The Sin of the Time

Oh, how I fell to the Sin of the Time!
It was there, so present, and none would
Render a recompense for its evil!
Until my tender heart said, "No more!"
And I was laid to burden under a heavy yoke.
There, my soul was crushed by Presbyterian preachers
And there my soul was surrounded by bloody men.
And out I came, and suffered under the yoke of Babylon
And then Satan whispered Sin into my ear;
So I will say, "'twas me."
I blasphemed in my heart and soul
And I committed a miserable offense against myself;
But, I still honor you Jesus
Lest you shake me off like a wasp
And smash me against the bricks.
You, only You know how to destroy me so utterly.
Yet, Bunyan and many other martyrs had the same
Whispers of Satan in their ears,
As Christian was beaten at Doubting Castle.
Let prosper me, and my soul...
For I am helpless my LORD, against it.

The Revolution Suite

Maria, stand firm
And raise your banners so high!
Liberty, stand in
New York Harbor, Green with age
And torched guide for Patriots.

George Floyd was killed for selling cigarettes
Outside of a store, and the nations raged;
Black fought White, White fought Black, understand 'twas
A distraction, to usher in the Sith's 
Two sides, where both would war and Sauron's Arms
Would cause Orcs to fight their Oraikai.
Thus, Trade Federations and Republics
Would war for Roman Hight, and Salute wide.

Thus strum your drums and raise your flags
Old King Cole shall come at last
That Uncle Sam who made us so dumb
Will make hearts shine and fast
Will come the great strong lords to their wars
To quell rebellion upon their shores
For at last That Hideous Strength is seen
To play our prejudices against our needs.
And Arthur, come to Pevensey
And take your shores from Mordred's glee;
Old King Cole, Arthur, Uncle Sam
You are a Spirit and are not a Man
Of Freedoms won for the West
Be not stopped by Albion's Cliffs.

Then Alex Jones lost a Lawsuit
And worse was put our won freedoms.
During the riots, bad men loot
And Trump and Biden preyed on them.
For Trump no criticism could 
Be made, for he had skin as soft 
As felt, and would not do as should;
He turned men to believe so oft
The conspiracies tattled, t'would
The land be confused, and so wrong.
The constellations were new, yet 
None would see, for they did forget
To look up in the bright heavens,
Annoyed by their televisions.

So rock the way and know no more anew
The things of God would be there made to prove
That no revival struck the land, but that
Misery, great revival, it was built
Only on our America's great greed.
For conservatives made the Left destroy
Electric cars, and advertising for 
Elon was, the Left's dumb outlandish stars.
For right was wrong, and wrong was right all 'twere
Reversed, the Daffy Ducks and Loony Tunes
All had figured out the curse.
Thus old Nursery Rhymes and King Cole's pleasant
Safety we did now protest,
For we wanted what America were, 
And what was always the best.

A Roman Salute I make to one;
Christ, God’s only Begotten Son.


*Notes on Making this Suite

I had a moment of lucid imagination, of all good philosophies converging to the truth, and raising their banners in the air, ready to meet an invading army. Taking all the United States' and English Symbolism, and combining them into a potent soup to win a Revolution. What was that Revolution? Against all the bad ideas of modernity, converging into a singular point, which is totalitarian control over our thoughts and resources. Then, as would happen, Quora suggested a prompt almost immediately after, which couldn't have been timed any better. It said, "Write a Suite Which Will Touch the Hearts of Many." I looked up "Suite" in Poetry, and found it to be using multiple forms. So, I did.

The First Stanza is a Tanka;
The Second Blank Verse Pentameter;
The Third a modified Sonnet Form in Tetrameter;
The Fourth a modified Ballad Form;
The Fifth a mock Iambic Pentameter and an Invented  Form;
The Sixth an Aphorism.


©2025 B. K. Neifert
All Rights Reserved

Intelletto


intelletto
/in·tel·lèt·to/
sostantivo maschile
1.
La facoltà di istituire rapporti ideali di ordine spec. razionale: le passioni velano l'i; un i. forte; perdere l'i; nella dottrina cattolica, uno dei sette doni dello Spirito Santo; com., la capacità d'intendere e volere, intelligenza.
"vigoroso i."
2.
La persona umana, in quanto dotata d'intelligenza o di singolari virtù spirituali.
"un grande i."

On Changing My Faith

I’ve changed my religion a few times.

My first faith, was American Paganism. I believed in Astrology, and Santa Clause, and the Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairy. That was my legitimate faith. I remember arguing with the Sunday School teacher about it, way back when I was a little boy. I believed in Santa Claus and the Zodiacs and things like that.

Well, I somewhere along the line, got into contact with Jesus—metaphorically speaking, but maybe also literally in some sense of the word—and at my new church, we had Vacation Bible School. And I learned about the miracles of Jesus, and the morals of Jesus, and I just loved Jesus. I would sit and listen to His Parables, and I did not like Paul at an early age. At all. I thought Paul was bad, and bad people needed to be punished. Of course. That’s part of my American Paganism. I hated Paul… I remember running around with my fingers in my ear, whenever Paul was discussed. Because, bad people need to be punished. Hell I was just fine with. I liked the concept of Heaven and Hell, and I was like, “Good people go to heaven, and bad people go to hell.” That was my mind made up. The A-Team shot at the bad guys, and the Ninja Turtles beat them up, and Luke Skywalker did too—I didn’t understand why He didn’t just eviscerate Darth Vader… but then Darth Vader turned on the Emperor, and I was fine with that. Darth Vader did his redemption, and I was happy.

Well… I’d soon sin. Everyone probably will know that about me… about 14 I did something very dangerous and stupid, and Paul started making a whole lot more sense at that moment. It was the beginning of my doubt. So, I’d say I became a Christian the moment I realized that I wasn’t perfect. At all. And I converted to Lutheranism.

Well, the Lutherans betrayed me. Here’s that story:

https://qr.ae/pArEn3

So, I became a Messianic Jew when I saw some moral agent—as I always wanted to be moral, that was the core of why I became a Christian, was I needed a way to express what’s good. And at that point, I became kind of dangerous, and did another bad thing that was about as stupid and dangerous as what I did at 14. So… I really wrestled with the faith. I wanted moral guidance, but my American Paganism was “Bad guys need to be gotten rid of.” That is just the American Way, and what I did was part of that stupid belief structure, that there were some bad people in my eyes, and they needed to pay. For what? That’s neither here nor there, because soon I’d be convicted of four misdemeanors, and start my psychiatric treatment.

So, fast forward, I found out the victim in my first thing was really upset about it, so upon deliberation and trying to talk to her about it, I realized I probably should pay for this. It’d be better for both of them, so I went and confessed. And at that time, I was highly involved in Pentecostal Churches, but was still primarily Messianic Jewish. I still observed the Feast Days, I still observed the Sabbaths, I still wouldn’t eat pork or shellfish. That’s about as deep as I went with it. Probably wouldn’t have worn flax and wool clothing, either. But I did wear Polyester. And celebrated some Passover meals. And I was beginning to attend a Baptist Church too, and soon after that an Black Church, when I was awaiting my conviction. And then I went to jail, and talked with the Chaplain, and realized I was more or less wrong about the Messianic Jewish thing.

So… I did some soul searching, went to an Evangelical Free Church and a Bethel Church, and met some people who were unique. One was very good, but the whole episode with those churches, I thought I knew a whole lot more than I did. And I’d argue with them, and the pastor, still having my cult tendencies… and I knew some things, but they were very judgmental people, and not very nice. They, I think, got tired of me, and cast me out of the church. So, soon after that I got baptized—as that was a whole issue, I wanted to be baptized and my Lutheran pastor wouldn’t, so she anointed me with oil, but that wasn’t good enough, so I got baptized at the Free Church. And so did my brother on the same day. In fact, my brother was one of the two people who pushed me into the water. And the one guy knew the Didache, and moved the water as I was being baptized.

So… I was without a home… maybe Pentecostal, and kind of mixed up about a whole lot of things. So… I just studied. And soon found the Apostolic Fathers, and Martyr’s Mirror, and received an NRSV from my Mimi with the Apocrypha, and received her old Hymnal. And I was acquainted again, with the faith I knew. And I studied Paul, and for years before that I read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, and St. Augustine’s Confessions. And that gave me some framework, but I think the combination of Jay Vernon McGee having the same interpretation of the Bible, and so with Matthew Henry, and then the striking similarities between my theology and those of the Anabaptist tradition—I’m kind of somewhere between Catholic and Anabaptist.

So, that’s generally where I’m at now… I don’t know which I want to lean toward. Either the Catholic or the Anabaptist—which you’d be surprised how similar both of them are. I think I have an identical faith to Michelangelo and John Bunyan. I’d say that’s my theological bent, is “intelletto”. But, I’d probably be some combination of Catholic and Anabaptist. That’s kind of my faith as it stands right now. And I think I’m comfortable with it. I accept all the traditions of Orthodox Christianity, and don’t really prioritize them, as they all sort of have their strengths and weaknesses, but I’d say Michelangelo is probably the closest to my personal beliefs.

https://kingdomwinds.com/michelangelos-spiritual-life/

The White Nigger

I peel grapes for him
And am angry at him
A rich man with a stick
Who beats me 
Metaphorically speaking
So I curse him
In the forest.
Then, Steve arrives
And embarrassed and ashamed
I bow down to the forest floor
Knowing I am a nigger.
But a good thing for it to be---
For I am free, and perfectly
Fine commiserating with the lot.
I'd rather be the poor nigger with white skin
Set free like Aesop was
Than the Rich Black Man with no soul.
Yet even then, I was never made a slave.

When Christ Returns

Hazy are the clouds, like a nuclear winter
In the spring day, a yellow hue is on the horizon.
I walk in the brisk fifty degrees,
Up the familiar path, and am surprised
By the forest walking over yonder the hill...
I say to it, "The bees, they are coming out of their holes"
For only one or three days of the year
Do the bees peak out, and over the hillocks 
Fly in their immature bodies.
I am surprised by the sudden meeting and hazy
As the sky above, for so it will be like when Christ and I meet
Surprised, and suddenly, and without warning.
I'd rather be looking at the bees, than gesticulating
At my enemies around me, wishing to curse and cause a stir;
Or beating Christ's fellow servants
When I am surprised by that chance meeting
And then the haze lifts, and the sun becomes seven times brighter:
Yes, I'd rather not know what to say, and be studying the bees.
I do not wish to be a chicken aside the road,
And scared to approach Him, knowing I'd been doing wrong;
For the Bluebells are immature,
And the Hyacinth are half strong, and half growing
For another week there shall be bluebells like clockwork:---
We do not know the time or hour, and it may be when everything
Seems untimely and half in bloom, and surprise you as the sun did me
When it burst from its haze, and shone today
As I ate, and there seemed to be Zion, which seemed
Impossible to reach, and its heavenly songs
Yet I will feast there upon the sweet nectar
And the Meat of the Fruit of Life---
It will have seemed like it could never be done
And it, too, seem so very early, and unexpected;
Yet there it is.