(congregation)
Evil is a person,
or a people,
reduced to a black hole:
the balance and dynamic
of a star,
the symmetry
of a solar system,
the gift
of its radiance
collapsed
into an uncontrollable
greed.
Evil is a fragment,
one little piece of a person,
or a people,
that grows
beyond recognition of its source,
that grows
to dominate the while,
that grows
until it is the person,
or people.
Evil is self interest,
consuming, conquering,
with no concept of any other self,
no sympathy, no compassion,
no friendship.
Evil is the judgment
in the name of the father,
in the name of the mother,
the children, the ancestors,
in the name of society
and propriety,
in all the names
that mask the inner truth,
in all the names
that hide bigotry,
avarice and voracity,
the rejection or punishment
in honor’s name
that’s really in my name.
Or your name.
Evil consumes.
It does not give
or take
or ask any questions.
It mutters not truth
that can give peace—
only words
that ripen fear,
putrefying doubts,
turning difference
into not wine
but a flavorless poison
masked by a heady aroma.
Evil cannot be entered
except
the way a mouth is entered,
a stomach is entered,
an intestine is entered.
(sermon)
It began so long ago. Something was planted in you. But not just you. We’ve all been fertile ground. It was such a little thing that it’s forgotten. It no longer seems to exist. Yet it’s there. And very much alive.
Like many living things, it is enigmatic. Alone, it is weak and timid. It will do anything to avoid detection and annihilation. It will shift its position, change its appearance and name, sing another song, turn itself inside out to deceive our senses. Once disguised, it will root out its competitors. It will name them the weakness. It will name them the abomination. It will name them.
I have found an antidote to evil, to one’s own evil: impurity. Acceptance of imperfection. Tolerance. Compassion. Impurity.
If we acknowledge this cure, if we draw together to become The Impurity League, if we swear oaths of imperfection and tolerance will we be any different? Will we be free of righteousness? Will we accept ourselves and each other? Will we be filled with compassion? Or will we have an impurity crusade.
(insidious whispers)
freedom…god…oblivion…fame…censorship…community…reproductive control…spontaneity…rebellion…brotherhood…empire…peace…liberty…the black race…harmony…the children…the homeland…capitalism…equality…hope…human rights…the state…acclaim…the white race…beauty…christ…popularity…mother…time…liberation…family…destiny…truth…allah…memory…science…brilliance…the spirit…supremacy…sisterhood…competition…wealth…expression…jehovah…primacy…the nation…integrity…sobriety…humanity…communism…creation…father…food…buddha…health…happiness…knowledge…the people…the leader…art…submission…the ancestors…humility…posterity…compromise…free will…succession…compassion…heaven…power…life