image from themuslimtimes.org
Sister Wife
“Polygamy is a blessing, not an adversity.”
--Warren Jeffs.
My name is Kathryn. I turn 13 in November. My family, my heritage
is Mormon. I won’t start higher education until next year. I am so
pleased that I began to menstruate last year, & that I have large breasts
for my age. I am an attractive redhead with sparkling green eyes. I do
well with my studies, & have been tested, revealing a high IQ.
My parents have decided, blessings be unto them, that I will soon marry
Craig Knowles, the spiritual Father of our sect. He is 53 years old, &
only has six other wives. The youngest was 12 when she joined the
bonding of his family. It is no secret that He has had his eye on me
since I was 11.
I live on a beautiful 400 acre farm outside of Gunlock, Utah, near the
stunning red canyons in the south. St. George is the largest city close
to us. Craig, & his followers, who consider themselves Mormon
Fundamentalists, banded together & bought this land, which is now
our holy sanctuary.
Craig was excommunicated by the LDS hierarchy more than 20 years
ago. He was righteous & zealous about his faith, & extolled the virtues
of polygamy within his temple, citing that Joseph Smith had 15 wives,
& Brigham Young had over 50 wives. Craig rejected the church’s
official discontinuation of polygamy in 1890, saying it was a hypocritical
smoke screen that allowed Utah to become a state.
I am home schooled, & I have studied our canonized LDS scripture.
My mother made sure that I paid special attention to Doctrine and
Covenant, Section 132, which helped me immensely to understand
& accept my sainted role in the life of our Elect community.
I am not ignorant or coerced. I know that most outsiders frown on
polygamy, are judgmental & ill-informed regarding its positive values.
I feel doubly blessed to have been hand-picked by Craig, our Spiritual
Father. My six future sister wives are already preparing me for the
wedding night & my future obligations. I will become pregnant as soon
as possible, & my love child will join Craig’s fourteen children, helping
to sustain our community & our beliefs. I am happy to be a part of the
more than 30,000 other fundamentalists who openly practice polygamy.
To be a sister
wife, is freedom blossoming
from mutual bliss.
Glenn Buttkus
Posted over on dVerse Poets Pub Poetics
This is quite challenging to think about, because it is so different than the way that I live. I will accept that I would be one wondering about coercion, because it would seem to odd to me to be happy to join a "family" of other wives, knowing we all shared the same husband. You have my head hurting a bit, trying to see from her perspective.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting take on the prompt... Her age makes me cringe for her, and I feel like perhaps there would be a bit of fear mixed in there somewhere, even if her faith made her willing. But it's so hard to judge what it would feel like to grow up in that situation, I think you've offered us a very plausible, poignant possibility.
ReplyDeleteThis has to be quite uncomfortable to write.. to get into the mind of such a young girl who have been fostered into becoming the wife of such a patriarch. The matter-of-fact and the way she accept her fate make this quite chilling actually. But I guess that at least for her now, she feel chosen more than used.
ReplyDeleteGlenn, you certainly did get into the mind of this girl. She did seem to believe what she was doing was a positive thing & consider herself to be a lucky person. Unfortunately she knows no other way, it seems, especially if she was home-schooled to believe this way was right!
ReplyDeleteNow this is one sad, creepy write. But all too true, from their birth these young women in this type of group are indoctrinated and know of no other way. Excellent take on the prompt!
ReplyDeleteGood job. You must have been in touch with your feminine side while writing this one. This reminds me of the tv program "Sister Wives" which I cannot watch. But I also think of the younger girls who are snatched, never to know a decent, normal life, only that of an older man's slave. It's hard to stomach what goes on even as I write this.
ReplyDeleteQuite an excellent job done here considering how challenging the prompt was :D
ReplyDeleteBy making her sound like the situation is reasonable, you perfectly show off why it is ridiculous. Well done. It seems girls will never be fully safe.
ReplyDeleteShe was indoctrinated young and early into the faith, so she will live and espouse the same values and principles ~ I like that you got into her young mind, her acceptance of her life, and its a pity that even though she is bright, her future potential will sadly never come to fruition ~ Good one Glenn, though the topic is very disturbing to read ~
ReplyDeleteinteresting perspective on a rather hidden society. nicely written.
ReplyDeleteNot only did you do a great job of getting into the mind of an almost 13 year old but you illustrated the ways that she had become brainwashed...although she would profess not. But after all she is just a child. It makes me cringe too because this is happening to young girls in our culture and others. Super creepy. Well done, Glenn, you have great talent!
ReplyDeleteCulture a board in this
ReplyDeleteeye and a board
in that eye..
children raised
by computers
and parents
cold faces..
well at least
there are enough
mothers to give Love
to children in this extreme
version of polygamy that
starts at an age close
to puberty.. ugh..
female freedoms
have come a long
way baby.. and
i have to
say as A
6 foot
or so..
234 lb
Blonde
Hair
Lesbian
Living in this
gender bender
theme.. what i
will do if i am
her with those
six other 'sister
wives'.. is find
someNOW in pleasure
with my newly found
wifey friends.. just to
please them.. just to
please them.. as
that is what
Lesbian
empaths..
female
or MALE..
Love to
do the
most
is
just please
in tasteFUL
DELIGHT..
ANYWAY..
no surprise here..
as cutting off the
pleasure parts of
women in FGM.. is
considered the height
of social status in some
countries.. by the women
who get mutilated for
control.. and
the greatest
of all social
animal
instincts
is that of the
social role..
and humans
will do anything
to either fill that
role
or
be
filled by it..
The freedoms people
take for granted here
are sad..
as truly
we are freer
than ever before..
particularly
women
who
bump
and grind
my front with
their rears in
the dance halls
of life without even
asKinG.. they take what
is theIRS.. now.. and after
all of what 'they' have been
through i suppose it is reparations
of sorts.. that i play along with at times..
JusT tO
bE
fAIR..
sMiLes..
Frees Pleasures..:)
Awesome job, getting into the mind of a 13-year old girl and that too living in a society far removed from ours. Very disturbing, the indoctrination and brain-washing. But aren't we all indoctrinated to some extent by society? Only, in this case, it allows 'elders' to prey on little kids in the name of 'religion'.
ReplyDeleteWhat a creative topic! I am fascinated by polygamy, so I found this very intriguing. It just seems unfair to me, unless the chicks get to hook up too. :P It'd sure be nice to have extra pairs of hands to help take care of all the kids, though.
ReplyDeleteI think one could make an argument that everyone's belief system is crazy, depending on one's own perspectives. We're all just trying to do the best we can to make it through the mess, I think. We're all kind of nutty if you think about it. But it makes us feel better about ourselves and our own lives if we point fingers at other people, diagnosing them as the real crazies.
"I have large breasts
for my age. I am an attractive redhead with sparkling green eyes."
I don't think she would say this because I don't think they're supposed to want to be beautiful or attractive in any way. I think they're all supposed to look kind of ugly, actually. You know, homely. At least if they're following the fundamentalist Principle.
I love the way you capitalized the word "He." It really draws out the fact that they see him as a god of sorts.
You can definitely raise your children to believe whatever you want, as long as you can keep them cut off from the rest of the world. She does seem like she's been bred to find contentment and happiness in this lifestyle. But once she starts having those babies, she'll change her tune. (In her head, at least.)
If I had not seen your picture or known the challenge, I would have assumed you were a female writing this. Bravo! Tough topic too.
ReplyDeleteInsightful take.
ReplyDelete