Scott Owens

.
.
Using My Name In Vain

Murder, slaughter, genocide, rape,
bomb, gun, bullet, hate,
acceptable loss, collateral damage,
casualty, deterrent, torture.


Don’t worry about shit, piss,
fuck, cock, cunt, balls,
cocksucker, motherfucker, goddamn it all
to hell
when the hammer hits the thumb.

All the words are my name.
Forget Yahweh, Jehovah, Christ,
Elohim, Adonai, Allah
. None of them
come close. None of them possibly could.

But bitch I can do without.
Nigger, chink, raghead, heretic,
faggot, blasphemer, slut, whore
--
all in vain
........ all to no end
............ but destruction.


Bio:
Author of 6 collections of poetry and over 800 poems published in journals and anthologies, Scott Owens is editor of Wild Goose Poetry Review, Vice President of the Poetry Council of North Carolina, and recipient of awards from the Pushcart Prize Anthology, the Academy of American Poets, the NC Writers’ Network, the NC Poetry Society, and the Poetry Society of SC. He holds an MFA from UNC Greensboro and currently teaches at Catawba Valley Community College. He grew up on farms and in mill villages around Greenwood, SC.

(author retains copyright)

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