She came to Rome to learn to kneel
They taught her not to trust what’s real
A child draws what she used to see
Two lives kept under lock and key
Blue sequins catch the dance-floor light
One kiss, a missing piece of night
They dress their fear in holy white
They need the dark to sell the light
Deliver us evil
Till the empty pews fill
They needed a devil
So they bent her to their will
Deliver us evil
Cut her open, call it grace
They needed a devil
With a newborn baby’s face
A missing picture in the file
They knew her face, they watched her smile
The child’s mouth hides the number there
The novice bears it beneath her hair
The prayers that taught her head to bow
Are hands that hold her body now
They dress their fear in holy white
They need the dark to sell the light
Deliver us evil
Till the empty pews fill
They needed a devil
So they bent her to their will
Deliver us evil
Cut her open, call it grace
They needed a devil
With a newborn baby’s face
One name; files piled
Child after child
Three sixes, hidden from sight
Blue dress; a hole in the night
THEY PRAISE THE BOY
THEY HOLD HER STILL
HER BODY; THEIR WILL
THEY BRED THE THREAT
SHE PAYS THE DEBT
Deliver us evil
Cut her open, call it grace
They needed a devil
With a newborn baby’s face