And the Lord said, “What have you done?
The voice of your brother’s blood
is crying to me from the ground.”
—Genesis 4:10
Why didn’t God
accept Cain’s sacrifice
I ask my paw
wisps of white hair antlers
branching from the crown
of his head Because
sure as shit Paw said
God ain’t no vegetarian.
Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley belongs to the Onondaga Nation. He is the author of Not Your Mama’s Melting Pot (Nebraska), Colonize Me (Saturnalia), and Demos (Milkweed) and recipient of fellowships from Provincetown, Kundiman, and the Gilman School, among others.