How often did you wake and weep,
admitting you were not enough
to hedge the days and guard the sleep
of those, above all else, you loved?

And if you slept, to drown in dreams
disastrous as the ancient flood,
that echoed with imagined screams
while you stuck helpless in the mud?

But there were angels in the night—
like sentinels the watch they kept
and filled the broken hours with light,
until at last you sank and slept

or rose in haste—and did they show
a flame by night, a cloud by day
to lead you by the quickest road
to Egypt, where his safety lay?

Then, Joseph, when I wake at night
and sleep and peace are both far off,
keep watch with me to see the light
while I, like you, am not enough.

O father of the living lord,
I am not strong; I am not brave.
Keep those I love from fire and sword;
lend me the help your angels gave. Amen.

Joseph’s Dream, Rembrandt, c. 1645 By Workshop of Rembrandt – Web Gallery of Art:   Image  Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9476806