Poem: "A Radical Nonviolent Revolutionary"
This poem came out of the August 17, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
siliconshaman and dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "mystical experience" square in my 8-2-21 card for the August Intimacies Bingo fest.
"A Radical Nonviolent Revolutionary"
Fed up with getting
the blame all the time,
Lucifer and his demons
decided to go on strike.
The picket line wove through
Heaven and Hell and Earth.
For a while, people thought
it would bring an end to Evil,
since the Devil was off duty,
but that didn't happen.
"Why are bad things
still going on when you're
here?" someone asked Lucifer.
"Scabs," he said with a shrug.
"You know, terrorists, politicians,
that sort of thing. They cross the line."
"So it really wasn't you," the woman said,
shaking her head. "It was just ... us."
"Well, I may have helped," Lucifer said.
"People need to consider their options
before making major decisions."
"Like me," Jesus said as he
slapped Lucifer on the back.
"Guy spent all day counseling me,
back before the Cross, made sure
I knew what I was getting into and
that I had other options I could choose."
"What are You doing here?" she squeaked.
"I came to join the protest," Jesus said,
"and I brought along a few friends."
Around him, the guardian angels
lifted colorful signs that demanded
better working conditions and
more vacation time due to job stress.
As the strike went on, more and
more people joined it, activists
and rebels, working men and bums.
Not everyone agreed, of course.
"That can't be the real Jesus!"
a priest shouted. "This is
all some infernal trick!"
"Why on Earth would you
think that?" Lucifer said.
"Dude's been a rebel
since the Beginning."
A scruffy activist smirked.
"Yeah man, all of this time
you have been worshipping
a radical nonviolent revolutionary
who hung around with lepers, hookers,
and crooks; healed people for nothing
and gave away free food; and was
a long-haired brown-skinned homeless
community-organizing anti-slut-shaming
Middle Eastern Jew," he said. "Oops."
The priest shuddered and slunk away.
"I don't think that's the mystical experience
he signed up for," the activist chuckled.
"My pen ran out of ink," whined a demon
who was drawing subversive graffiti.
"I'm good at raising the dead,"
said Jesus. "Give it here."
* * *
Notes:
"Jesus was a radical nonviolent revolutionary who hung around with lepers hookers and crooks; wasn't American and never spoke English; was anti-wealth anti-death penalty anti-public prayer (M 6:5); but was never anti-gay, never mentioned abortion or birth control, never called the poor lazy, never justified torture, never fought for tax cuts for the wealthiest Nazarenes, never asked a leper for a copay; and was a long-haired brown-skinned homeless community-organizing anti-slut-shaming Middle Eastern Jew."
-- John Fugelsang
People tend to forget how subversive Jesus was. They're going to get a big surprise in the Hereafter.
siliconshaman and dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "mystical experience" square in my 8-2-21 card for the August Intimacies Bingo fest."A Radical Nonviolent Revolutionary"
Fed up with getting
the blame all the time,
Lucifer and his demons
decided to go on strike.
The picket line wove through
Heaven and Hell and Earth.
For a while, people thought
it would bring an end to Evil,
since the Devil was off duty,
but that didn't happen.
"Why are bad things
still going on when you're
here?" someone asked Lucifer.
"Scabs," he said with a shrug.
"You know, terrorists, politicians,
that sort of thing. They cross the line."
"So it really wasn't you," the woman said,
shaking her head. "It was just ... us."
"Well, I may have helped," Lucifer said.
"People need to consider their options
before making major decisions."
"Like me," Jesus said as he
slapped Lucifer on the back.
"Guy spent all day counseling me,
back before the Cross, made sure
I knew what I was getting into and
that I had other options I could choose."
"What are You doing here?" she squeaked.
"I came to join the protest," Jesus said,
"and I brought along a few friends."
Around him, the guardian angels
lifted colorful signs that demanded
better working conditions and
more vacation time due to job stress.
As the strike went on, more and
more people joined it, activists
and rebels, working men and bums.
Not everyone agreed, of course.
"That can't be the real Jesus!"
a priest shouted. "This is
all some infernal trick!"
"Why on Earth would you
think that?" Lucifer said.
"Dude's been a rebel
since the Beginning."
A scruffy activist smirked.
"Yeah man, all of this time
you have been worshipping
a radical nonviolent revolutionary
who hung around with lepers, hookers,
and crooks; healed people for nothing
and gave away free food; and was
a long-haired brown-skinned homeless
community-organizing anti-slut-shaming
Middle Eastern Jew," he said. "Oops."
The priest shuddered and slunk away.
"I don't think that's the mystical experience
he signed up for," the activist chuckled.
"My pen ran out of ink," whined a demon
who was drawing subversive graffiti.
"I'm good at raising the dead,"
said Jesus. "Give it here."
* * *
Notes:
"Jesus was a radical nonviolent revolutionary who hung around with lepers hookers and crooks; wasn't American and never spoke English; was anti-wealth anti-death penalty anti-public prayer (M 6:5); but was never anti-gay, never mentioned abortion or birth control, never called the poor lazy, never justified torture, never fought for tax cuts for the wealthiest Nazarenes, never asked a leper for a copay; and was a long-haired brown-skinned homeless community-organizing anti-slut-shaming Middle Eastern Jew."
-- John Fugelsang
People tend to forget how subversive Jesus was. They're going to get a big surprise in the Hereafter.