Joseph In The Pit
"And it came to pass, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors which he wore.  And they took him and threw him into the pit; and the pit was empty, without water." (Genesis 37:23-24)

When Joseph’s brothers stripped their brother bare,
Then threw the trembling boy into a pit
And ate their bread, while Joseph begged to sit
With them, to have a loin-cloth rag to wear —

Why did his brothers laugh, refuse to hear
His pleas, or see how stars grew dark, unfit
To shine; how sheaves of grain had fallen, split
In two; how fervent Joseph’s silent prayer?

How Joseph wept, alone inside the pit.
No angel came, descending from the sky,
To shade his head or listen to his screams,
            To hide his shame or wipe his brothers’ spit.
            But now, his brothers, too, have learned to cry;
            Cain’s ghost returns each night, to haunt their dreams.