the message

jesus first met humanity
in a womb
and i think there’s a
message in that

 
a herald for the ages
listen up
you people
hope is born from woman
and god is born from girl
and neither
hope
nor
god
could live apart from her
i think there’s a message
in a salvation
that comes from birth
from mess and blood and sweat

a message
about a deity
drunk off of milk
and swaddled by a mother
welcomed by screaming
into the waiting hands of
strong women
aiding a sister in labor

 
there must be a message
lost to the ones who wrote it
or hidden by the men who heard it
a message that says
hark
god comes softly
strongly
fiercely
sacredly
exclusively
through the she

 
jesus met humanity
in a womb
jesus left humanity
on a cross
and the one constant
in life and death
was his proximity to the women
who loved him

 
there’s a message
here
maybe sung by angels
that speaks of a feminine god
more comfortable with
the blood of birth
than the blood of
war
more comfortable with
labors of love
and the pronoun her

 
a message
distorted by the hands
of men
afraid to lose control
molded by the sermons of
them
obsessed with proper roles

 
and i can’t say for sure
but i feel pretty confident
that the birth
speaks louder
than the cross

i think there’s a message
in that too
good news
and all that

 
because a god that is born
out of a woman
is not a god that will leave her
behind

hopefully
maybe
i think

Kaitlin Shetler, 25/12/21