To Whom You Pray

I reject all your religion,

in favor of myself

 

Those spewing virtues dogma,

often kill, with little felt

 

I reject your revelation,

with the truth inside my heart

 

I surrender your salvation,

from your guilt I live apart

 

I challenge your commitment,

when the road gets hard and long

 

The good intentions you now offer,

Hell’s words without a song

 

I reject all faith in platitudes,

and your threats—both veiled and not

 

I refuse to live in servitude,

and tied to what we’re not

 

I will reach inside the goodness,

born to each and every man

 

I will choose to see the wonder,

of those souls that say “I can”

 

And as I look beyond tomorrow,

to that place we call today

 

I will live in thanks for who I am,

—and not to whom you pray

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: November, 2016)