The Lord's Prayer

Our scientists have invented a weapon which,
Though imprudent,
Can destroy the world :
Let us pray.

Dear God, please deliver us from evil,
For our enemies are more evil than ourselves
And we are alone in the world :

And dear God, please cast the shadows black
That we might hide,
For in our hiding's strength
And we are not so strong :
Our purpose is strange
And not to be seen ,
And our faces darken beneath the sky:
We are a proud people,
And have done no wrong.

Dear God, thank you for our neighbours,
For our neighbours have given us the courage to fight :
Without them we would be nothing,
But now we are warriors
Filled with hate.

We are their Victims, Lord,
And the victims of all those others:
And being victims, we know that We Are Right,
For the Oppressor must always be wrong.

We take our purity from our oppression, Oh Lord,
And from it we also take our strength of purpose:
No one can deny us our Innocence,
And we shall kill for you with this in mind.

It is our duty to inflict punishment -
Being innocent, we are above the law :
We shall do your will.
Thy Will be done, Oh Lord -
Let us kill in your name.

We shall saw off the heads of our enemies,
Slash open the pregnant,
Stick glass in the genitalia of those we despise -
We are above them, God,
For they are nothing.

Let us shoot from a distance, Oh Lord,
All the old, the young,
All those that move:
And near-to, let us hold parties
And watch our enemies writhe and die in agony.
Our Generals are proud men
And defend us against the wicked:
Let us praise them
As they maim and kill,

And let us howl with outrage
At all accusations of our evil.

Lord, we are Victims,
And you have been merciful
And made that clear to us :
We can do anything with impunity,
For as victims we hold no responsibility.

Lord, we thank you for our lives,
And for our despair, which has coloured us deeply:
Without that despair we would not try,
But in trying we discovered our souls.
They are dark, Lord, and beyond redemption -
We live in that darknes and are unable to change:
Our darkness has become a habit,
And we have become proud of that habit.

Lord, we are sinking,
Hiding our self-hatred in bright shops and the pretences of democracy:
But our evil will not go away,
For we are a cursed people .

Deliver us from self-revelation, Lord,
For we are proud and would rather die:
Our scientists have invented a weapon
Which, though imprudent,
Can destroy the world :

Let us pray.

July 2001