Delusions of divinity

Purusha, holy primeval being -

Is it true that you 

fashioned my brothers

from your divine mouth, 

and us from your miry feet? 

Is that why they

are the gatekeepers

of the sacred and ideal, 

and we the lowly serfs

hopelessly jostling 

into the Elysian Fields? 

Nü Wa, goddess of humanity - 

Is it true that 

you handcrafted

my brothers from 

fine golden dust, 

but kneaded us 

haphazardly from 

brown vestigial sludge? 

Is that why 

they flay our 

misshapen bodies

with their gilded tongues, 

and pound our faces 

into the mud? 

Yahweh, alpha and omega - 

Is it true that you 

gave my brothers

dominion over the Earth 

and household, 

but created us 

as second-hand helpers

to be bought and sold? 

Is that why 

when they raped us, 

we were merely 

the defiled goods 

of our fathers, 

decreed to wed 

our desecrators?

I have worshipped you 

with my whole existence, 

but now I wonder

if you are a figment

of imagination; 

A collective delusion 

spawned by men in power 

to sanctify oppression.

Yes I am the sinner 

who sunk my teeth

into the fruit of the snake,

in a world where 

ignorance is sacred,

& enlightenment is 

profane. 

& if the Demiurge 

is as true 

as the legends of old,

then surely we are 

children of lesser gods,

truth be told. 

So blessed are the heretics,

for they shall overthrow 

the kingdom of tyranny

masquerading as heaven.

 

Blessed are you 

Sophia, goddess of wisdom,

History has fought hard 

to erase you, 

but you have torn the veil 

& awoken. 

{Poem written for International Women’s Day, 2021}

Artworks by Alexandra Gallagher