Next to advertising, religion
Offends the most—in some respects they match.
Both perceive the rest of us as pigeons,
Bird-brains that their glib gibberish can catch.
Pray this! Buy that! Comfort and save your souls!
The foolishness they peddle is bizarre.
They use plain magic to attain their goals
But charge for access to their repertoire.
Take kaparot—atonement—now on sale,
When sinners, for eighteen bucks, purify,
Load their sins on chickens, when all else fails,
Recite a verse, slit their throats, cleansed! They sigh—
They’ve exercised their bible-based conceits—
Then give poor folks those tainted birds to eat.
(9/26/13)