Abuse

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"