Joseph, How Did it Feel

Joseph how did it feel that first night?
Hearing a language you couldn't understand
Seeing places and faces strange and unfamiliar
And how did you comfort yourself to sleep
Or remind yourself of Jehovah

Joseph how did you spend your first night?
In a place strange and far away
Where your father or Benjamin couldn't hold you
And tell you stories that made you feel safe
And dignify your being alive

Joseph how did you spend your first night?
When all your humanness was reduced to stares and gestures
When not a single soul could look into yours
And grant you the dignity that you rightfully owned
Where not an ounce of recognition was given to your existence

Joseph how did your spend your first night?
When all you had learned both great and small
Did not seem to measure to those who held your life
With such carelessness and indifference
As though what you had stored up had no meaning

What words of wisdom would you pass down
To souls who tread now to far places
Willingly or unwillingly
What words would you give to comfort
And give hope that all is not lost

What made you conquer the lonely nights
What made you wade through the unfamiliarity
What made you not give up even in the pit of despair
What song did you sing in the thick of night
What words did you whisper to stay alive
What dreams did you dream to keep hope aflame
What promise did you make to YAHWEH to get you out

Joseph how did you spend your first night?