Sentenced to Live


Doomed, they say, as I slowly walk away
A martyr to the deaf and blind
A fist to the air to strike unanswered prayer
Only to strike the cell in which I’m confined


My existence is a prison
My thoughts a crime against humanity
In a society that hasn’t slept
Leads only to delirious unrest
A barred window into throws of wisdom
And a free thought that I’m still charged for


An off-hand comment cemented in sarcasm
Taken as truth and painted with neon fallacy
A false messiah mistaken for what I am
And crucified on a plus sign in a never-ending equation
A piece of logic left out of the box
Trampled over, forgotten and lost
By chance has my name emblazoned within
The puzzle of being is no longer what we’re seeing
Just a game to be played


Pointing out the inconsistencies in the system
If you participate, you’re a casualty
If you don’t, you’re a victim
Blatant false-advertising written in the blood of believers
A crown of thumb-tacks holding together a divine contract
Promising peace and a new way of life
The deities of the Earth all sign
Forgetting to read the fine print
A pop-up banner promising salvation
If you simply click the box labeled “Yes”
Digital dogmatic law wrapped in mortal flaw
Stamped with a priestly seal of approval and a bullet-hole
In a world of psychological warfare
Only the psychotic are safe from the gunfire
Free to remain themselves without threat of invasion
Simply by speaking in tongues like they do on TV


Healed by the laying of hands
Soaked in the blood of foreign lands
Diplomacy assassinated and an executed God
His widow still weeping and a congregation still singing
Like he was never there to begin with
Yet his blood-line lives on through an entity
A pulse that relies on words that no longer matter
Faith and conviction simultaneously shatter
And the halos slowly begin to fade
Starting with my own