Prayer for the Living

give us the wisdom

o eternal one

to stop wagging the finger

help us abandon

the moral superiority

masking our deep fears

help us to condemn not others

for the lives that they take

while we ignore

the lives that take

to live is to kill

to be human is to kill

from the spear in the cave

to the bomb on the missile

from the spread on our lawns

through the food that we eat

to the war and famine we ignore

give us the strength

o silent one

to cease blaming others

for the deaths that they cause

so we might distract

from the deaths that we cause

to live is to kill

to be human is to kill

from the fetuses we abort

to the destitute we pass over

from the wandering masses we lock out

to the genocide of tribes we abhor

from the dogs we leave caged

and the spiders we crush

to the factory chickens

we crowd then devour

from the hunter’s rifle

through the fisherman’s hook

through the mercenary’s gun

to the borrowed ground

where we stand

pull the trigger

and fire

to live is to kill

to be human is to kill

what our appetites inflict

what our words slice

what small ones we bury

in the worlds we plow under

the bargains we embrace

for our livelihoods

give us the fortitude

o’ silent one

to stop playing

right-to-life cops

while the masters steal

our harvest our crops

to live is to kill

to be human is to kill

o silent one

on this earth that we burn

give us the backbone

to accept what we are

to behold

in whose image

we’re undone