Former political debaters
and Facebook haters
sheath their swords
of “cancellation”
and get the ultimate do-over,
a hard-drive scrub,
the perfect social media experimentation.
The sin particle,
an element
before the elements
of the Periodic Table.
An irritation
to the core
that makes it unstable
like uranium or plutonium,
an existential explosion
with the biblical force
of 100 Noachian floods
unlike the God particle
of infinite glory
that pre-existed the lies
that traumatize
the innocent child
at the beginning
of every story.
If words are a bubbling brook
above the geyser of our hearts,
they’re poised
to say something about
the nature of our spirituality—
a disjointed but shared reality—
seeking comfort
in the womb of bad religion.
A carcass with a pulse,
a miracle dipped in myrrh,
perfumed a Jewish beard
and consecrated a blameless soul…
This world is so unfriendly and unkind. How’s a teenager with Zeus’s ADHD, the rage of Achilles and the passion of Paris supposed to survive the suburban hostility of drive-by bullets of bullying and cliques of cruelty with privileged popularity without losing his mind? If you want to get to know me then…
“…distinguishing our friends on TikTok
from the system failure of the Matrix,
fictional agents who trip on the trip-wire
of a progressive déjà vu,
sounding the alarm for Pokémon
like Pikachu,
whose evolution to Raichu
seals the demise
of politicians and preachers
who wear a postmodern disguise.”
how quickly we forget,
laying down palm branches
to casting stones a week later,
breaking stained glass windows
to our mansions,
crucifying our Creator.
The Ragman stopped his cart. Quietly, he walked to the woman, stepping round tin cans, dead toys, and Pampers.
Mystery of Tears is about redemption and restoration. More specifically, it’s about the sufferings (“spasms”) of Jesus that “broke the curse” for our benefit (i.e., “substitutionary atonement”).