Kýrie: a religious petition for mercy.

(A kyrielle which is the present poetry form comes from kyrie and is written in rhyming couplets or quatrains and contains a repeating line or phrase as a refrain.)

They said we had to be covered

the fault lay in the clothes we wore

quietly, we bowed, made no fuss

but they said they did not hear us.

We muttered kyries, we sang the songs

to candle light vigils we thronged

their lust grew like virulent pus

they said that they could not hear us.

Brazen, unabashed we accuse:

You there: men, boys, what’s your excuse?

Why aren’t girls safe? Why the ruckus?

Still they say they cannot hear us.