He made the church his pigeon
by hoodwinking a few hallelujahs
with a faux born again passing on needles.
Nothing feeds the collection plate
like a lie painted with enough truth
to make the organ play an altar call.
More attention should have been paid
to the serpent in the pulpit, but Eden
needed to be weeded with passing the blame.
Death comes when the hour glass is empty
or sooner if heroin loves an alcohol chaser.
It doesn’t matter if the star was tarnished…
It just matters if the choir can still sing
in the false key of the good old days.
©Susie Clevenger 2016
Mama Zen wanted me to shock her in 77 words or less. I got a bit windy. It was hard to pair down a story (especially a true one) that has so much more to tell. I've got a lot more forgiving to do.
Comments
I love those lines, Susie, "The Devil made me do it." We don't hear that much any more, are the weeds growing back. I know there are a lot of serpents spewing their venom, see them on most every newscast. Flavored with much, much hypocrisy. Especially the "B..."
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Hank
When it comes to religious figures using the faith of their people for gain, I get so angry that I can barely think. We know the world is full of liars. But when they come around pretending to care, it's just too much. Too damn much.