binding of isaac

by Kodi Gonzaga

what, i wonder, was the point in god’s eyes

of asking a man to kill his own child?

was it to prove his fealty? his trust? his blind faith?

or was it a lesson that abraham failed?

what was the point, i often wonder,

of this charade, of writing this poem,

of saying with certainty, this happened, this meant something, but what? what did it mean?

does he know?

i hope, for his sake, and my sake too,

that god meant this test as a breaking of purpose,

a show to his children that yes, yes you can be free of me.

and abraham failed.

but isaac,

well.

would you trust your father if he tied you to an altar and rose a knife in the glinting firelight to sink into your heart?

would you trust a god that said do this then stop

wielding power with nothing but words and blind trust?

i think that this binding was a lesson, true

but not for abraham;

for isaac, for me and for you

and for all of the children of this man who dared not to question

to break trust

to wonder

to examine and see beyond blind faith alone.

i hope god thought oh

i’ve built them too trusting

they lean on my words and build towers on sand

no, they will fall.

i must teach them the truth that even angels don’t know, that life is a choice, and they must

wonder

question

hope

and so i hope, and question, and wonder

wonder if god is not simply a father that wielded his power like fire and then realized

what he’d done to his children with regret

i hope he, too, learned this, and changed

for that would make him worthy of worship indeed

to teach a young boy bound to an altar

do not trust him

do not trust me

hope

question

wonder

and you will be free