Maybe we got it all wrong
Maybe it wasn’t a gift
because he was the most favorite
son
but a necessity
because he was the least favorite
of his brothers
Maybe it wasn’t simply
a coat of many colors
or of wool or silk
as some have thought
Maybe it wasn’t striped
and didn’t have long sleeves
as others surmise
Maybe it was meant to be a coat
not of beauty
but of protection
A coat of armor, as it were
A sling-shot and insult-repelling coat
A reversible coat with reflective lights
to be seen on those dark desert nights
only to be turned inside-out
to provide cover
A coat that could do its best to protect a boy
trying to be a man
And when he wrestled with himself
just as his father had before him
that coat became his security blanket
until it was taken from him
and only then did he realize
that he had grown up
