Church of War

This is my church:

There are many like it but this one is mine –

It is my life:

I must master it as I must master my life:

Without me my church is useless:

Without my church I am useless:

This is my Bible it is my gun,

I am your God I’ll kill you for fun.

Turn to psalm 7.62,

Dolche et decorum est’s rapturous

Bullets rip through you,

The middle of no-man’s land:

Red-hot lead – flesh seeking quest:

Barbed wire spikes impale you

As you’re forced over the crest:

This is my Bible this is my gun,

I am your God I’ll kill you for fun.

Gas gas gas boys,

Be in time mask in nine,

Mask in five stay alive,

As tired old five-nines rust in peace,

Rotting in museums of murder:

A feast ‘pon which your id-lidded eyes can feast:

This is my Bible it is my gun,

I am your God I’ll kill you for fun.

Lying, dying, screaming in vain,

Silent lips cry for mother,

A whispered sound,

That falls to the ground,

Amid bullets it soaks in like rain,

Precious words wasted in a sea of pain,

While machine guns clatter and chatter,

Their full metal jackets singing your name;

This is your Bible it is your gun,

You are my God you kill me for fun.

This is your church:

There are many like it but this one is yours -

It is your life:

You must master it as you must master your life:

Without you your church is useless:

Without your church…

Nick Wadham

2011