obeyed, -oh, that devil— His eyes betrayed, tightly stayed. Atonement comes, Through years of pain, He searched for peace, But all in vain. -All thanks to the snake’s cruel game— They marked his brow with a brand, So the anguish always stands. No one took his life, Nor let him meet the knife. Alone he remained, -And the snake too waned.- The debt lingers still, unpaid, -Salutations to his kin displayed— Awaiting a reckoning, A toll to be laid. It will be settled, that much is clear, -Maybe in one life, or ten appear— The snake slithered back to its lane, Shook His hand, and felt no shame. At last, it was done, the course was set, A life lost to sin he’d never met.