Women: Room at the Cross
There was room at the cross/
For everyone/
But death permeated the air/
And the police state/
Watched/
Took note/
And it was the women defied fear/
Love made brave/
Or beyond brave/
In the land that is liminal/
Some say thin/
The place where God is as close/
As the next breath/
The vein in the dear neck/
The searing agony of grinding bone/
The flow of tears/
Soon women will give birth and/
Stride to face the lions/
in another arena of state execution/
Lay heads on blocks/
Be burned alive/
For this/
Soon women will deliver and expound/ apostles letters to congregations in Rome/
soon women will lead their households/
to be baptized/
Soon women will plant churches/
Soon women will empty convents/
create safe havens for reformed and/ reforming lives/
Soon women will open more and more/ room at the cross/
But never be honored/
In precious memory/
Except as nameless/
erased from memory/
Labeled harlots/
And yet they stood/
Witness/
And so/
Today/
Do we/