Not Just Me

Not Just Me

the spoils
of this man's 
petty coercions
and manipulations
were paltry
so he switched
to submission
finding too
that submitting his will
to nothing
yielded
little more
than nothing
compared
to others'
direction
mostly
without coercion

when he'd decided
his persuasions
on others
weren't rewarding
enough
leaving him
morally
spiritually
bankrupt
that's when
this man
turned
to god
in hope
of better
results

so one sunday
this man
turned 
to his god
saying,
"make of me,
dear god,
what you will."

abandoning
his ego
his desires
and will
he submitted
his naked self
then waited
to see
what his god
would make
of him

this man
submitted
all of himself
to his savior
imagining
hoping
praying
his few cents
offered 
to his benevolent god 
might return
dollars
of spiritual
fulfilment
as alms

it turned out
his god 
made nothing 
of him
leaving this man
to himself
bare
naked
and exposed

so this man
rejected 
his god
in the same way
his god
rejected
this man's offer
of his bare
vulnerable
self

he rejected god
to revert
to his old
proven ways
of coercing
his fellow
man
for some paltry
petty
spoils
that were better
than 
none

explaining 
this life
to the reverend
at his deathbed
this man
was told
"you sorry
pitiful
old fool,
god
had always
given you 
the freedom
and knowledge
to make
of yourself
what god
wished
for you
to become."

"yes," this 
old fool said.
"but he does that
for every man,
not just me." 

then 
and finally
this old fool
died