I hear John Lennon singing in the background

I hear John Lennon singing in the background

 

I am the busted savior

no real Jesus

or Martin

or Malcom

or some George Carlin poet wannabe

playing a Bishop

in a cheap satire

with no regard

for those who take their rosaries

quite seriously

on Sunday mornings

 

and then hate the people next door

as dinner conversation

torches their house

while the family

makes plans to attend the baptism

of a newborn

 

the sacraments are sacred

seven of them just like the seven deadly sins

opposites attract

then fit like perfect pieces of the jigsaw

 

but the scene looks wrong

the leader is slain

and doesn't know it

Jack is still talking to Jackie

even as his throat

spurts hate for his assassin

and then his brother Bobby

another busted savior

 

When the last temptation of Christ

leaves the movie screen

to become a real event

based on fiction

 

then what?

are we all in some way, busted saviors

 

maybe we should all hold hands 

and say Grace

might be the last words

we utter

 

as they bury us 

with our bibles unopened

in our grimy hands.

 

erin-cilberto

6/19/23

Reviews

[FlatDaddy]

One of your reviewers, Beccy, mentioned JB -- and to me she must have meant "J.B.: a play in verse by Archibald MacLeish, and I see it too, especially in these lines, which have haunted me for more than 50 years:

"If God is God He is not good,
"If God is good He is not God;
"Take the even, take the odd,
"I would not sleep here if I could
"Except for the little green leaves in the wood
"and the wind on the water."

This dovetails nicely with your piece, and it has never been truer.
-- FlatDaddy

[jacob erin-cilberto]

She was actually referring to John the Baptist and his review. One of the most important poems in our English language is one I teach in my classes. It is "Ars Poetica" by Archibald...And those are great lines you quoted.
But yes, I see where those lines tie in to this poem...Thanks for the visit and words.
j.

[FlatDaddy]

My pleasure

[FlatDaddy]

I thought this might make you smile: in my days as a traveling musician, there were many times when I wrote that J.B. quote on bathroom stall walls all over the U.S. and beyond. I hope they're still there.:)

[Chris Shaw]

I love Jesus and everything he stood for and people anywhere in the world regardless of faith who live by his example. Everything else in the church is a waste of space. I would like to see some of the vast wealth redistributed. There is no place for opulence in the church when people are starving. I just feel the plot is lost.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

but the novel just keeps going page after page...the real reason for faith becomes a long, long fable.
thank you, Chris,
j.

[Beccy]

I attend our local church every Sunday and also do volunteer work in the village. It's mostly visiting the elderly and the infirm; and I believe that belief itself and a desire to live life as best we can and do no harm to others is good; and of course, it goes without saying that one does not necessarily have to be 'religious,' to lead that good and fruitful life.

That said, I do personally have an issue with the add on engineering and elaborately arcane rituals that the multi various religions have constructed over the centuries. In my view they are oft times designed to do little more than confuse and subjugate their followers; and it is no surprise to me that the many and varied religions in this world of ours, who are collectively rich enough to make Jeff Bezos and his ilk seem like corner shop proprietors, are still holding out their hands.

Like JB, I think the last three lines say it all; and as you comment jacob, the middlemen we do not need.

Beccy.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for adding to the conversation, Beccy...
It is hard to understand how everything has just gotten so much about money....that is not the fruitful life although some think it is.
j.

[John the Baptist]

Of the seven deadly sins, lust was my favorite for many years, but now in my old age, sloth has overtaken it. That said, the poem was laced with outrage. Perhaps the churches erred early on by proffering a standard that not even their own representatives could uphold (the buggers and all that). Really interesting imagery in this one, especially that featuring the Kennedys, which I am still trying to decode. The last lines are killers. Haven't seen you get this nihilistic in a long time.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you, John...some things just bite me in the butt and I have to write about them or I will explode.
j.

[Vol]

Jacob,
It was impossible to base an institution on such a simple, easy concept as the Gospel. Love God, love your neighbor carries no means by which to control the people, so as soon as there was a "church" with a hierarchy of authority, the truth was lost. It is no wonder that the uneducated masses and their self-serving leaders gave way to popular cynicism and even atheism. Those who approach the concept of the messiah from a serious study, know better than to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Jesus said, Love God, love your neighbor, live abundantly, that's it, that's all there is. It's God's plan for your life.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

it's between God and us...those in between are like insurance claims adjustors...the middleman we do not need.
Thank you, Vol,
j.

[W. Barrett Munn]

A masterful castigation of a miserable mindset. Amen, brother.

W

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Winston,
j.

[Ted Kniffen]

Lennon was right then ... that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus ... even more so now. The statement was misconstrued to knock them down a notch.

It was an interesting time. riots ... assassinations ... wars ... moon walks.

Reminds me of Abraham, Martin and John. Not sure many can identify them now.

Goo one j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

he was being sarcastic, but it was the truth...and then suddenly they were hated worse than the devil.

[willweb]

Once again it is, to each his (or her) own. Who knows what awaits and what difference does it make anymore. As for Lennon, he got a bum rap on that deal. Whterher he believes in God or not, his statement about The Beatles being more popular than Jesus had nothing to do with believing or not, but like everything else, it was twisted to get the most traction out of it possible. Your poem though was very cool, it was as if I were sitting at a dinner table back in the 50s listening to the back and forth about everything with each person being right and standing their ground.

All we can do as people of earth is make sure we live our lives to the best of our ability and to be happy, regardless if that means going to church religiously or doing drugs or watching football or whatever.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, I agree, bum wrap for John.
And I really agree with your last paragraph here.
Thank you, will,
j.

[Desert Knave]

I feel like, as I watch the empty hats being tossed in the ring, that a lot of people think that they are the next Messiah. Anyhow, quite well written. ~Jim

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Empty hats is a good description.
thank you for your words, Jim,
j.

[keith]

touchy subject though handled well
it appears your writings are exploring new territory
i always knew it was within you

what do we do if there is no god

[jacob erin-cilberto]

if there is none, we might just be s**t out of luck. and for some of us, if there is we might also be s**t out of luck.
thank you, keith.

[keith]

your welcome
brings to mind a groucho marx quote ...
'I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.'