she said three in a row,
          breathing as labored as the construction worker chasing her
       he swore she was dead meat, but
               she told him she’d keep your word,
                 “I didn’t see anything!”

  mother of god, where were you now?
      why couldn’t you teach your sons to behave
    why must women pay the price
               for the ways of man?

            where was your spirit now,
         as he screamed at her back
                footsteps pounding the pavement –
            “get back here, mary!”
   but oh, on the contrary
                      she was getting out of there

          a holy hoax, only alleyways and trash bins greeted her
   waiting to witness another dispute
                 another call
              another scream

                        you said more than three hail marys this time
                  the sixth one turned into a marigold
                             and she saw things from 30000 feet
                        life was strange, but so was flying
                 and though she was a pure soul, you can imagine
                                     the hell that reigned down afterward
                        was nothing short of a holy war

           what else does one do when a man kills your mother?