(a carnal exegesis of Leviticus 18:19 and John 10:34.)

Somewhere a priest warned:
sex with a bleeding woman
is not to be done.

But we did it and God!
I was covered with your blood.
Your life juices shone crimson
as I withdrew
and plunged again.

Now I know why that wise Levite said no.
Blood is life and life is God's.
Holy. Holy. Holy.

How dare we plunge together
in your sacred and bloody arena?
Who but gods dare enter and leave?
Who are we to so blaspheme?

Who, indeed, to trample the law
and defy God's priest?
"We are gods," I say, trembling,
echoing the great blasphemer.

Tom Keene
1978