"Everyone Lies"

She kneels before an all forgiving God   

            a supplicant asking for mercy   

            “Bless us, O Lord, for I have sinned”     

                        sighs through her parted lips       

                                    A conniving bitch   

                                                manipulating   

                                                            to get ahead   

                                                                        to break even   

                                                                                  to fall in love   

            Her hair veils her face   

                        light and shadow finger her expression    

                                    hollow out her downcast eyes   

                                    highlight the planes of her pale cheekbones   

She prays for redemption and the strength to change   

            for God’s hand to guide her onto another path   

                        But people don’t change   

            Her disease seeps into her joints like lupus    

                        spreads through her organs   

                                    invades every cell   

                                                infects her life and world   

            So the tears shed before her Lord   

                        water and nourish nothing   

            Her vows of commitment to convert   

                        remain unheard   

                                    by her God   

For she’s forgotten her Golden Rule—  

                                    Everyone lies   

 

Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman