I hear too many church people
talk about having faith
but they drive new Cadillacs
with full tanks of gas and eat
lunch in downtown cafes
waking in perfect health
next to your darling
to go to a job you love
that keeps your bank accounts
in the black
sounds suspiciously like…
something else.
you don-t need faith
if the lights come on
after flicking the switch
or if your children rest
comfortably in their beds
at night
in my experience
faith is barreling down
the interstate
at eighty-five miles per hour
without the brakes
in a car barely clinging
to its metal
it-s giving up
your wristwatch
to the offering plate
because the money is gone
and you have no other
sacrifice for the Lord
so don-t talk to me about faith
until you have tangled with tigers
and bear-hugged a grizzly enough
to leave a few scars on your souls
I-ll listen to a man
talk about faith
when it is evident
that faith is
all he has