20160923 (fakir)

Kenneth M. Copeland's church provides him an elaborate mansion in Texas equipped with an airfield from which he flies the church's multi-million dollar jet on family vacations and preaching tours; he is a billionaire televangelist, swindler, and pied piper to the willfully ignorant. Cf. Donald J. Trump.

I’ve been watching YouTube 

Videos waiting for my cat

Sophia finally to drag her

Gallivanting furry butt in at

Night so we can all get to bed.

From College Humor to films

Explaining how to fly WWII

Fighters, how to build houses

In the third world with mud

Packed into bricks, how to

Properly pop pimples--I’ve 

Even clicked on televangelists 

To see what I’m missing, and

Discovered a whole realm 

Of willful ignorance inside a 

Citizenry rich in education.

I may be overestimating 

The intelligence of average 

Americans as I watch Kenneth 

Copeland and Creflo Dollar

Openly warp religious texts to

Scam the faithful of the last 

Pennies of their retirements or

Final hundred to max out their

Credit cards. Historically we’ve

Been notably cheatworthy from

Snake oil to the machinations of

Bernie Madoff.  Plying the trade

Today is the narcissist Donald J.

Common to these swindlers is

The enablingly unchecked jones

Of the victims for easy wealth,

Untroubled resolution of 

Individual or national disquiet. 

They want answers so deeply

They will not critique anyone

Who promises them Easy Street 

A little way down an easy road.

The Prosperity shysters call for

Seeds of a thousand dollars to be

Planted (given to their ministries)

And promise the return will be 

“An hundredfold” as it is written

In their holy book. Those late-

Night/early morning investment

Counselors reprise the claim:

“Follow our rules and you will 

Outperform the market by

Fifty, one hundred, two hundred

Percent. Set your own goals.”

Unsafe neighborhood? I’ve got

The answer. Need a job? We’ll

Bring your old one back from

Mexico. Upset that we’re losing

Wars? I’ll win them. I’ve got

A plan for anything that ails 

You. You don’t need no educated

Theologians, no experts who have

Both won and lost on Wall Street,

No politicians who’ve got years

Of solid experience. It’s all so 

Much easier than you think: 

Just give me your tithe, your

Money, your vote. The blessing

Is on its way. Your monthly

Statements will show how your

Shares and profits are growing.

Watch me. What have you got

To lose? I’m the only one who

Can handle ISIS, your taxes,

Your jobs. I’m a businessman.

I know how to create jobs. I 

Employ thousands. Solomon,

Opening Proverbs, states

His purpose: To teach

Shrewdness to the simple, 

Knowledge and prudence 

To the young—let the wise

Also hear and gain in learning,

And the discerning acquire skill,

To understand a proverb and

A figure, the words of the 

Wise and their riddles. The fear 

Of the Lord is the beginning

Of knowledge; fools despise 

Wisdom and instruction. The

Combination of greed and

Infantile will is why so many

Of our Bible-belted brothers

And sisters turn from real

Knowing to place their hopes

In charlatans.

c, J.S.Manista, 2016