Another Cynic

You've heard the tale
Of Diogenes, the Cynic,
Who walked the streets of Athens
In daylight, clad in a dirty toga,
Carrying a lamp.

When he was asked
"Why?"

He responded
"I'm just looking for an honest man."

Meet Rich Hanson, the Cynic.
He's just looking for "hope."

Short Poems for an Audience Weaned on Sound Bytes

Rich Man’s Religion

“By God, I’ll buy God,"

The rich man resolved.

"The front pew will do.”

Bye God.

 Ambrose Bierce

Chicken soup
For the cynic’s soul.

 The Dark Side of Me

It concerns me that part of my mind
Admires such men as

Oliver Cromwell
Stonewall Jackson
George S. Patton

Christian Zealot Killing machines

Whom I no doubt would have detested

Had I known them personally.

 The Heroin Addict

Seeks an end to his pain
In a life lived in vein.

 Cruel Stone Gods

Cruel stone Gods lie
Buried beneath Saharan sands,
Their stern stone mouths
Clotted With the dust
Of their priests and worshippers
Who sacrificed during their brief lives
For the promise of an eternal reward.

 Cruel stone Gods still lie.

Power Failure

Trust me on this one.
It is far easier
To curse the fuckin darkness
Than it is to find a candle
When the power goes out.

The Wedding Ring

A band of gold
Should never be invoked
To limit the bounds of Love,
Else it becomes a slave ring.

After "Super Tuesday"

It's fun to watch
Candidates smooze
After they lose,
Hiding their chagrin
Behind a forced grin
As they attempt to spin
Their defeat into a win.

Futile Quest

The most pathetic quest to witness,
And one usually doomed to failure
Is that of one who sets out in search of love
Without knowing how to give it.

Socialism

Christianity in action
Without the mythos
Of an "Invisible Friend"
Or the club of hellfire
Wielded to coerce belief in it.