...When Merton Wrote -stephanie pope

When Merton wrote of jailed roses
the rusty beauty’s beast in duty
dust and dirty justice
I remembered seeing pictures
of a hunger-stricken womanface
of real women and their real will
to die for a right to the vote

When Merton wrote
of broken blossoms
& nothing shoved in sorry pockets, dainty
again, in 'not guilty'
I re-membered images
of that trial of the century of centuries
in one red voice-making:
innocent, again

When Merton wrote of poor ladies
the ugly ones, the wrong
this erotic pity’s power
I re-membered the brown notes
of a poor lady once kissed for money
& how her images released the skylark
of woman's caged birdsong

When Merton wrote of wrong
& writing without want of kisses
& God, & hell…& dying for 
I realized how much law
can make soooo innocent (again)
& how much lady we sacrifice
to kill the sin   

This poem is based upon There Has To Be A Jail For Ladies,
from Selected Poems of Thomas Merton.