Measure for Measure

I am a worker, a tiller of earth

The sweat of my brow is my means to be fed

My brother is lazy, he lies with the sheep

And plays with the firstborn, the spotless he's bred

My crop comes up full and dripping with dew

The king has no need of my hard-earned tribute

I'll save the good fruit, enjoy all the best

I'll eat my fill and then give him the rest

I stand tall in the court and present what I've brought

Will this be the sacrifice he's always sought?

He looks at me, silent, and then turns away

And faces my brother, much to my dismay

My brother approaches with watery eyes

How weak he now seems, so attached to the lamb

The altar's prepared, oh now look how he cries

Why should he break down for a routine demand?

Embarrassed, I turn to look back at the king

And I find that he's pleased, that he's smiling!

And calling my brother, comes down from his throne

And cries over him as if over his own

What is so good about one little lamb?

It's more than my mountain of goods from the land?

We leave the altar, my heart pounding hard

Brother's face beaming, his sorrows have fled

What work did he do? It's a reopened scar

The hate keeps me up, wide awake on my bed

I took him out to the field for a walk

He didn't notice me pick up the stone

I took him out to the field for a talk

I told my parents we'd both soon be home

And through gritted teeth, the rock in my hand

Struck him down in the grass in the pasture land

And who should come then? Why, the unjust king!

Roaming the field and looking for something

“Where is your brother?” He inquires of me

How should I know? Do I keep him as sheep?

The blood of your brother

Cries up from the ground

I heard your mind snap

When no one was around

You thought them a secret

Kept safe deep inside

But you couldn't rule them

The chains of your pride

Of the earth you took good

And to it you gave death

Your justice for him

It will never forget

Your justice dealt to you

Will force you to know

The dark fruit of seeds

That you stubbornly sow

Revenge is a knife, a seductive surge

A power to seize righteously when you're wronged

It comes like a gift, its purpose to purge

The vacuum of favor, from you I've so longed

Oh, how I've wanted to bring you to me!

To gather you under my shielding wings

I told you, “Come!” But you were not willing

I would have given you every good thing

Child, there is a creature that lusts for your heart

It gives you the weapon, as if it could save

With it raised above, you don't feel your life leave

You think it's the handle, you're gripping the blade

Your hate is your poison,

Drunk for justice, instead

When your own rock comes down

It comes down on your head

Author: Daniel Escobedo