The Lament of Saint Joseph

In Bethlehem a cry is raised
That reaches here beside the Nile.
My heart is full and is amazed,
That man to man could be so vile.

When Gabriel came in a dream
And bade me take the babe and flee,
I trusted to my Lord Supreme
And fled until the babe was free.

But never did I dare to think
What Herod’s hatred had conceived.
The blood of babes poured out like drink,
The fathers wailed, and none believed.

The mother’s breast is full of life,
Her flesh knows not the babe is gone.
Her world was riven by the knife
Of vipers smiling at the dawn.

Answer me now, O God above,
Who is this infant in my arms?
What is this bloody breed of love,
That comes to bless but cuts and harms?

What is this bloody breed of love,
That comes to bless but cuts and harms?
Is he not come from up above,
This infant sleeping in my arms?

But if he comes to save us all,
Why did those infants have to die?
If he is Lord, who cannot crawl,
Why do the streets of David cry?