Liberties

Matthew, 2.7-12 Summoned to the palace, we obeyed. The king was curious. He had heard tell Of strangers in outlandish garb, who paid In gold, although they had no wares to sell. He dabbled in astrology and dreams: Could we explain the genesis of a star? The parallax of paradox — afar The fragrance of the light had drawn us near. Deep in the dark, we heard a jackal’s screams Such as, at lambing time, the shepherds fear. Come back, he said, and tell me what you find, Direct me there: I’ll bow my head and pray. We nodded yes, a wisdom of a kind, But after, we slipped home by another way.