Father Countries

The first true human, Cain was born in sorrow.¹
Adam covered his ears as his son crowned;
Eve had fathomed her curse. Cain made no sound.
Cain the man cleared the chamomile and yarrow,⁴
Conceived the scythe, the digging stick, the furrow,
Coaxed wheat and emmer from the wounded ground,
And sacrificed. Searching the sky, Cain found
Only God’s vast back turned, spined by a sparrow.⁸

The first to kill, the first to be unbrothered,⁹
Cain ached to see God’s face, even in anger.
Some sheep came wandering by; they ate the wheat.
A spotted moon rose; all the emmer withered.¹²
Cain, soon to father countries of pure hunger,
Slaughtered a lamb and salted its bright meat.

I liked how the slant rhymes (furrow-sparrow, unbrothered, withered, lines 5,8,9,12) in this poem are a bit subtle, as each line is fairly long and the rhyme scheme changes after the first octave.

Sorrow-crowned-sound-yarrow (ABBA)

Furrow-ground-found-sparrow (ABBA)

Unbrothered-anger-wheat (CDE)

Withered-hunger-meat. (CDE)

This form is called a Petrachan sonnet. Usually, the first octave presents a problem and the sestet (CDECDE) comments on the problem or provides a solution. The shift in rhyme scheme intentionally marks their different purposes.

“Father Countries” is a grim retelling of the story of Cain and Abel, found in Genesis. Here’s a quick summary of the biblical story – Cain and Abel were the first sons of Adam and Eve. Cain farmed land, while Abel, the younger son, raised sheep. When the time came to present sacrifices to God, Cain brought grains/wheat and Abel brought a choice firstborn lamb, so God favored Abel’s sacrifice. Cain, in jealousy, murdered Abel, and God exiled him.

Cain is partially sympathized in this narrative poem. In the sestet, where the problem is supposed to be addressed, it seems that Cain had no choice but to “slaughter a lamb” (14), presumably referring to Abel, because the crops he toiled for were destroyed. All countries are born with similar jealousy and desperation, according the narrator.