Carol Ann Duffy - Pope Joan lyrics

After I learned to transubstantiate Unleavened bread Into the sacred host And swung the burning frankincense Till blue -green snakes of smoke Coiled round the hem of my robe And swayed through those fervent crowds High up in a papal chair Blessing and blessing the air Nearer to heaven Than cardinals, archbishops, bishops, preists Being Vicar of Rome Having made the Vatican my home Like the best of men In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti amen But twice as virtuous as them I came to believe That I did not believe a word So I tell you now Daughters or brides of the Lord That the closest I felt To the power of God Was the sense of a hand Lifting me, flinging me down Lifting me, flinging me down As my baby pushed out From between my legs Where I lay in the road In my miracle Not a man or a pope at all