You ask me why I don’t believe in god,

I have seen god and that is reason enough.

1 I have seen god in the pinhole pupils of the street junky as He gets His fix,

2 I have seen god in blood and screams and pain,

3 I have seen god in His tattered shoes and bold smile and long-empty stomach,

4 I have seen god in oil slicks and black ice and cans of rainier,

5 I have seen god in broken mirrors and empty bottles of Turkey and bloodshot eyes,

8 I have seen god in lapel pins with American flags and empty promises and “the economy”,

7 I have seen god in tears and laughter

but mostly laughter,

8 I have seen god in the lustful smile of the prostitute as She saunters down Aurora in the neon fog of the night,

9 I have seen god in the slovenly drunkenness of the angel-headed hipster on Capitol Hill,

10 I have seen god in broken windows of tenement houses,

in tear gas,

in handcuffs,

I have seen god in ungodliness.