I was raised Catholic
In a world of Eucharist
And the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
Baptized before I could remember
Given a white dress in the second grade
To receive a piece of a man I didn’t understand.
Sunday school used to give me headaches
Too stressed to admit I didn’t believe
Too scared to see through the lies.
The day I walked out forever
I was told my birth control was abortion.
A man told a room full of fourteen year olds
That his girlfriend killed their unborn child.
As if he had the right to force a woman
To put her body through something
She couldn’t handle.
Religion has become less about love
And more about guilt.
Children are hiding parts of themselves
Because people tell them they are sins.
Priests speak with razors that cut
And we are the ones left bleeding
I see God’s light as a flashlight
As priests and preachers torture out my sins
I may not believe in God
But I believe in people
And I need to know if
Religion will ever be a good thing.
-JE