Ode For Two Pharisees

A narrative poem, contrasting the respectable and religious persona of the writer’s mother-in-law with her early life of immoral and pious ways, contrasting her piety and sin.

My late mother-in-law was a fisher from Arklow,

Back in her teens, she was quite the dish too,

Sundays, the holy day, knelt for her regular communion,

Week nights, she perpetrated in an adulterous sexual coition.

Alas her beau, split and ran like a slithery scad,

Once knocked up, he fled, never wanted to be a dad.

It was mid-century, mid-July, on a warm summer's day,

Gave birth to your daughter, then swiftly gave her away!

Such reprehensible harm youz caused, a legacy that's outlived ye,

Libertines both, each a true archetypal, duplicitous pharisee.

Author's Note

She lived during a time in Ireland when society was dominated by male religious and political dogma that exerted a great deal of influence and cruel harshness on it’s citizens, of which the ramifications are still felt today. The "beau" completely abandoned this young woman and new mother, leaving her to deal with her life alone. He remained anonymous and invisible, concealing his true identity while adhering to his social rank and privacy restrictions.