Amnon

Brother Eckhart

Brother Eckhart is a novice in the Order of Saint Benedict, Community of Saint John Cassian. He is a member of St Mark's Episcopal Church in Palo Alto.

Desire for her body
Drove me to rape her
Then in disgust I spurned her
She tore her royal robe
With ashes on her head
She walked along
And cried

Desire for worldly order
Drove me to condemn him
With crown of thorns I mocked him
And sent him to the cross
Followed by his mother
Who walked along
And cried

Desire for wealth and power
Drove me to enslave them
I beat them to submission
Made them less than human
And toiling in my fields
They walked along
And cried

Desire for yet more land
Drove me to expel them
I herded them like cattle
With even less compassion
They perished on the way
As they walked along
And cried

Yet even this was not enough
The land I seized, I raped
The Earth with open wounds
And choking breath
And poisoned tears
Walks along
And cries

What is this evil in my heart
That drives me first to grasp and then destroy?
Lord, purge me from my ravaging desires
Help me heal the hurt I cause
As with ashes on my head
I walk along
And cry