For an unknown segment of timeless, limitless space,
I – bless myself – was almost GOD
Neither kings nor queens, prophets nor gurus, celibates nor
teetotalers, televangelists nor snake oil salesmen, hypocrites
nor sycophants in long beards and funny robes, have ever
been hip to what I had in mind for creation
There on the operating table without further notice
I reversed the foolishness of all religions and trimmed
church budgets to eliminate cathedrals, gold chalices,
marble altars and collection baskets so kids and old folks alike
could benefit from my fields of grain, clear waters, breezes
of floral scents, heavens swept clean of particulates and tornadoes
I booted monks and nuns out of monasteries, put them to work
in factories and kindergartens, ordered them to pray and eat
heartily on their own dime without trashing their joy and light
I canceled sin and hell from Sunday sermons, cirrhosis,
heart murmurs, strokes, cancers and Cadillac’s;
added hootenannies, beer busts, line dancing, taco parties,
horseshoes, water fights, erotica, crap shoots
Women and men could be gay or straight, mix and match,
priests or magnates or whatever else they chose to be,
free to cavort and marry, be moms and dads or not,
live in peace on my earth, make love loudly and often
I removed shame from nakedness, allowed children to touch
my leafy hands, smell me in rain and fresh snow, sing loudly
with song birds, hear me in streams and rock and roll, savor
the general opulence of my cornucopia, relish their thoughts,
their desires, without guilt or fear, on and on when suddenly…
I came to, opened my eyes, began to heal, I suppose, a simple
nude man under a sheet, no longer omnipotent, no longer divine