Little brown boys in knee pants

Single file.
Marching forward in reverence and godfear.
Genuflect on left knee.

File in and sit in wooden pews.
Whispering hope resounds irreverently.
on hallowed walls

each word an affront to god.
How do I know?
The sisters told us so.

every Friday. " bless me father for I have sinned"
seven year old. " really".

Crucified idol nailed to a cross.
Kneeling on knobby knees.
conjuring sins.

Ten our fathers and ten hail marys.
neutered males living in denial.
concealed desires cloaked in a Cossack.

cloistered women.
hiding in a habit.

who is ******* whom.

I was ten and the birds and bees
cows and horses, Friends and neighbors
unpulled the wool .

Had to scratch my head a lot
in those formative years.

The Vatican?
First world power.
Inquisitor's tower.

O.K. burn me at the stake.
Heretic.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.?

No. Divinity has a window.
but small.