in the glow of other gods

by John Sweet

 

this smooth warmth like

eggs left in sunlight

 

this sunlight warm like bodies

bloated along the river’s edge

 

like the ones that choke it,

five thousand or more, and the

priests with their bulldozers,

always on the side of justice

 

the women screaming, or the children,

as the doors of the church are

barricaded

 

as the fires are set

 

call it a war if you want, but it

doesn’t concern you if it

doesn’t concern your president

 

the land there doesn’t bleed oil,

the empty fields don’t give

birth to factories

 

poverty is never a virtue

 

shallow graves are nothing more

than what some of us deserve

 

open your bible to any page

and it will tell you the same

 

About the Author:

John Sweet was born in 1968, still numbered among the living.  He is a believer in writing as catharsis and an optimistic pessimist.  He is opposed to all organized religion and political parties and avoids zealots and social media whenever possible.  His latest collections include APPROXIMATE WILDERNESS (2016 Flutter Press), BASTARD FAITH (2017 Scars Publications) and the limited edition HEATHEN TONGUE (2018 Kendra Steiner Editions).  All pertinent facts about his life are buried somewhere in his writing.