Esau was firstborn, but Jacob soon followed
For all of his young life, seems Jacob deceived
Esau, the loser whenever they struggled
Jacob did not trust God, constantly struggled
Esau at his heels, now Jacob was followed
Dividing his camp up, still Jacob deceived
Forgetting God’s promises, he was deceived
But that night they wrestled; he and God struggled
Limping, victorious, Israel followed
He followed, deceived, then he struggled and won
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This is in the rhyming style of a tritina, but since I used 2-syllable trailing words, I bumped the line length to 11 syllables instead of 8 to accommodate the last line of the poem.
This one was fun: there is wordplay in the Hebrew for Jacob and heel (follow), and also on supplanter/deceiver/usurper, and the name Israel can be translated 'struggles with God'
Categories:
supplanter, conflict, god,
Form: Tritina
Head in the Heavens
Feet planted on Earth
Jacob, renamed Israel
Mocked for his birth
Mislabeled 'The Supplanter'
Though Esau tricked him
Pushed his twin brother aside
Emerging first-born with a grin
Then the imposter Esau
Sold his birthright for a little food
His hands bloody from hunting
Wild with fury, his mood
On the same very day
Righteous Grandfather Abraham died
But Esau could have cared less
Not one tear did he cry
His own mother knew Esau was evil
She'd grown up with the vile Laban and Besu'el
Rebecca proudly stood up for what was right
For her son Jacob only would she fight
Jacob dwelled in tents, a man of the book
His mother helped him deal with Esau the crook
Who deceived father Isaac 'til his dying day
And wanted to murder Jacob in the worst of ways
Far too many still think that Jacob was wrong
To 'steal' the birthright ~ that he deserved all along
Categories:
supplanter, brother, jewish, mother son,
Form: Rhyme
Who I am
Who I was
Matters not in this enchanter
Like the moon filled too soon
And, now I’m trapped as my supplanter
For I’ve boiled rage inside this cage
And left my heart in danger
I showed the side I meant to hide
And, now my hearts a stranger
What it loves and what it’s of
Now I find less time I spend inside happiness and grandeur
More things I see in Silent Tree
In darkness and disaster
The silent tree
Baron and bare
Stricken of what was there
Of what it was
Of what it does
Still, It is there
Baron and bare
Categories:
supplanter, anger, anxiety, dark, endurance,
Form: Blank verse