Human Barbarism

Humans have always been barbaric conquerors. 
Our nature has not changed. 
We merely have twisted our barbarism
Into different guises to make them acceptable
To our times. 

What Beliefs?

If Jesus never came back from the dead
Where would we be now?

What myths do you believe?
What myths do you call religion?

Do you believe only that 
Which this world can prove to you?

Without Worship

You are the god you have always wished to be
But there is no one praying to you
Asking for favor
Sacrificing animals to you
Tearing at their clothes for you
You are a god without people
You are a god without a religion
If no one is there to believe in you
Do you still exist

Messenger of God

No one would believe a messenger of God today.
There have been far too many false prophets
Who were, quite frankly, too damn crazy.

If God were to make a well-known public figure
Her new prophet there would be much skepticism
From the general public and rightly so.

If God were attempting to reach us then perhaps
Sending a prophet is no longer the best way
To send commandments and updates to the most

Recent testament. The Bible could stand to use
An update given the state of the modern world.
The Bible has no firm stance on people who fail

To use their turn signals while changing lanes.
The Bible could, at the very least, have some
updated parables. Perhaps God has given up

On the concept of prophets. Perhaps She is
Reaching us through new means that we have
Yet to acknowledge as such. I can touch you

From a distance when you pull out your phone
And stare at the lit screen. How easy would it be
For God to merely send us a reminder text about

Her infinite and never ending love.

On Sin

You're not a good guy 
for never having sinned
You're just a fool 
for never having lived

What Kind of Honesty Are You Looking For

Sinner in a confessional speaking to a priest
                  Sinner to sinner
Human exchange sanctioned to absolve
The penitent of their burden
One man is vested with the power to absolve
Unknowable amount of sins and secrets
Have been shed in confessionals
For hundreds and hundreds of years
What relief has been found
A human unburdened
Enough strength to carry on
For another day
Another week
Until enough sin burdens
Once again
A self-perpetuating path
Dividing the hemispheres
Of our behaviors

Unite Against the Enemy

Lives fades quicker than horizon light at sunset
Days and decades pass with increased momentum

Patriotic rhetoric is a useless means to endless power
States are nothing more than men and
men die completely and utterly

Our monuments are nothing more than stone
Eroding into sand

We have built a world on colossal hubris

Ignore the folly of a world so utterly bent
on having you sell away this one life

You are my sisters and brothers
Let us stand against those who seek to divide us

La Virgen de Echo Park

I found her in an alley
painted on a dirty wall
with a light
shining upon her.
Her face was of divine
peace and compassion.
I parked my car in front of her-
perhaps - I thought -
that would keep it safe.
I am not religious
or even superstitious
but I was born on her feast day.
It could be mere coincidence
or not
but I acknowledge her
any time we encounter one another.
It couldn't hurt and
there's nothing to lose.

Religious Inquiry

Do God,
the angels and saints
still watch over you
if your faith is shaken?
If you've ceased 
to believe?

In His Image

You can't buy crazy,

you either have it or you don't.

God knew what he was doing.

Every detail of design,

every perfectly placed

beauty mark

and psychic tick

were accounted for

at your creation.

Don't be angry.

We were created

in His image.