The Feast Of St. Stephen

Matt Elliott

Compositor: Matt Elliott

So ignorance has such a pretty face
It’s so easy to be drawn to such a grace
But the grace and prayers you mumble
While you lay prostrate and humble
What are they?
What are the words you’re saying?
What are the games they’re playing
Wipe those tears away

Ask forgiveness for the times you’ve fallen
For the love and lost time that was stolen
For the times that you were never there
The times you left us to our own devices and despair

And you forgive the choir master as if you hadn’t seen
That he had tried to fuck your daughter when she was just 14
Forgiveness doesn’t run two ways
You’re searching the wrong place
For your sins to be
Completely washed away
We know we’re second place to your God and faith
And it was always this way

I know that these words should not be spoken
I know the fifth commandment can’t be broken
I know that you are deaf to my complaints
That it’s an abuse to curse a child with your faith

They have to learn of fire and brimstone
Their mind is full of sin
And they must learn to beg forgiveness before the age of 10
It’s a pitiful disgrace
Christ would turn his face
From this great corruption of His faith

The tiny lies
Vitriol and poison
Manipulation
Betrayed confessions
The endless shame
The twisted fucking games
They’re still the fucking same
And they will betray you once again

They will convince you of your guilt
They’ll meet you at the gate
It’s unclear if they’re Orthodox or if they're Uniate
They themselves they couldn’t say
They’re looking the wrong way
Their ignorance is plain
The holming starts again
Thy must take the blame
For their part in the game
And for the untold, misery and the pain