a poem of regret

The Pope

the pope has come...
and gone
and left a legacy of
disappointment
sadness
anger
and pain

for those who suffered
at his brothers hands
knowingly
oh yes
knowingly

we know

those of us betrayed
forsaken
forgotten
and
still alive

we know too well
that his brothers
failed  to protect us
failed to shelter us
failed to nurture our
spirit
our lives
our minds
our bodies
and our souls

for this Big brother is responsible
no yellow and white waving flags
of squealing children
grown ups
teenagers or priests
with joy and delight
can hide the hurt we feel

whenever a smile we saw
we remembered the pain
for every flag we saw
we cringed
at the hypocrisy
of faithful people
who shouted at us
roard at us
jossled us
harranged us
and vilified us

as we gathered together as survivors
as sisters and brothers of a family
of hurt people
just to ask
the pope

why come
at all?