“Do you know him?” by Mary Sue Barnett, ARCWP

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