but the rest of us
silenced them
for we were flooded with joy
and gratitude to the King
and we listened avidly to what they went on to tell us:
Give thanks
Be
thankful that you were saved from the world
that vale of tears
where justice
is
the name
of a blind girl with scales
who has turned
all
the openings of her body
into wells of plague
Give thanks to King Herod
who has saved you with his boundless love
And we wept
shed tears of regret at the lies and calumnies
which we had been made to believe
and we raised our translucent hands
in thanksgiving for the truth now revealed to us
and so we have gathered together here
around the sacrificial stone
keyed up to sing our welcome
to raise three cheers
for Herod
who comes to kill us for a second time
Josef Hanzlik
(Translated from the Czech
by
Ewald Osers)
