soul

by

barabbas …

murderous traitor
count the dead in this nation
how can anyone
that claims that there is a god
crucify the innocent
instead of the beast
do they long to bathe in blood
that of our children
or of those too poor to beg
for their god’s mercy
are silver coins of greed’s realm
worth denying sacred words
will the holy bed
be soiled with the putrid
lies of one man’s lust
or will the faithful remove
each bloody nail from faith’s hands

 

by

the book of dying 2:10…

without a soul nothing is important
destroying the environment pays good dividends
death of others creatures of earth
man or beast matters so little

 

by

wearer beware…

there were
oceans
of
dreams
spilling over
my
youthful hours
hours
spent
naively blind
to
to my own
history
and
constrained beliefs
that
social propaganda
applied
to
my
thinking
webs
of
lies
spun
into
history books
and
daily routines
webs
of
deceit
molded
into
invisible
leg irons
lighter
than
air
so
we wearers
were
unaware
of
their presence
but
they
have been
far
more
confining
than
those cast
of
iron
for
if one
controls
the soul
then
there is
no
escape

 

by

prayer or staged devotion…

after so much
dialogue
about prayer
this
past week
i was wondering
what
aunt bea
thought
about
all this
public
combat
on
religious observances
so
i stopped by
on
my way home
from
work
she said
public prayer
lets folks
know
you
have something
in
common
with them
or
serves
as
a
how great i art
vulgar
marketing ploy
but
private prayer
lets you
have
an uninterrupted conversation
with
the divine
it makes
folks
feel
better
to
have expressed
what
is already known
one thing’s for sure
prayer
for
power
is not
the same
as
the
power
of
prayer

 

by

tachypsychia…

did you know
that
blood
on
cold pavement
exhales
a
mist
as if
a
soul
is
departing
the
scene
sears
into the mind
like
acid
unforgettable
no
matter
how hard
you
try
that
body
that
soul
lies
before you
on
black pavement
as
you
await
the
ambulance
it’s
in those moments
that
death
becomes real
altering
the course
of
your thoughts
on
the
permanency
of
anything

 

by

an easter query…

crossing
the railroad tracks
the pastor
arrived
at
an old
post-war bungalow
residence
of
miss maybel
who
in her prime
was
much sought after
by
a number
of
the town’s
most
charming
and
handsome
men
of
color
but
she had said
no
to all
saying
i’ve fought
for
women’s rights
civil rights
and
looked after
white folks’ homes
and
their children
so
i don’t
have time
or
energy
to look after
anyone else
but
myself
age
took her suitors
some
time ago
as well as
most
of
her women friends
she didn’t make it to
good friday service
so
pastor
decided to stop by
she didn’t
answer
the door
but
it was open
calling in
he thought
he heard her
so
he entered
pale
sitting
in a chair
was maybel
death
even makes
a man of god
stop and evaluate
life
but
he quickly
resumed his role
and
asked
if she
was ready
to meet
her maker
with
her last
inaudible
breath
she answered

 

by

when the service ends…

 

the police report
noted the beast was concealed
surprised witnesses
claim worship was quite normal
but just outside the entry
faith’s face was strewn on the ground