Jim Karczewski / Post-Tribune

Charles R. Strietelmeier, author of Singing Flames and Gargoyles, is a retired Lutheran pastor.

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Mad Donna

by Charles R. Strietelmeier 02-24-2023
A poem.
A vibrant illustration of Mary in a hood holding baby Jesus in tones of violent, blue, orange, and red. A glowing halo surrounds her as she closes her eyes.

Illustration by Ryan McQuade

Compulsively larger than life,
mom swaggered out loud.
Her eyes you could get lost in,
and they gripped like a drug.
The Virgin Mary twerking in a thong,
always herself but never the same,
never quite right
but never completely wrong,
she made me feel proud
and destroyed me with shame.