Jezebel by Tanya Keyser

"Jesus can save you!"
for only a small fee---
they yelled,
surrounded me.
I walked,
faster and faster,
Till the bruises on
my thighs
where you had
touched me
throbbed.
I pushed past the
onlookers, oglers,
perverts---
just.
like.
me.
Jezebel.
They see me for what
I am.
Yes, the know.
I sleep with the man
I love,
even though he
is not
my husband.
They see me.
Jezebel.
For what
I am.
I wipe off their spit
like water.
I walk faster.
My lips tremble
where you kissed me.
"Jesus can save you..."
for only a small fee.
They yell at me.
No, he can't.
The price is far too high.
But maybe,
just maybe,
you can.
Tell me,
if I trip and
fall,
while pushing past the
onlookers, the perverts,
the oglers,
just.
like.
me.
Tell me,
if I trip and fall,
will you be there
to pick me up?