Spokesmen said the Pope
has been ill for several months,
he saw his doctors yesterday
Spokesmen said the Pope
was in the best of spirits:
he told his nurse a ribald joke
Spokesmen said the Pope
loves his parents and misses them mightily
he dreams of them every St. Andrew Bobola Day
Spokesmen said the Pope
died this afternoon
and is resting comfortably
Spokesmen said the Pope
still opposes abortion, the ordination of women
and decriminalization of seven minor sins
Spokesmen said the Pope
is looking forward to leading Mass on Sunday
at a location yet to be named
Spokesmen said the Pope
trusts them implicitly
and stands by their every pronouncement
Spokesmen said the Pope
gave them each a golden concubine
and keys to the gates of heaven
Now Pol Pot
He got the idea.
He paid attention
To the Maoists
The Puritans
The Spanish Inquisition.
First,
Take the land
From the naked
The marginal
The petit bourgeoisie.
Second,
Herd them together
Under the loudspeakers
And explain to them the reason
for their confusion.
Third,
Seize the airwaves
Close the borders
Declare Year Zero.
Finally,
The killing can begin.
Blessed are the downsized, for they have sacrificed their livelihoods
to the purity of a healthy bottom line.
Blessed are the minimum wage workers, for they know the righteousness
of the New World Order.
Blessed are the poor and indigent, for theirs will be an earth
scorched by the cannons of the powerful.
Blessed are those who are afraid, for they understand the truths
of the new millennium.
Blessed are the fragile, for they have learned to survive
in a hostile environment.
Blessed are the broken, for they are witness to the callousness
of the ways of the world.
Blessed are the truth-tellers, for they stand before the holocaust
with only the power of their words.
Blessed are the orphans, for they are the uncertainty of existence.
Blessed are those who seek peace and justice, for they shall be
ignored and reviled. You will receive your reward in heaven
just as surely as you will be hunted mercilessly on earth.
Marc Thompson lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota where has the best job in the world: he's a stay-at-home dad. When he's not taking care of his kid or writing poems he maintains websites for small non-profit organizations. Someday he will have a website of his own. His poems have appeared throughout the world in print and cyberspace, and he is the author of two chapbooks: Ordinary Time (Laughing Gull Press), and Oklahoma Heat (Red Moon Press). He has an MFA from Hamline University in St Paul, Minnesota.
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