Artwork © Destiny Hankerson

 

longer than the bible

my rainbow heart
doesn’t harm anyone,
nor would me kissing
a woman destroy the world;

i don’t see why it matters
who i marry as long as we
treat each other with mutual
respect and love—

marriage has been around
longer than the bible,

so don’t act as if the sacred
text you like to cherry pick
verses from is a binding contract
everyone must abide by;

so many mistranslated voices
and books by the women
erased in entirety—

they have decided which wisdom
to deem basic instructions before
leaving earth,
and quite honestly i am above basic;

i have a degree in english-literature
and i can tell you even myths
have different versions—

but let’s say it was all one version,
you all seem to forget that the
bible says the greatest commandment
is love;
yet i don’t see any love in these modern
christians—only hate and rage.

 

Linda M. Crate (she/her) is a Pennsylvanian writer whose poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has seventeen published chapbooks the latest being: only the future knows (Alien Buddha Press, November 2025). Something I am proud of is having the unflinching bravery of always being the weird girl ever since I was a child.

Destiny Hankerson is an athlete and artist, whose work spans across multiple genres and mediums. Her pronouns are usually she/her, although she is also fine with they/them. She uses imagination and creativity to inspire people, awakening them to new ways of seeing the world.

Destiny believes that thinking and creating outside the box is a way to free yourself. Some of her unique work has been published in Pen to Print’s “Write On!” magazine, The Academy of the Heart and Mind, and her own independent projects.