To Whom You Pray

I reject all your religion,
  in favor of myself

Those spewing virtues dogma,
  often kill, with little felt

I reject your revelation,
  with the truth inside my heart

I surrender your salvation,
  from your guilt I live apart

I challenge your commitment,
  when the road gets hard and long

The good intentions you submit,
  Hell’s words without a song

I reject all faith in platitudes,
and your threats—both veiled and not

I refuse to live in servitude,
 and tied to what we’re not

I will reach inside the goodness,
  born to each and every man

I will choose to see the wonder,
  of those souls who say “I can”

And as I look beyond tomorrow,
  to that place we call today

I will live in thanks for who I am,
  —and not to whom you pray

(Villanova Pennsylvania: November, 2016)