hmmmm...

I looked at the sky
And knew that Shen Yi did not shoot out nine suns with his arrows
You call me a clear-thinking fellow? I thank you

I stood on the bank of the Ganges
And shouted that there was NOT a river goddess with a fish tail for legs
You applaud my bravery? I thank you

As I built the pyramids
I whispered that the sun was not hatched from Geb’s egg
The lashes I received make you rightfully indignant

I traveled with a Spartan
Who assured me that Zeus killed Asclepius for raising the dead
You’d have smiled benignly too, with a moron your sole companion

A priest of Xipe Totec
I wore the flayed slave skins on my shoulders
Deep down i knew it was bullshit, but the perks of a priest are plenteous

A woman in Rome gathered up her stola
when i laughed at the thought that bacchus raised the dead or turned water to wine
You’d have kept your mouth shut, had you seen her rack

Returned from Tikal, my daughter took her life
My wife was comforted knowing suicide guaranteed entrance to heaven
You and i know better, but i hadn’t the heart to demur

In Narita my brother struck me
When i insisted Hirohito was not some holy descendant of Hoori
Your praise won’t bring him back, but i thank you

I’ve known the Sumerian God Nanna and the Norse one too
Neither are movers and shakers in the underworld
A champion of progress, you say? I thank you

And rich, you want to hear rich?
An acquaintance tells me that God knocked up a twelve year-old virgin
It is to laugh…hello, where are you going?

2008