{"id":1075,"date":"2013-09-21T15:39:46","date_gmt":"2013-09-21T20:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?p=1075"},"modified":"2013-09-21T15:40:19","modified_gmt":"2013-09-21T20:40:19","slug":"poem-i-could-have-swore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/21\/poem-i-could-have-swore\/","title":{"rendered":"POEM: I Could Have Swore"},"content":{"rendered":"

I Could Have Swore<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Backs against the wall<\/span>
\nAnd faceless<\/span>
\nNo name to call<\/span>
\nWandering<\/span>
\nIf anyone<\/span>
\nEver<\/span>
\nWill get their drift <\/span>
\nHomie-less<\/span>
\nAt the center<\/span>
\nA cross person<\/span>
\nSurrounded by thieves<\/span>
\nAnd gawkers<\/span>
\nIn a sea of blindness<\/span>
\nIn heaving this very day<\/span>
\nLike a bunch of drunken sellers<\/span>
\nWith a king dumb struck<\/span>
\nAt hand<\/span>
\nSuffering<\/span>
\nA body politic<\/span>
\nRight<\/span>
\nAnd left<\/span>
\nA loan<\/span>
\nIn perpetual lent<\/span>
\nWanting us to be saved<\/span>
\nA dollar store<\/span>
\nPerhaps<\/span>
\nInescapable worries<\/span>
\nOf exactly how spent<\/span>
\nJust<\/span>
\nGive me<\/span>
\nThose goddamned crackers<\/span>
\nAnd a little whine<\/span>
\nOn my breath<\/span>
\nMy broken body<\/span>
\nAnd bypassed heart<\/span>
\nGiving<\/span>
\nFor you<\/span>
\nNot me<\/span>
\nI am<\/span>
\nA men!<\/span>
\nAll of life taxing<\/span>
\nExcept perhaps one percent<\/span>
\nForgetting the rest<\/span>
\nWaging undomesticated lives<\/span>
\nUnmanageable<\/span>
\nWhere people have to sell themselves<\/span>
\nTo survive<\/span>
\nAnd giving it away<\/span>
\nThey are down with that<\/span>
\nThat lame walk away<\/span>
\nI could have swore<\/span>
\nI was in church<\/span>
\nUniversal<\/span>
\nUnconditional<\/span>
\nLove<\/span>
\nGoing off like a balm<\/span>
\nProclaiming release<\/span>
\nTo those dammed feelings<\/span>
\nIn unfamiliar tongues<\/span>
\nWheel gather together<\/span>
\nIn a circle unspoken<\/span>
\nEveryone faced<\/span>
\nCrying only<\/span>
\nJesus<\/span>
\nWe need a man<\/span>
\nWho knows what it’s like<\/span>
\nTo be<\/span>
\nUnfucked<\/span>
\nAnd when we see him<\/span>
\nWill wee<\/span>
\nNo it<\/span><\/p>\n

This poem was inspired by an open mic session held at a church where several people made comments throughout the evening about how they were editing their work and\/or trying not to swear. \u00a0I’ve long felt this was a somewhat odd thing, given my understanding of God. \u00a0If God is the Lord of all and omnipresent, why are we so concerned about doing something wrong or inappropriate in a church building. \u00a0Frankly, I am much more perturbed by religious folks who are all pious and reverent on Sunday and offer offense freely to God throughout the week. \u00a0Swearing as an offense is technically “taking the Lord’s name in vain.” \u00a0Of course, the Lord’s name<\/em> is not a series of letters spoken. \u00a0“Name” here refers to God’s character. \u00a0To speak or act as if God’s character is powerless or meaningless — “vain” — is the offense. \u00a0It seems to me that God is way more concerned with our actions than our words, and whether our actions are consistent with God’s character. \u00a0Having said that, I can recognize that irreverence and humor can actually be a very effective tool to deflate the pious and self-righteous. \u00a0In this case, irreverence is reverence to God’s character. \u00a0I definitely can swear that God’s character is mysterious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I Could Have Swore Backs against the wall And faceless No name to call Wandering If anyone Ever Will get their drift Homie-less At the center A cross person Surrounded by thieves And gawkers In a sea of blindness In … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,15],"tags":[435,384,65,431,595,426,24,359,273,31,524,340,380],"class_list":["post-1075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems","category-political-and-philosophical-musings","tag-character","tag-church","tag-god","tag-heart","tag-humor","tag-irreverence","tag-jesus","tag-life","tag-love","tag-religious","tag-reverence","tag-suffering","tag-work"],"yoast_head":"\nPOEM: I Could Have Swore | Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! %<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"POEM: I Could Have Swore, Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings, Character, Church, God, Heart, Humor, Irreverence, Jesus, Life, Love, Religious, Reverence, Suffering, Work Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! 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