— The God Who Was With Him

A strange tongue in his ears,
a stranger’s house,
a slave’s sandals on his feet.

And one plain line of Scripture
falling like light through a high window:
The Lord was with Joseph.

*

Not after the chains.
Inside them.

Whatever his hands touched
began to grow.
A whole house grew quiet
around one faithful servant.

*

Then her voice, day after day:
Lie with me.

An open door.
No one watching.

But the lover knows
there is no room
where the Beloved is absent.

How could I sin against God?

*

She seized his garment.
He left it in her hand
and ran.

The dervish sheds his cloak
to keep his soul.
Sometimes faithfulness
looks like running.

*

The garment became a lie.
Truth stood outside the room
while accusation filled the house.

From slave
to prisoner.
One descent,
then another.

*

And again:
The Lord was with Joseph.
Even there.

The keeper of the prison trusted him.
In the dark,
a lamp needs no permission
to shine.

*

He lost his freedom,
not his integrity.
His garment,
not his name.
His place,
not the Presence.

The world kept taking.
God kept staying.

*

Looking back,
I see the dream was never
a promise of an easy road.
It was a promise
of the Friend
walking inside the road.

*

Down to Egypt.
Down into slavery.
Down into prison.

And under every descent,
like water under stone,
one word:
Here.