In patriarchy

Haiku of the powerless

In patriarchy

women are commodities;

discard when it suits.

They ask, Can a man

lawfully divorce his wife?

How will he answer?

What did Moses say?

A simple certificate

to dismiss will do.

You misogynists!

Because you are hard of heart

Moses gave this law!

In God’s great purpose

two people come together

to be joined as one.

Together as one

in mutual support, love;

marriage is God’s gift.

The twelve gate-keepers

were dismissing the children;

Jesus takes offence.

Let the children come;

the kingdom belongs to them.

They bring God’s blessings.

Powerless children;

by grace alone they receive.

So, too, must you come.

© Ken Rookes 2021

They brought their children

Haiku of blessing

They came to test him,

the Pharisees, loving law;

What about divorce?

For your heart’s hardness,

Moses permitted divorce.

Human brokenness.

Two becoming one:

a generous unity

and image of love

They brought their children

to be embraced by Jesus,

seeking his blessing.

The twelve gatekeepers,

also known as disciples,

spoke sternly to them.

Let them come to me,

said Jesus indignantly,

and do not stop them.

To children like these

the kingdom of God belongs;

enter like a child.

He took the children

into his arms, blessing them,

declaring God’s love.

© Ken Rookes 2018

These men

These men, leaders among their people,

strut their masculine importance

as they confidently command the teacher’s attention.

They put forward their testing question;

it has a decided hint of misogyny,

and more than a suggestion of male power.

Is it OK for a man to remarry

after discarding his woman?

Is it OK to use and abuse,

to beat and mistreat,

and to replace with a younger model,

the old one, when she has become worn and tired?

Your hearts are hard, impervious,

he tells them,

shaped by millennia of patriarchy and law.

But no, it isn’t right

for a man to do so;

nor a woman, for that matter.

Your partnerings are from God.

Your intimate comings together, too,

are precious gifts;

celebrate their blessings

and allow them to flourish.

© Ken Rookes 2015