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Nation of Judges

by Max Bouillet

"Father do not forgive them,
for not only do they know
what they’ve done...
they’ve done it in Your name."
--Prayer of the Unforgiving 1:1

Their smiles scare me.
Their bared teeth are a nation of judges
forcing me to paint black oaths
on my soul.

They killed their God
and replaced Him with wood pulp,
ink, and dead flesh
sewn together
with the sinew
of the misguided
who threw their
children to the sword.

(they claim killing the unborn
is a sin, but woe
to those that have strayed
from the birth canal
--they can be slaughtered
without guilt)

They fill their god with catch phrases
for the masses to chant
while they bleed in poverty
watching their children
get slaughtered on a big screen television
they won’t finish paying for
before they die.

11/08/2004

Author's Note: Now I lay me down to sleep...

Posted on 11/09/2004
Copyright © 2024 Max Bouillet

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Glenn Currier on 11/09/04 at 04:34 AM

The pen IS more powerful, and power this poem has in its piercing of the hypocracies abroad in this land. Generations will suffer long after you and I are gone. And it was about values? Fear is a value? Hmmm... maybe there's a poem there. Thanks for your wisdom and strength, my friend.

Posted by Ginette T Belle on 11/09/04 at 04:32 PM

wonderfully written...i mean what a perfect way of portraying the bloodguilt of those who call themselves followers of god...3rd stanza is awesome...

Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 11/10/04 at 12:24 AM

Truly provocative; I can only imagine where this comes from Max, but having read the others' comments, I can only add that all of them capture some aspect of my own responsive feelings. Pardon the pun, but killer close out in that last stanza.

Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 11/10/04 at 03:17 AM

This can mean what one wants it to mean! I think any hypocricy is out of place. However, I think there is Truth and He speaks of "going and sinning no more". There are some moral values which should be espoused whether all agree or not. Prolife should be espoused and abortion become rare! The victim is often the woman who has an abortion because it is the only alternative offered her! As to sending people off to war. That is a governmental decision (in the USA usually with the consent of the governed through their representatives). Or Capital Punishment is for offenses so monstrous as to leave no other alternative. It is only the state with due process that life should be taken. I get too longwinded. This should be a thread. Sorry! A powerfully thought provoking poem!

Posted by Don Coffman on 11/11/04 at 01:36 AM

A message well delivered, especially in the last two stanzas. The ending is something that takes a minute to think about, a subtle blow that hits as harshly as the rest of the poem in an unexpected way. All the doctrine and dying, but all that's really important is a big fancy TV.

Posted by Charles E Minshall on 11/11/04 at 05:27 AM

Food for thought Max...Charlie

Posted by Amanda J Cobb on 11/12/04 at 06:12 AM

Wow. It's like you reached into my head and said the things I've been wanting to say exactly as I wanted to say them. This is scathing, lyrical, and all too true.

Posted by Ashok Sharda on 11/13/04 at 04:17 AM

The realities are simple if one can SEE. Incidentally, the CROWD is not only incapable of SEEING, they are incapable of growing, doing, knowing.They can't be held responsible for any act of theirs since they are capable of only reacting to external stimuli's. They are pitiable. Forgive and pity them.

Posted by Sarah Graves on 11/13/04 at 05:51 AM

I feel like I'm in a dark cave reading this, it hit me so strongly. The message really made an impact of me.. about how hypocritical our nation is, with a religious connotation. Great work, well recieved.

Posted by Philip F De Pinto on 11/13/04 at 03:15 PM

my head knows what you've penned is true, and my heart and my conscience is on your side. long live the poets who scald hippocracy down, where it would scale the walls of truth and ring its bell and say with rancor; mission accomplished. the rivers of blood are at our doors.

Posted by Ann Krischus on 11/13/04 at 10:52 PM

i'm unable to find the words to explain my feeling about this poem. it's too intense for description.

Posted by JD Clay on 11/17/04 at 01:56 PM

A scathing piece of stark reality. This one cuts to the core and leaves a trail of bloody footprints a hundred miles long. I like your surgical style. Pe4ce..

Posted by Olivia Martin on 09/23/08 at 12:19 AM

This piece left me breathless, as I found myself nodding again, with each stanza. The veracity in your lines is frightening, honest, and absolutely wonderful. Keep up the wonderful penmanship.

Posted by Alex Smyth on 06/10/09 at 04:48 PM

What a statement!! How concise! You have said here what people blather about excessively all over the place. Wrapped right up in this exquisite package. If i had the nerve i would have it read at my funeral or something. This is great, and typical Max. Gotta love you!

Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 06/14/09 at 04:44 PM

Stark and thought provoking. Thank you.

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