M a s c u l i n e

The word some dudes claim came
first. Delved from the plus & minus
system God used to slice
open Himself. Or the smile
of old deacons in the Amen
corner during the part of the Easter Musical
where Mary Magdalene has to clean
the feet of Jesus to beat a stint in Hell. And the malice
in the Angel of Mercy. And the mean
streak in your father's work belt. The gram of vein & muscle
that tipped Babylon's scale.