Rose

She dreams of being treated like a queen

She wants to be known

Wants to be seen…as a human being

She longs to be treasured

Not measured on her features and appearance

She knows she’s meant to be more

Than an object of lust

For men who leer

It makes her flesh crawl

Every time they get near her

But the reality is

That it’s all she’s ever known

Papa was a rolling stone

And when he was home

He was a boulder of destruction

Tearin’ up the house in a drunken rage

And hittin’ her and mama in the face

For missing a simple instruction –

While he’s still cussin’, still fussin’

It was disgusting…

She had to get away

But in her haste to find safety

She started looking for love

In all of the wrong places

Many a days wasted

On suitors that shouldn’t suit her

Because all they wanted to do

Was use her up, then lose her

Sugar, spice and everything nice

Is replaced by sex, deceit, and deadly vices

To those who know her

She’s a rose of a different kind

Not altogether lovely

But fine enough for a good time

And her new man don’t mind sharin’

“‘Cause I bet those dudes will pay top dollar

As hard as they be starin’”

Now she’s out there as eye candy

As her reality sours

The breath of strange men heat up her neck

And she’s getting paid by the hour

She’s been rejected so long

That she resolves to accept it

Believing that it’s better

To play by her own rules

Than to go through life dejected

She says, “The situation is screwed up

And since no one else seems to give a f---

I’m gonna make the most

Out of my station in life;

Make some money and get high – bottoms up”

Truth is she’s feeling stuck

And her identity is in shambles

A rose that’s lost her petals

Instead of a lily among the brambles

Built for love and dominion

But worn down by others’ opinions

She fails to receive the mantle

For which she was attentively intended

New day, new city

While the nights all look the same

And she cries herself to sleep

Because the showers can’t remove the shame

My sister, you are more than the sum of your deeds

Don’t listen to the deceivers

You’re more than just a perverted history

Of a long line of leavers

You were created with dignity and purpose

For a lover who sticks closer than a brother

He wants nothin’ but the rose

And gave it all to show that you’re worth it

(cf. John 8:1-11)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon