Lika Starr

The Pope’s Penis

It hangs deep in his robes, a delicate
clapper at the center of a bell.
It moves when he moves, a ghostly fish in a
halo of silver seaweed, the hair
swaying in the dark and the heat - and at night
while his eyes sleep, it stands up
in praise of God.

Sharon Olds

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I’m not that much into poetry. But… I ran across this one today while searching for a poem to help a friend out in class. No - I wasn’t looking for ‘penis’ poems. It just happen to be in the top list on this site.

At first read, I laughed and thought this poem was hilarious and purely written for its shock value. It was written by Sharon Olds who is known for her thought-provoking works.

I quickly realized there is a lot more to these words other than the Pope is just a man with a penis. As if that weren’t enough. I mean who runs around thinking about the Pope’s penis. I sure don’t. To realize that he is a man; a man with a penis, not unlike all other men, is probably shocking enough for most folks.

What else could it be? I’ve read comments on other sites saying the poem refers to priests and child molestation. What? Give me a break… That’s not what this about. If it were it would be entitled something like “A Priest And His Penis.” This is the Pope. One who represents all priests and roots of Christianity. To suggest molestation is the meaning behind the words would also suggest the Pope condones such activity. That is just utterly ridiculous.

The meaning is sexual repression in relation to the embodiment of Christianity. Christianity has long used sexuality to confine it’s worldly congregation to the boundaries set from within its religion. To stray from those boundaries would be considered an unholy sin. To be even more simplistic it’s nothing more than a device of control. To instill fear is to gain control. I won’t go into much more detail on this. I don’t want or care to get into a heated argument so I will leave it at that plus one simple summary.

Human sexuality is a fundamental part of all of us - even the Pope (and all Christians). Yet for many because of those religious confinements it is forbidden. It is only in the darkest hours of the night when they are unaware, having no control that nature resumes its intended course. Therefore God and nature being one.

I decided not to include a graphic with this post. To do so would be wrong on so many levels. Instead, I chose to include a video that also has a powerful meaning that transcends it’s words. I hope you enjoy the performance of Forbidden Love by Madonna.

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Lika Starr