Bookstore Revelations

A poem.....not a story, God forbid for Devons contest. Hope it doesn't offend....too much.

Bookstore Revelations

 

The stench of impurity upon my breath

A wrinkled suit, a too small vest

A head so full of evil thought

My life was sin and I’d been caught

 

I walked to the store to buy a book

Quick redemption to release the hook

Barnes and Noble had them there

Between two sections I stop and stare

 

There were Godly words in the religious section

Guaranteed to cleanse me of my infection

The cult section bled with similar fare

But according to some, Satan lived there

 

Two sections of belief, and I couldn’t tell

Which of the collections would save me from hell

So in frustration I turned, my ears spouting steam

And picked up a copy of Penthouse magazine

Author's Note

Sorry....a little pet peeve of mine. Beliefs are beliefs, who am I to say which is right and which is righter. Oh, by the way, I believe you are the rightest.

Reviews

[Jenny Nelson]

Well... I think you really hit the nail on the head about much of religion... not all, but certainly much and in general. Must say, I do love that last line. So much thrown at us that most do just want to give up and say to "hell" with it. Enjoyable piece, and definitely one to think about as well.

[just rose.]

see, the line between the sacred and the profane is so thin. i sit between those sections, on the floor, with a copy of the Bible and a deck of tarot cards, reading a romance novel. :) I'm of a similar mind as you. And I almost became a minister! (Once upon a time.) So there you have it.

[grady sedgwick]

yep, nice job. nice rhyme. very accessible and reads well out loud. easy to follow along with. just read it to a friend over here and he got a kick out of it. this would be an interesting one to read at a poetry slam.

[Ice QueenJen]

what a lovely poem...... good ole Penthouse is a religion of sorts to some! This made me laugh and think of (1.) my family wanting me to go back to there religion (2.) A wild story about the Branch Davidian cult- it hasn't been published yet; and (3.) Every mans alternative to actually having intimacy!
Think I will save this in my library too!

[Devons]

Well, I think that ultimately you made the right choice. But then, I don't think there was really a wrong choice, given the options. By making this amusing comparison between these three types of reading matter, a very valid point is made concerning the depreciating value of the religious word. Preaching and teaching any form of religious belief -in any God- ought to be irrelevant and superfluous. If there is a God, and God is everything and all around us, etc. then why should we need to learn about how other people believe we should correctly interpret the meaning or word of God...? A difficult and vexed question to answer which is ultimately a rhetorical question so why do people insist on providing us with an answer which we didn't ask for..?
Very well written, amusing rhyme and turn of phrase with perhaps what some fervent religious people might say was cynicism. But, as I have often said, cynicism is just another word for truth.

[MissWordSmith]

love this! great rhyme scheme, towards the end i felt like the flow was a little forced though. polish it up a bit, that's all. :)
the ending was fantastic!

[c.m.]

Pet peeve of mine as well...that's why I don't have a religion label. I like the poem, the rhyming flows nicely and it was quite enjoyable. I too laughed at the last line...nice work love.

[Ed Hart]

yeah, which month...september 1666 was a very good year...come on down for a cool one, we welcome fresh meat