Woman

My Lord,
throughout centuries,
man built prisons around woman
in many countries
and even counted her
a slave or inferior
or equal to a rib.

Man exploited her beauty,
her motherhood,
and made her the slave
of his home
or the victim
of his lust
and kept her
in the darkness
of ignorance.

Many, many heroic women
were able to destroy
such chains,
and gain freedom of speech,
freedom of labor,
freedom to serve and to learn
in any field
of human endeavor.

They were able to demonstrate
their talents in all fields,
thus enriching the treasure of our life
without violating
the sacred duties
of their motherhood.

But some women
managed to escape
not only from their prisons
but also from
their duties and responsibilities.

To escape from
God-given responsibilities and duties
does not mean
to achieve freedom.

Some children are left
to prepare their own breakfast,
to dress themselves
and go to school...
and come back
to no daddy or mommy.

They have fun:
fun of drugs,
fun of sex, or
fun of crimes.
Or they put a pillow
under their heads
and watch violent or demoralizing
television shows.

Often they fall asleep
carrying all this trash
through their dreams
until their mommy,
who gained her freedom,
comes home
smelling of alcohol
and tobacco,
throws a blanket over them,
and goes to sleep.

I am not exaggerating, Lord.
I saw it with my own eyes,
and someone told me
she was a leader
in Women’s Liberation.

Isn’t it true
that we cannot achieve freedom
by violating our real duties
and responsibilities?

And all of these problems,
O Lord,
increase day and night
because of our many
corrupted TV programs,
movies, and
base literature.

Through them we learn
how to steal,
how to kill,
how to destroy,
how to hate,
how to take revenge,
and how to involve ourselves in sex
before Nature makes us ready.

And there is no force
that can prevent
the preachers of crime
from demonstrating their techniques
in films
or dramatizing them
on radio.

And You know, my Lord,
this is all done
in the name of freedom
and culture
and a big income.

Don’t You think
that man is his own
deceiver?


-Torkom Saraydarian
Dialogue with Christ