If I put My garments on, This body They will steam crawl up my neck wrap silently slowly around my throat. Compressed embrace unyielding chains They will say this is love Who is they? Growing-taut-tight taught by a book These are good they say To be one with us, you must wear High heads stiff necks solid virtues In the marrow and in the spine You must hold rigid precepts in your hands Stand firmly in this place with your feet And with your body Be thorough in your worship To get into his castle wear his armor To walk in through his doors and enter at his gate you must model for others how The arms grow heavy with his labour to make the brain worthy of his love You must coerce the heart the breasts the genitals that ass Ensure all is virtuous, forever more Change me garments, strangle me assure Make me sing Oh Beautiful Zion Stressed strained stretched Verify that I’m your own Eyes look up see my beautiful garments Becoming always becoming Holy White and glistening Their arms wrapped all around me My heart cries out like a child searching Earnest Genuine Dear Savior can you hear me? See this sweat and feel that heat? So many fingers pointing, voices whispering Their venerated stories beat my heart. So many hands drag me up with firm forgiveness Substantiating me as their own Force me take me swallow me up into broken pieces Gulped me down like the throat of that whale Who swallowed Jonah whole In the deep raging-blue sea Eyes turn away do not see People dying flies flees disease snakes naked starvation Sing forward saints No toil no labor fear Feel that desert heat against the skin. Feel those sharp rocks under that wagon Pull harder Saints It’s all their fault for not praying Harder with more conviction. So many frozen bodies Babies women children left by footsteps in the sand Two sets one set none Nothing left but bones The meat eaten away by scavengers Left to rot WOMAN ANGEL OF THE HOME, BE THOU PERFECT WEAR HIS BEAUTIFUL GARMENTS, WORK TO THE BONE LIKE SO MANY BEFORE YOU ANIMAL NATURE, SUBORDINATE CREATURE DRY THOSE EYES WORK ROBOT BASK IN HIS GLORY TAKE HIM INTO YOU HIS BODY AND HIS BLOOD Heart don’t feel Ears don’t hear Eyes don’t look for yourself Oh, my heart Please don’t cry out Christ Are you there? Blindly follow in his footsteps BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN OF ZION, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT. CINDERELLA, BUILD ME A TEMPLE OPEN YOUR LEGS AND CLOSE YOUR EYES TIGHTLY FOLLOW ALWAYS FOLLOW TAKE THEIR HOLLOW HEARTS AND MAKE THEM NEW ENTER THE CASTLE; SWEEP AWAY THE SOOT; STAY WAY BACK YOU ARE NOT WORTHY Wobbly knees be still Sweat stained hands slip, grip that railing, Always climbing higher together forever Remember, don’t taint his castle Continually ponder, recall his words. CLIMB STILL HIGHER TORTOISE WEAR YOUR BABIES ON YOUR BACK DON’T LET THEM SLIP OFF CLIMB HIGHER LET THEM THROW THEIR STONES AT YOU Who am I? Daggers Stones spit upon my face Beautiful Savior kind redeemer whose are these? Empty hearts saddled on my back Voices weeping, “make me whole?” Gentle Savior Please can you hear So many eyes look down on me Whip me with their lashes Taunt me, bleed from every pore Oh man please don’t touch my garments Not one spot of blood Give me mercy, relieve me of these stones, help me please carry them on your back They are too heavy Oh Great Jehovah redeemer of Israel Christ are you there Climb that hill, wear my cross, my own crown of thorns Watch me hear me be me Heal that ear lying on the ground, In the darkness Lips and tongue tell the truth Clawing hands ripping my perfect radiant skin Flesh and blood torn to bits Beating heart Creeping Snapping Shaking Nail my hands my wrists my feet dangling vinegar That blade, all silver, glimmering, waiting To slice my side Hunched over splintered, subdued So much shouting and whipping, like those in Egypt Those people of Moses Who carried boulders across so many shoulders ADD MORE STONES! DON’T LET HER SEE OUR WAYS SHE IS LOOKING. STOP HER EYES CLOSE THEM LOOK AT HER PITIFUL STOOPED FRAME HER LACERATED HANDS AND FEET ALWAYS WORKING NEVER CEASING REMEMBER WOMAN THE SEVERED EDGE WHICH PIERCED HIS SIDE, GUSHING OUT WITH THEIR BLOOD. REMEMBER YOU SHE-HER-CREATURE HIS SHAME Now, all mine Look mirror, recognize me? Once curious eyes, warm with chocolate Swirled with rich mint petals made glorious with wild, worldly vigor Once brimming, free? Replaced by chains precious steel metallic grey Inside this temple Whirling Raging untamed blue grey storm Choppy waves roaring wishing to bash their feeble wooden ship into bits HER FACE MUST BE SYMMETRICAL FLAWLESS HER HEART MUST BE FRIGID SNOW WHITE SKIN CONSTANTLY TIGHT SMOOTH BLOOD-RED LIPS WITH UPTURNED CORNERS MUST SAY TO THE NEW BE THOU PERFECT LET THE BLOOD DRIP INTO PLUMP PERFECTION ALWAYS STARVING AND NEVER SATISFIED BE STILL STATUE HAND THIS KNOWLEDGE DOWN TO THE NEXT GENERATION GIVE HER SONS THEIR WHIPS AND GIVE HER DAUGHTERS THEIR CHAINS
