Before, Remember

Before you turn those sacred pages, And corner me to a sinner's numbness, And strike the balances as raged sages, Remember I have touched holiness. Before you strike similes with a smile, And make prayers as heavy perfumed incense, And speak of heavens - me, you don't beguile, Remember my spirit can discern pretense. Before you speak of gods and goddesses, And talk of the only One, High and Mighty, Then why each belief has created wars and curses, Remember until now, I see only religiosity. Before you spew fire and brimstone, And sublimate things that none have seen, Drag me not into quagmires - for I know a cornerstone, That treated a harlot like a queen. Before you point fingers and whip tongue-slander, And to the poor, you look down and frown, And speak of blessings and fortune's favor, Remember hunger blesses and sleep is a crown. Before you equate prosperity with sanctity, "On these fleeting faces, oh what a disgrace!", The eye of the needle permits sacrosanctity, Remember the flower vanishes without a trace. Before boast becomes a subject of privilege, And places of worship become a high lifted banner, As the knee bends and hands fold, forgo deep sacrilege, Remember honied duplicity is for the fire.