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This poem
will not
comfort you
But it may
redeem you
This prayer
will not
calm you
But it may
grow your soul
The man who . . .
claims space
with that daily
unconscious
nudge of the
patriarchal elbow,
space that does
not belong to him
Is the man who . . .
blends anonymously
into rape culture
so comfortably
never saying
a word as
men tear into
vulvas and souls
Is the man who . . .
baptizes babies
by day
and watches
child porn
by night
Is the man who . . .
purchases rape
in a girls’ brothel
in Oregon
but softly is
called a john,
hugged, and forgiven
by Christians
Is the man who . . .
claims love for wife
and daughters
as he mocks the
female truths of
the #MeToo,
#ChurchToo
world chorus
This poem
will not
heal you
But it
may break you
like a bone
to reset you
This prayer
will not
give you light
But it may
blind you
into surrender
The man who . . .
makes merry
and shares power
with the men
Is the man who . . .
won’t see the battered
victims behind his
friends’ front doors
The man who . . .
is celebrated
by men and
women alike
as sage
and respectable
Is the man who . . .
scrolls with
silent privilege
past the headline
of the thirtieth
woman murdered
by a man
by men
in his city
Is the man who . . .
claims love
for the Father,
Son, and the
Holy Spirit
Is the man who . . .
believes the teen
girl is to be
blamed for
her rape
and the rapist
well, he’s a guy
and Jesus
loves him
This poem
will not
reassure you
But it may
unmask
your life
This prayer
will not
feed you
But it may
hurl you
into hunger
From realms beyond
the tortured
and glorious
Shekinah,
Christa,
Holy Sophia
Cry out and wail
for the feminine
it is a reckoning
with men
to cease
and desist
For the man who . . .
hears Her sacred call
Is the man who . . .
wakes and
courageously removes
her from the stake
amid the flames
This poem
will not
honor you
But it may
restart your life
This prayer
will not
sanction you
But you
may save
yourself
by your
selflessness
in the end
Rev. Mary Sue Barnett, ARCWP
1-1-2021
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