oldspeak

is religion a habit
people are too scared
to let go of

because hell

god

then religion sounds
like an abusive relationship

is it a sin to look
for answers outside the book
then you're stuck in a nook
under a holy rebuke

the children grow used to the sound of the fish
thought-numbed by the white noise of words
to the point of meaninglessness
repeated too many times
though the emperor stands naked
his clothes look fine
after a while
a torturous boredom
brought the surrender
no one listens anymore
just to keep
tempers at the table
calm

whoever doubts knows well
that dad speaks the truth
he sorted everything long ago
the house
the car
who we shout for in sport
dad planted the seed after all
mum fed it
watered and fertilised it
through the school
the church
and sunday school

does repetition wear out the word about god
does repetition turn false into true
water to wine
or was someone sinful
by breaking
the ninth commandment
when they first
peddled the stuff
that turned dad's voice
into white noise
sounds sembling sentences
proclaiming the unshakeable truth
of the unprovable god