In this time
of trial I ask not
for the emptied skull
of my enemy, your
intercession in flame
and retribution, the
cessation of bloody
palms, or a salve for
all the skin-stripped
and salted breathless
held souls of America.
I do not ask for
the return of a Savior
whose death for our
sins seems a half
measure compared to
the grinning demons
our lost boys become.
I do not ask for hope;
I ask for amnesty.
You say we stole
the knowledge
of good & evil -
let us return it.
If not, finish us
off for good
before we do it
ourselves,
for evil.