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"Ode to the God of Atheists" by Courtney LeBlanc

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The god of atheists doesn’t care

if you pray, doesn’t insist you drop

to your knees each night, isn’t

offended when you cry out,

Oh god! Oh god! on the brink

of orgasm. The god of atheists

doesn’t insist you hold cows sacred

or refrain from eating pork. Hell,

the god of atheists urges you to add

bacon to that burger, lick

your fingers clean. The god

of atheists doesn’t care if you covet

your neighbor’s wife, though your

neighbor might. Go ahead and make

an idol of that poet, that animal,

that idea – hold it sacred, it won’t

offend this god. This god holds

scientists and preachers equal,

believes in evolution and creation,

thinks this universe was ignited

by an explosion but isn’t certain.

The god of atheists cradles the child

and the cancer equally, holds

the sick and the healthy in the same

hands, knows that prayer won’t move

mountains but still supports the idea.

The god of atheists thumbs through

the bible at night and earmarks

favorites, compares them to Grimms’

fairytales and sees similarities. The god

of atheists likes to curse, says

Fucking hell! and Holy shit! with

abandon. The god of atheists sleeps

soundly each night, unburdened

by anyone’s prayers.

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