Religion can not make a bad man good
But it can give an excuse for evil deeds
Anyone can be hunted by the righteous
For immoral and dishonest reasons
Places of light fill up with darkness
The savage owl digs its talons in deeper
There is tearing claw scraping bone now
Can you hear it? The screech below the surface
Deuteronomy interwoven with the screech
Compassion sickened by the screech
Acceptance fractured by the screech
Love boiled into steam by the screech
Feel its insidious hold on faith
Its manipulation of decent people
A piece of forbidden knowledge
Known only to the nonbelievers
The Tree of Knowledge grows fat
From its rotted and bloated fruit
Worm-infested apples dropping
Like carpet bombs, exploding in Eden
Can you hear it? It’s always there
This is the screech, caressing you
Saying that you’re seeing
A man of God
Not Satan in his Sunday best
How did we become so lost?
We have lost the message
Now when we hear the screech
We see it as divine prophecy
There is no good left, just a mask
For the maggots to slither inside
Lay their eggs in the eyeholes
Send their grubs out to infest more
Religion can not make a good man bad
But it can twist his thoughts to make
Evil far more palatable, it can poison his
Ears with the screech and can ruin him
Do not look for good in the external
Stuff your ears with cotton
Hold your breath
Dive into yourself
There are depths there
There is clarity there
There is truth there
There you are
When you resurface,
You bring God with you
Fresh from the clay
Molded from the depths
Take God and carry them
Cradle their trembling body
Protect them with your heart-cage
For God will tell you who you are
Religion does not make you good or bad
It just enhances whatever lurks in you
Screech or Salvation?
Let’s find out.
Poetry Overdose 