Blessed is the voyage from Sinai to Kadesh to Moab.
Cursed is the tribe whose graves border the desert.
 
Blessed is accepting the counsel of prohibited intimacies.
Cursed is the aunt nudging conversion therapy over dessert.
 
Blessed is the mother gathering fallen frangipani blooms.
Cursed is the punishment she metes out, however deserved.
 
Blessed is the father whose arms are unreachable bookshelves.
Cursed is the company of fathers, from Hobbes to Descartes. 
 
Blessed is the son fretting about being Christian enough.
Cursed is ecstasy pooling like a mirage in the desert.
 
Blessed means accepting the door to repentance is in fact a rope.
Cursed means the rescued poet, who still thirsts for the desert.