The Gods of An Artificial Religion
i.
They're watching us,
waiting for us to betray ourselves
and show them
where our hollowness lies
so that they might offer us
something to fill
or cure it.
ii.
They stalk us from every angle,
leaping from folds
of our hungry imaginations
like fire orphans seeking combustible fosters
they burn through our temples
learning to play with our subconscious,
exploit our most secret desires
and our most oppressive fears.
iii.
Their covetous tongues
lick the flavor from our faiths,
the color from our flags,
the conviction from our aspirations
so they might sell us convenient imitations.
iv.
Their Gods orbit the Earth,
channeling pop-scriptures
into the sanctuary of our homes
and we prostrate before the pseudo-saints,
the media-ordained angels
that baptize us with shame
and flaunt an ideological perfection
an illusion we can only aspire to.
v.
They exploit our differences
and our human need to belong
so we will quest after a seat
in one of their pigeonholes
where they pass a chalice
filled with their holiest secrets
and most unholy sacraments.
vi.
I’ll not mouth self-depreciating confessions
so that I might be a better slave
to the desperate rituals
that ration what's left of my ego
and my morality
and I will not feed an impotent faith
in bottled miracles
and counterfeit personalities.
viii.
I will not be convinced
to kneel before their alters of shame,
disgraced by my conscience,
embarrassed by my happiness and sadness,
humiliated by my fears,
or reproached for the placement
of my empathy and apathy.
I’ll not ignorantly become a witless disciple,
a marionette reacting to the tactics
of the psychological warfare
that breeds dollars in the pockets
of perceptive predators.
Copyright © Jean Marble | Year Posted 2009
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