To Whom You Pray Poem by Kurt Philip Behm

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)