The path of faith
is littered with broken promises.
Determined to save ourselves,
we scuplt golden calves
fashioned by our own hands
out of pretty baubles
or bank accounts filled
with money earned on the backs
of the poor.
We put on quite a religious show,
building monuments
out of the Ten Commandments
to tower over the public square,
praying on street corners
to show our piety.
We tithe a tenth of our herbs
and dedicate foundataions
to advance our beliefs
while the children next door
go to bed hungry.
We quote long passages
of Scripture from memory
to prove our points
while words of encouragement
go unspoken.
God above cries with the downtrodden,
but we remain deaf and blind
in our contempt
for those we think beneath us.

After watching and reading the April poetry challenge by Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Readingfor the past several years, I decided to write a poem a day this month. Mary Lee is hosting PO-EMotion, with a different emotion for each day of the month. Today’s focus is CONTEMPT. For even more poetry fun throughout April, check out the roundup of poetry celebrations and projects at Jama’s Alphabet Soup.