I will teach him my trade
Under my hawk's eye
he will learn to dress
and chisel stone

Dust will grit between
his teeth | gray his hair
before its time

Like his father
he will work gravestones
Greek and Jewish dead
all alike

Sometimes as we sweat
we will speak
of the Last Day

I will not live to see it
Perhaps he will
Perhaps I am a fetter
that must be shattered
for him to rise

Honor your father I pray him
and your mother that
your days may be long

He answers I will honor my father
however long
my days

Cover Image: Saint Joseph and the Christ Child, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, ca. 1670-75 (John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL)