After Abel, Dante Émile
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Two brothers in a field are enough for the tragedy to start. The Lord says bring me something worthwhile & the boy puts his hands to task. Mother used to say I had a gift for it. I was my father’s son, I envied the way flowers grew. Cain takes a swig at his vodka & tonic & shows you the scar on his forehead. He tells you he’s picked up some Spanish in his travels, signals to the waiter and says me & my brother, you see, we were uña y carne. This is what happens when God slips between two sleeping bodies, he ruins them.
Who kills their own brother? Well, someone who loves him very much. He makes of womb an altar & prays I have shed for you the truth of life. Could you please bring him back?
Abel was the slaughterer, I only watered the plants. He orders another drink. God wants blood, he says, blood & regret. So I handed him my heart.
When they were little Cain would sit on the porch & listen to the trees grow. Something about the quietness of creation. When you love a lamb, you hold its neck while you bleed it. Cain raises his arm & pleads: Close your eyes. /end ID]
