God, Guns, and Gag Orders

god on your tongue,

gun on your hip,

gag order in your hand. you say god, god, god

but it’s cash, control, and cameras,

it’s votes, views, and venom. you hold the gun like scripture,

you hold the bible like a weapon,

you hold the poor like a prop. kids get shot in classrooms

and you say “thoughts and prayers,”

then sign another fucking bill

to make it easier to buy bullets. you preach “thou shalt not kill” on sunday,

and “stand your ground” on monday,

then “back the blue” on tuesday,

while another brown kid’s body

bleeds into the pavement. you scream “god is love”

but your god loves guns,

your god loves walls,

your god loves gag orders

on anyone who doesn’t look like you,

fuck like you,

pray like you. you pass laws to gag teachers,

gag doctors,

gag survivors,

gag every queer kid

trying to say “this is who I am”

without getting erased. you shout “freedom of religion”

while you shove your religion

up everyone’s ass,

then call it “tradition,”

call it “values,”

call it “faith,”

but never call it what it is:

control, fear, bullshit. you praise “god, guns, and country”

while tents line the sidewalks,

while mothers count pennies for rent,

while fathers skip meals for their kids,

while you sit in a megachurch

with LED crosses and smoke machines

talking about sacrifice

you’ve never fucking made. you hold your bible up for photos,

you hold your rifle up for rallies,

you hold your hand out for donations,

but you never hold the hand

of the addict,

the homeless vet,

the single mom,

the kid sleeping in a car. you ban books,

but not bullets.

you gag voices,

but not pastors who lie.

you police pronouns,

but not predators in your pews. you say “god hates sin”

but what you really mean is

you hate being questioned,

you hate losing power,

you hate mirrors

that show you your own rot. so keep chanting god, god, god,

keep waving guns, guns, guns,

keep writing gag orders, gag orders, gag orders,

but don’t you dare

look at another grave

and say you “don’t know

how this keeps happening.”

you know.

you fucking know.

you just love your god,

your guns,

and your gag orders

more than you love

any living thing.