"Corporate Beautitudes" by Erica Dionora

blessed are the poor/ for theirs is the streets/ to take with all its scraps, cat-sized rats/ and bubblegum-spit embroidered sidewalks/ so long as they keep away from the eyes/ and ears of the city folk

blessed are those who mourn/ the sights and sounds of their home/ in this land of commodification and cultural genocide/ identity is a potluck of bitter-sweet rations

blessed are the meek for they will inherit/ all that is left/ of the earth/ its pilfered lands and oceans/ just look at the desecrated boneyards of their homelands/ the anemic bodies of acreage that once nurtured its kind

blessed are those who hunger and thirst/ when the (self)righteous have had more/ than their fill/ may the hungry become modestly inspired/ strong-willed, driven mad with miserly ambition/ and one day— someday—find/ a seat at our table

blessed are the pure/ the soft, the tender/ the shellless crab of a heart/ for they will see god/ sooner rather than later

blessed are the pacifiers/ the sons of founding fathers/ the beasts of patriarchs that claim direct lineage to divinity/ round and round the world goes/ practicing, permanentizing/ the calculated errors that brought us here/ on account of such charitable services/ yes, bless them indeed

blessed are the merciful/ who may never be shown mercy/ here is your moment of silence/

blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness/ for their names will be honoured/ immortalized as campaigns/ that market products/ deliver the goods/ knock upon the people’s doors/ how could they possibly turn away children/ and migrant labour exploitation/ in the name of somebody who died for justice/ happy asian/ black/ indigenous/ women’s/ pride month/ we stand in solidarity/ while supplies last