If everything is right or wrong,
Then nothing will be true.
Should the sky be black or white,
You will not see its blue.
If everyone is good or bad,
You will reject the story.
You’ll look for tales in history books
That tell of your own glory.
If good guys only are one way,
And never are the other,
You’ll think that all they do is pure,
Even as they smother.
If every little thing you do
Can keep you in the right,
Then you will lose reality,
Hidden out of sight.
When working hard means you are good,
You’ll hide your need for rest.
You’ll tell yourself you’re bold and strong,
A nap means laziness.
You do not learn to listen to your
Body’s truths and needs.
Shush its pangs and you repress
Sickness or disease.
When service means a heart of gold,
But nothing more is known,
You give from what you do not have.
Resentment fills your home.
You will not see when someone else
Who serves and loves and cares
Is doing so to look like gold,
Exploiting what you shared.
When there is only one right way
To read the sacred text,
Then you will miss important truths,
Like culture and context.
You'll live your life believing that you
Hold the truest meaning.
When scholars say, "That's not quite it,"
You will not shift your gleaning.
You'll love your doctrine more than you love
Seeking out the truth.
You'll worship graven images that
Keep you in your youth.
When purity means abstinence,
No mention of consent,
You will presume that your assault
Was actually your sin.
You will not see the truth of you. You
Needed to feel safe.
You lock her up and say she’s wrong
To put her in her place.
When choices are just poor or wise,
You’ll miss the truth of pain.
He sent them to the depths of hell,
But victims are to change?
Victim-blaming keeps you feeling
Like you’re in control.
You think you can avoid the pain,
Never vulnerable.
No room for compassion.
No room for what’s real.
A world comprised of dos and don’ts
Is one where no one feels.
The truth is painful after all.
It shows what isn’t “right.”
The way you needed to look good,
The way you held such spite.
The way you needed to feel safe,
Every move a scare.
The way you could not face the harm,
Its truth too hard to bear.
The way the good guys destroy lives,
The friend you love and trust.
You can't see him for who he is,
Your status quo will bust.
The way your people stole the land,
The names, the clothes, the lives.
Your legacy is violence, but you
Wave your flag with pride.
You ban the books and hide the truth.
Your head stays in the sand.
Your precious image to maintain,
You conquer all the land.
“Remove the filth!” from libraries,
Dictating what to do.
“No swears, abuse, or sex scenes!”
As if that isn’t you.
When you believe that you are good,
Then you will seek control.
You’ll force yourself to act as though
Approval is the goal.
Striving for a loud, “Well done!”
Distorts the whole of you.
Your actions will be out of fear,
Not from a place of truth.
You’ll fight away the things that bring
Judgment, shame, or pain,
But what you fight is you yourself,
Keeping her in chains.
Your righteousness becomes your god,
The thing that makes you clean.
When all the while your dragon grows,
Desperate to be seen.
The truth of his proud arrogance,
Malice, greed, and fear
Stays hidden in the shadows
When “good” and “right” seem clear.
Beliefs of inner worthlessness
Will make him want to judge.
He’ll point and shame, condemn and chide
To feel like he’s above.
The dragon builds a la-la land,
A fake reality.
He’ll perch atop a green high horse
So he can claim he’s free.
He'll tell himself that he has worth,
It comes from up above,
While still believing worth is earned.
Authority gives love.
He’ll use his work, his faith, his kids
To show how great he is,
He said the prayer, he chose what’s right.
The Other will not live.
A wrong belief will be the point
That tips the scales to hell.
Rejection, exile, abandonment.
A tyrant casts his spell.
The faithful will still call this love,
When evil is its name.
They twist the meaning of what’s good
To justify the flames.
An easy "Wrong!" keeps you from holding
Any empathy.
It keeps you feeling good about
Superiority.
When you can say, “It’s right or wrong,”
Then you ignore the pain.
You can pretend nuance is gone.
Power isn’t named.
You live in separation,
You apart from you.
Only good or only bad,
Never truly you.
When living as your true whole self,
Two things can be true.
Your worst transgression saved your life.
Death delivered you.
If everything is right or wrong,
Then nothing will be true.
Remove the veil to find the love that
Is the core of you.
