Simple Pieties
By John Herlihy

Simple pieties have served us long and well,
Far longer, in fact, than anyone could tell.
They come all dressed up for any occasion,
To serve our needs with a simple persuasion.
They say: Turn the other cheek, eat humble pie,
If nothing else, they draw attention to the sky.
Become as little children and honor thy mother,
This only the purely evil-hearted could smother.
We invoke these simple pieties to bring good luck,
We need these sweet nothings when lost in muck.
We listen to unholy accusations arise from earth,
Sounds murmur their protestations since our birth.
Hard truths rise up from the earth totally unbidden
Soaring forth as spears of light, unveiled, unhidden.