pinball wizard…

standing before the pews
with both hands
on the altar
he raises his hands
in the air
and begins to work
the religious flippers
bringing tears of joy
and witnesses galore
as his words pinball
through the well dressed
congregation of brothers and sisters
the amens and hallelujahs
are punctuated
with chords of music
from the choir
like the bells and whistles
of a game machine
and the parishioners light up
as they hear what god
has in store for them
but the pastor hits tilt
when he mentions
one of
their
sins