WALMART PRAYER: A Pious Excoriation

	Our Father who art in Walmart
	hollow is your name.

	Your bargains have come
	& sales have begun
	on Wall Street
	as it is on Main Street. Amen.

	Give us a special coupon
	so we may continue our shopping spree
	& forgive our debts:
	which we don't want to see.

	By the same token,
	may we be compassionate
	to those blinded by greed.

	And may we strive for justice,
	challenging corporate wrong-doings
	just as David challenged Goliath
	in Elah's valley.

	Finally, Dear Lord,
	Save those in poverty
	who work at Walmart
	& similar industries.


Kris:   Doesn't this poem make a mockery of the Lord's Prayer?

Sam:    On the contrary – I think it mocks consumerism.

Tim:    Perhaps we need to tackle the issue of what a religion is. To me, whatever you 
        hold most precious is your "religion." And as whenever we shift priorities, we 
        switch faiths. We should think of religion as a verb rather than a noun.

Sam:    Hmm. By that standard, consumerism is one of the world's most widespread faiths.

Ted:    So is hedonism. But what has this got to do with Walmart?

Tim:    (sighing) Please take a moment and think.


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from _AmeriSong: Poetry, Art, & Dialogs about Amerika_ by T Newfields
SUMMARY: Some thoughts about consumerism, hedonism, and Wallmart Inc.
KEYWORDS: Lord's Prayer, consumerism, Walmart, hedonism, social injustice 

Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955)
Begun: 2012 in Tokyo, Japan / Finished: 2023 in Yokohama, Japan
Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted

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TRANSLATIONS

DEUTSCH:  https://www.tnewfields.info/de/walmart-gebet.htm
ESPAÑOL:  https://www.tnewfields.info/es/walmartnuestro.htm
NIHONGO:  https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/uorumaato.htm