JOSEPH AT GETHSEMANE
last night i dreamed he was small
again. small & sad. i saw it clear
as spring water. did i see it then,
did i act rightly, is that how i built
this machine of a man? look at him now,
ready to die for himself, breaking prayer
to move a hurting moth
off the sand, to the sweet olives.
passing the cup. Teacher, sometimes i think you do it
to spite me. to swing as far away
as a carpenter’s son can swing. i don’t know
if this is true – i don’t know
the halls of your mind. other times i think,
anyone but you, any son but mine.
most nights, while your mother sleeps, i pray
like you do: Lord, take the cup away,
wash the heaven from his mind,
make him meek, make him plain,
give him back to me.
GENESIS 29:32
& when the Lord saw that she was hated He sent her children
because unloved women should have children, but still
he wouldn’t touch her, not with kindness, not with rage,
only once, with a surgical precision, to conceive,
such precision could be mistaken for care, yet she was too smart
for such a careless mistake, & who needs care
anyhow, not while there are fields to hoe & crops to harvest
& wines to drink & wines to get drunk from. of course,
while with child, she couldn’t drink at all, which made things
infinitely more terrible, because when her belly swelled & dropped
he would look at her with disdain – no other word for it,
a deep-seated disdain, low & angry, like she’d asked for this,
like the child fulfilled a vengeful wish against him.
& when finally her water broke, her son came out in a rush,
she was alone with the handmaid in her marital bed, the bed
he’d never shared, a bed that could never fully get cleaned,
& she howled, & she wept, sweaty from birth, & she named him
& said, now he will love me.
Leah Lentz
Leah Lentz currently lives in St. Petersburg, FL, and studies Literature and Creative Writing at Eckerd College. Her previous work has appeared in Puerto del Sol. She can be found on instagram, @leah.lentz
Why this Knocked Taylor Out:
Well okay surprise! I solicited this poem (Joseph...). We received this at phoebe and I was OVER THE MOON about it but we got over 700 subs and could only take 12 so I snagged this one for BRAWL.
BUT I LOVE THIS POEM. I love a poem that opens a perspective that other poems haven't. Addressing the masculinity of Jesus and his father is something I haven't seen done a lot and I loved how it was handled here. The tenderness of this poem, the use of small lyric "i", the ENDING. There is so much intentionality in this poem and each line just blew me away.
Just, wow.
And then bang surprise poem #2 "Genesis" is perfectly titled and wonderfully executed. I'll write more about this on the site but I LOVED how these two paired together examining the role of "parenthood" within a religious context. These are just so up my alley it’s insane. I’ve always been someone who loves the tenderness of couplets and this poem is a great example of the tension between couplets and content.
Interview:
Why did you choose Team Taylor for this poem?
Taylor reached out to me through my phoebe submission, and when I looked at her submission guidelines, I sent over a few poems that I felt fit the vibe <3
How do these poem fit within your usual discography?
I’m very interested in Catholic images and retellings, and I really like watching how a narrative can change based on whose hands it’s in. I’m also a bit of an art history nerd, so a lot of my work is informed by paintings — “Joseph” was partially inspired by Guercino’s “Saint Joseph with the Christ Child”.