The Feast Of St. Stephen

So ignorance has such a pretty face
It’s so easy to be drawn to such a grace
But the grace & prayers you mumble while you lay prostrate & humble
What are they?
What are the words you’re saying?
What are the games they’re playing
Wipe those tears away

Ask forgiveness for the times you’ve fallen
For the love & lost time that was stolen
For the times that you were never there
The times you left us to our own devices & despair

& you forgive the choir master as if you hadn’t seen
That he had tried to fuck your daughter when she was just 14
Forgiveness doesn’t run two ways
You’re searching the wrong place
For your sins to be
Completely washed away
We know we’re second place to your god & faith
& it was always this way

I know that these words should not be spoken
I know the fifth commandment can’t be broken
I know that you are deaf to my complaints
That it’s an abuse to curse a child with your faith

They have to learn of fire & brimstone
Their mind is full of sin
& they must learn to beg forgiveness before the age of 10
It’s a pitiful disgrace
Christ would turn his face
At this great corruption of his faith

The tiny lies
Vitriol & poison
Manipulation
Betrayed confessions
The endless shame
The twisted fucking games
They’re still the fucking same
& they’ll betray you once again

They will convince you of your guilt
They’ll meet you at the gate
It’ unclear if they’re Orthodox or Uniate
They themselves they couldn’t say
They’re looking the wrong way
Their ignorance is plain
The holming starts again
Thy must take the blame
For their part in the game

& for the untold misery & the pain