Sarah’s Dream
By Brittany Deininger
“The Sacrifice of Isaac,” Marc Chagall, c. 1966
Marc Chagall. The Sacrifice of Isaac, 1960–1966. Oil on canvas. 90.6 × 92.5 inches. Chagall Museum, Nice, France.
The length of the dream was the length of my last days.
It’s blue-light early when I hear the cadence of wood splitting.
My baby cries in the wilderness. If I could put him back in my belly—
My husband doesn’t wake me, just packs the mule in silence.
It’s blue-light early. Hearing the cadence of wood splitting
I say, Here I am. I’m always here in the house they leave.
My husband doesn’t wake me. Packs the mule with silence.
I can’t see their faces. No ram arrives for my torment’s knife.
I say, I’m here too. I’m always here. In the house they leave
I’m screaming, Abraham, Abraham! But he doesn’t hear me.
I can’t see their faces. No ram arrives for my torment’s knife.
I don’t remember the sound of my own laugh.
I’m screaming, Abraham, Abraham! But he doesn’t hear
my baby crying in the wilderness in my belly—
the sound
of my last days.
Brittany Deininger is a poet, feminist theologian, and educator. She received an MFA in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College and an MATC from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. Her work has appeared in On Being, EcoTheo Review, The Ekphrastic Review, Metphrastics, Pensive and elsewhere. She lives in New York.
