She came forward
teary-eyed
I saw fear
I was a figure of authority
"representative of God"
"taboo" subject
shamed, manipulated
weighed down by distortion
work harder
she failed
she was judged as unwilling
she tried harder and harder
more,more,more
Finally, exhausted
grace was lost
Poet's note: This found poem was created from the introduction by David Johnson, one of the authors of "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse: Recognizing and Escaping Spiritual Manipulation and False Spiritual Authority Within the Church"
