Why Don't You Go Back?

 

Why Don’t You Go Back?

(“’You aren’t from Galilee too, are you?’ they replied. ‘Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.’” John 7:52)

Where do you come from, and where have you been
to tell us how to shape our mouths and keep our souls clean?
On the backside of the desert
only the sandstorms speak
of decaying sunlight.
How do you claim to know anything despite
your nowhere dirt roads with pebbles in your shoes?

Where have you been, and why don’t you go back
to your own shanty town. Rehearse your
sermons
for the horned toads and serpents.
We have heard all we need to know,
our minds our full and refuse to be confused
by your small-water mouthfuls.

Where is your hometown? We cannot find it
on the map. What is your pedigree, where is your
divinity degree? Why do you disagree with every
law we have coveted for so long? If you are right,
then we are wrong
and we cannot fathom anything more permanent
than our wallpapered temples at the center of power.

What is your language, share with us your alphabet.
Why do you think you can speak to us like that?
We have gathered, we have met
and our conclusions prove you are a threat
to all our preconceptions.

We cannot believe that you have not been
arrested yet.