On a Sunday after
a Sermon
Janet Kuypers
7/31/22
On a Sunday after a sermon,
Services in some small town
(wait, the town’s not that small,
maybe it’s just small-minded)...
Overheard conversations
From three men in a
Restaurant, after they
Attended church.
Went something like this:
“I personally believe
Women are not as strong
Or intelligent as men.
Some women may appear intelligent.
Take Marie Curie as an example.
She seems smart
Because she is said
To have discovered Radium,
But really
She relied on her husband Philip
And took the credit from him.”
This church-going man
From that somehow-small town
Also said something
About the French
Not being that smart either.
Fuming in my seat,
I wanted to be able
To strut over to his booth with,
Her husband’s name was Pierre
(and if it were Philip it would have been Phillipe),
But he helped her,
The women who worked with Einstein,
And after her husband died
She took over his professorship
While still doing her work.
She’s the one with the Nobel Prize
Who moved to France to work
(and the element she discovered
Is named after her home country)—
And this is when I remembered
What a futile point it was
To ever use reason or logic
When religious men have sexism on their side.
They’ve already made their closed minds up.
What Good would showing them the truth do.
#
Saying the French aren’t that smart
Doesn’t help this ignorant man’s arguments
When Marie Curie wasn’t even French —
But at least the French are smart enough
To strengthen women’s reproductive rights choices
After said religiously-inclined men
Where this ignorant man is from
Opted to take those rights away from women
After the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
#
This is the battle every being faces now,
Siding with reason and logic and common sense
Versus siding with a sexist religious dogma.
And it might be tough,
When you’re raised to believe in a god
And your intellect pushes the boundaries
Of your religious faith.
But as I said, this is the battle
When religiously stunted, small-minded men
Never check their premises
And decide to live on unfounded conclusions,
Choosing to ignore the truth.
#
These are the moments
I hold my head in my hands
And try to brainstorm
Over what my options are.
I understand that in this nation
We can’t expect to be given
Rights unearned
(life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
means we can work to earn what we deserve,
not to receive unearned gifts on a silver platter)
But after we’re had rights,
That doesn’t mean
Rights should be taken away.
When religious leaders
Beyond my control
Change the laws,
This is why I hold my head
In my hands, while I still can,
To try to think my way out of this.
(once again, check your premises,
women do have the brains for this...)
For it is now when I feel
That as they take more rights
From over half the country,
That metaphorically,
My hands are tied
Behind my back.
I’m just wondering
If they’re going to offer
To place a cigarette in my mouth
And light it
Before the firing squad
Comes in
And takes aim.
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