This is my latest poem, it took 20 years and 15 minutes to write. |
Cast the First Stone It took days and weeks To gather courage To set aside her fear To finally be willing to put everything she had On the line Finally she had decided To do the one thing she needed most She went to her pastor To ask for help He met her in his office Sat behind his desk And listened Listened as she told him How her father would come home from work Often late More than often Drunk How he would yell And yes, at times scream at them And from there How it most often Got worse He rose from his chair Walked over to a bookshelf along the wall And removed a copy of the Bible Which he opened on the desk in front of her He showed her scriptures The man was the head of the household He was the ruler of his domain It was his duty and his right To punish his children For these were the words of God Later This man This servant to the Lord Did the one thing That from me and her He will never gain forgiveness He told her father what had happened Over and over again She paid for his sin And with every strike Even the Angels in Heaven Cried Years passed She had grown up Gotten married and had children Moved away and separated herself As many ways as she could from her father And the Church Another day came There was a new couple in the neighborhood Her and her husband had wanted to make new friends She fought only a little When they asked if they would join them One Sunday morning To visit their Church She wanted to make her husband happy She wanted to feel like she could belong Belong to a group of people Maybe gain more friends She set aside her pain Her fear And together They went The music was beautiful The choir sang with such devotion People not only sat in their pews But they reached out to strangers Letting them know that they were glad That they were there Then the sermon came A man Dressed in a fine suit With great dedication Walked up And stood behind his pulpit He presented his Bible for all to see Opened it Placed it on the stand in front of him And began to preach He spoke of how a woman should be plain She should be leery On how she dressed herself How she should refrain From using makeup Or perfume How she should cover herself Never expose her legs or cleavage And in most cases It was a woman’s fault When she was raped These words tore at her Ripped their way through her heart To her very soul She remembered the words of a close friend How she told her how she had been beaten Raped in her own home In front of her daughter There was no escaping this But this time She was not alone Her husband reached over Took her hand And together In tears they left No For them It didn’t matter that the sermon was not over What mattered most Is that they left Before someone was forced to pay I hope you understand These are not mere words on paper This is not a tale of fantasy About a make-believe woman These words Are about one Whom I would gladly lay down everything for Even my life This woman Who suffered so badly at the hands of others Is the second beat of my very heart Her name is Letha She is my wife Letha is a Wiccan Many people would stand in judgment Condemn her And me For her choice in religion But I hope after they read these words After they walk just a few steps Along the path of life she has traveled They might learn to understand And not be so quick To cast stones Yes I am a Catholic And my wife is a Wiccan And deep down in my heart I know That even God understands Why Ed Roberts 8/6/11 Each night I pray for forgiveness Not only for my sins But for those of others as well |