Fire and Brimstone

I'm so tired of hearing what the Bible says,

What the preachers say,

What the men in blood-soaked suits say.

I am past the point of mourning

All the rights we've lost

And all the hate that still remains.

/

What is the point?

What is the fucking point

Of fighting this hard

Against the oligarchs

Who would sooner see our heads roll

Than give a fuck about the lives they are destroying?

/

I'm tired of them trying to save me,

Save me in ways I've already suffered.

People too focused on soul quotas

To offer genuine help beyond a salvation message.

I have been you,

Warped into believing that

Sacrificing your peace of mind

Was worthy of God's grace.

But how long are you going to excuse

So much corruption and self-abuse

Until your shelf breaks?

/

I'm tired of an ancient historical artifact

Becoming codified into law

Like divinity actually blessed it.

Your holy book has been tainted,

Rewritten by mortal hands

With devious intentions.

I have had each goddamn word of the Bible,

Thrust in my face

From the moment of birth

To my tentative teenage years.

I grew to hate the fucking book,

That condemned me as a whore,

For liking women as well as men,

For wearing pants and not skirts,

For believing women deserve equality.

/

I am tired of being guilty,

Tired of being scared,

Tired of hating myself,

Because a book told me I'm a sinner

And that I have to get a permission slip

From God to live a worthwhile life.

I'm tired of my parents

Telling me that all the abuse was worth it

If I believed on the Lord once in my life.

No hate like Christian love.

"Love the sinner, hate the sin."

Except the "sin" is a part of who I am,

So logically,

You kind of hate me.

/

I hate this book being used,

To kill people,

To marginalize people,

To dehumanize people.

You don't even read it right,

Just the parts that confirm your bias.

You ignore all the red-text Jesus quotes,

In favor for the fire and brimstone.

/

You will call me invested with demons,

Or bitter or angry with God.

Or maybe you'll accuse me

Of just wanting to sin without consequence.

I just want to live,

To exist within a world,

That is kind and accepting.

I just want to be someone

That a book can't erase.