The Pinnacle (Religious Themes)

One of my former instructors contacted me via Facebook earlier and shared with me a poem I'd written in 2000 that she'd just found. I'll share it with you.


Looking around from the pinnacle steep,
I saw a great field filled with many small sheep.
A voice said to me, “You may have all this and more,
If you’ll simply worship me on this high, rocky floor.”


I thought the thing through—and thought very well—
And decided this choice would land me in Hell.


Looking out from the pinnacle, the voice came again—
“I could make you the supreme ruler of men!
All would adore and answer only to you!”
But I did not want all of humanity to.


Then I thought of a fix that would fix him up nice—
“Sir,” said I, (and I never thought twice)
“You are insolent, intolerable, and filled with deceit!
Why, you just stood there and lied to me, straight through your teeth!


Tell me why I would want a field full of sheep.
Who do you think I am? Little Bo Peep!
And why would I want men to bow down to me?
Isn’t that why Christ died on the Tree?”


Then Satan just stood there with nothing to say
So, I said, “That’s all there is, so, I’ll be on my way!”

Safe Spot [Emotional/Mental Abuse themes, Religious themes]

I see you there.
You lurk ever in my periphery.
           Watching…
                ...waiting…
You wait for the moment.
That one moment in which I demonstrate
           Power…
                ...thought…
It scares you.
It has always scared you.
I have always scared you.

You told me, once,
You wanted to be like me.
          Bold…
               ...unafraid….
But you can’t be.
Not because you are not those things.
But because you made me bold and unafraid.

Your cruelty
Knew no boundaries.
          Judgmental…
              ...hateful…
Love-less.
A person who has friends
Must first be friendly.
          Compassion….
             ...empathy…
These I have, but you do not understand.

I didn’t care.
When your words meant to
          cut…
             …hurt…
I forgave you in the moment.

But I did not forget.

I did not then,
Nor now, require your validation
          Of my life…
             ...of my person…
I am that I am.


#IStandwithCaitlyn
#INeedFeminismBecause
          #BlackLivesMatter
             #LoveWins
#IAmAnAlly

You pray for my soul.
A soul already bought and paid for.
          Thanks…
             ...but no thanks….
Spend your energy on someone who needs it.
The boy in the street
Who was turned away by his parents.
          Why?
             ...love…
….of another boy.
The girl in the halfway house
Who was turned away by her parents.
          Why?
             ...fear…
She had been Greg for 13 years.


I see you lurking
In my shadows.
          ...watching…
             …waiting….
All you will find here is love and acceptance.
A safe place.
A safe place
          ...for one…
             …for all…
Forever.