Two Elephants From One List

Elephants and Madness

I won’t apologize for

addressing the elephant

in the room.

In all the begats I chewed through in the book

of misogyny I never found a woman who was

assigned any title above a breeding cow or criminal

with curves that forced men to think with their genitals.

In the time of erasers, I threaten masculinity 

by my rashness to denounce the red apron

of submission and speak in full sentences

that indicate I have read books banned as feminist. 

My madness is mine…It grows and prospers…

I come from a river of poets who swim

in dreams, ink rafts from visions, and aren’t

afraid they’ll drown if rejection pulls them into rapids.

©Susie Clevenger 2025

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Elephants With Forks

Elephants climb into a rowboat

as if they won’t drown from

the weight of their ambiguity.

Oh, they don’t fool me.

I’ve read a history book,

ate from a liar’s wooden spoon,

and dressed in wool spun from a pulpit.

It is hard to admit I fell for the begats,

trekked through Leviticus, and waded

through revivals carrying coins to lay

at the feet of manipulators.

I’m surprised I survived my chain

of not worthy with any faith, but

once I got off the roller coaster

of the bible brand of the south, I was

bold enough to journey to healing. 

There’s so many why’s in me and yet

there are a few answers why I drank

from a cup that took me where

I should never have gone.

Two little girls, an empty cupboard,

and a promise there would be food

if my husband and I followed

the fork without questioning 

where it led. 

©Susie Clevenger 2025

Disclaimer: These poems are written from my experience

as a Southern Baptist for over twenty years. Everyone has the right

to their religion and faith or the right to have neither. I am a survivor

of indoctrination and the depression that came with it. 

Shay's Word Garden Word List ~ Anne Sexton