And One Another
The eternal hell we feared
is here
That lake of fire that burns within
tears of rage sop pillows,
fill palms.
They taught us that hell
was reserved for the hereafter,
was reserved for those who denied
Creator.
They lied
They are lying, still.
They pimp out God
like a Friday night whore
Evoking God’s name
to pleasure themselves
As they mockingly
burn this country down.
This America,
for whom, better men died.
Women, too.
They evoked God’s name
when they needed
somebody else’s sons,
someone else’s daughters,
to bleed out on foreign shores.
Immigrant sons
Immigrant daughters,
you go, they said,
Go earn your citizenship.
But coffins are returned without a flag,
Ragged N-400s tossed into
the fires of promises made
and broken.
They lie
without remorse
Brazenly
without hesitation
The pompous
The entitled
The self-righteous
Rapists
In-the-making.
They evoke God’s name
as they fuck women
their granddaughter’s ages
in the public square.
Their laughter
fueling the flames
that burn within
US
Hell, they said,
was for the hereafter
for those who denied
Creator
They lied
They are lying, still.
Hell is the betrayal of God
and One Another
Hell is the exploitation of God
and One Another
Hell is the mocking of God
and One Another.
We make the world our hell, Wilde said.
Sometimes, tho,
like now,
wealthy white men
make it so
for the rest of
US.
Karen Spears Zacharias is author of CHRISTIAN BEND (A Novel, Mercer Univ. Press).
3 Comments
Barbara Windmoller
about 6 years agoKaren, once again you've expressed the world's problems so eloquently. Never stop sharing your thoughts and words. The world's a better place because of you.
Karen Spears Zacharias
about 6 years agoThank you, Barbara. I wish I could pull all the hurting people into a warm embrace and reassure them that this too will pass. It will. These men will die. Their legacies will continue to haunt us, but one day, very soon, they will pass.
AF Roger
about 6 years agoIt comes down to white evangelical women and how they vote in November and in every election following. What we saw yesterday was the raging of white Christian men and a godless president cheering them on as we systematically walk backward from caring for the creation on which all God-created life depends. Our household has suffered worse than Dr. Ford at the hands of privileged men who saw human pillage as their birthright. What we saw yesterday is the failure of white Christian men to lead, a so-oft repeated performance that we barely notice and accept it as normal. They are one reason why my survivor daughter will pray with me but not go near one of their churches. These men will not change or yield. So it's up to the women. Ladies, I am ready for you to move forward as the women at Jeff Flake's Senate elevator did. There is truth to be uncovered. May we be rightly judged if we fail to do so.