amy grace mcallister

#poemsfortheresistance

amy grace mcallister 
was the preacher’s pride and joy.
she paid attention every sunday 
even better than the boys.
and when her daddy praised her
she didn’t know the toll
of a life lived ignoring
the very stirring in her soul. 

she wore her shorts down to her knees
and her dresses flowing wide
and when she put on makeup
it wasn’t out of pride.
amy grace mcallister 
was chaste as chaste could be,
offering god her body 
as an act of charity.

when amy grace turned fourteen,
her world began to shift.
she met rose parker at the mall 
and her eyes began to drift.
they played games and gossiped,
like all children do,
but something deep inside her 
turned her thoughts real blue.

amy grace mcallister 
went back to church that night. 
she smiled while her daddy
got up to preach the light,
but a twisting of her stomach 
set her on the very edge.
her pen took on a shudder
as she signed his purity pledge:

i am amy grace, the preacher’s daughter 
and to god i will be true.
i’ll dunk myself in holy water 
and make my soul brand new.
and when a boy tries to touch 
i’ll keep myself real clean 
i’ll be the virgin mary,
the perfect figurine.

the congregation clapped their hands
her daddy seemed real pleased.
and amy sat beside her friends, 
while something in her seized.
it was ugly.
it was rotten.
it was absolutely deviant.
so amy stuffed it down real deep
and tried to be obedient.

rose parker was a dangerous friend,
amy knew this well.
she was the devil in disguise,
dragging her to hell.
so amy prayed real hard one day,
and texted rose a verse:
“no i can’t come out to play
you’ll just make it worse.”

amy grace turned eighteen,
on november twenty-third.
four years had passed since the day 
rose parker heard her word.
she looked her up—a passing thought 
of friendship that had wilted,
and instead of feeling wistful,
her world became real tilted:

“rose parker won a scholarship 
for queer achieving youth.
she will graduate with honors
and is pleased to live her truth.
she thanks her mom and 
her aunt
for showing her that love
doesn’t have to look the same 
as lies that people shove.
and she is very happy 
with her overflowing life
she hopes that one day she will find
a just-as-happy wife.”

amy grace mcallister 
left the site on read,
a stone sunk in her body 
her thoughts filled up with dread.
“my dear, are you ready?”
her daddy knocked real loud,
and amy grace tried breathing 
her confusion like a cloud.

“one minute, sir,”
her strangled voice 
called out to him that day,
and amy grace mcallister 
stood up with a sway.

she smiled at the crowd 
as her dad held up her arm,
and with a nod, and then a kiss,
he read to her alarm:
“dearly beloved today we’re here
to do what is right,
my daughter amy grace, 
has given us a fright. 

these past four years
she tried to follow 
all god’s rules for her
but sin comes knocking 
like a wolf 
so it’s our job to deter.

today we marry amy grace
and our youth minister, reid.
i know he’s twelve years older
but she’s pregnant with his seed.

he made mistakes 
but it’s ok,
because now he’s making it right. 
so turn around and take his hand,
and kiss your shining knight.” 

rose parker turned thirty 
on friday, june the first.
she was teaching music theory 
when her water, it did burst.

she called her wife 
and then her mom
and took a taxi to the clinic 
she breathed through a contraction,
and cursed them like a cynic.

as they wheeled her to her room  
she looked above her bed,
and frowned in question at the plaque
hanging overhead.

“what’s that,” she asked,
and pointed up.
her nurse let out a hum,
“oh just a dedication
to a former mum.
she died last year, 
i’m sad to say,
her church was really rocked.
her husband had been hurting her,
her father was quite shocked.”

rose sat back
lost in thought 
as people whirled around.
she kissed her fingers 
to her heart
and said with a frown,
“amy grace mcallister 
i’m so sorry that you died.
i hope that you are happy now,
and free from all their lies.” 

two days later, rose parker left
with a baby in her arms
her wife was by her side that day
protecting her from harm,

for a church had taken notice
of the couple giving birth
and they were on the sidewalk,
questioning their worth:

“repent o sinner,”
“give him up”
“stop living for satan”
their chants took on a sinister tone
“what’s crooked will be straightened.”

the preacher stepped up to rose
and she looked him in the eye,
and all she felt was pity 
for the man whose daughter died.

“you’re in the wrong
and god will judge,
your love is just pretend, 
your baby will grow up a freak
and you will meet your end”

he spit and spat and yelled a curse
but rose kept her head,
and when she sat in her car,
this is what she said 

“i met amy grace mcallister 
when i was just fourteen. 
she had the kindest spirit 
that i’d ever seen.
and if you want to know 
what love looks like when it’s fake,
find a mirror and reflect,
you’re nothing but a snake.” 

rose raised her son for many years 
and was buried in the woods, 
and to this day, the legends sing,
of her many goods.

the story of amy grace however
ended rather sad
but still a lesson should be learned 
about what we label bad:

for love is not 
a list of things 
to make a god approve
but it’s a bearing of one’s soul and heart,
speaking its own truth.

#poemsfortheresistance