Swearing as Spiritual Practice (Proper 20/25)

"My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick." Jeremiah 8:18

I endorse no particular word.

Crack open the box

of your culture's taboos,

and choose your own adventure.

Pick one heavy with meaning,

weighted with power comparable

to the strength of your pain.

Thread it through your fingers,

feel the shape of it

cram it in your mouth and get the taste of it,

the unsavory flavor of bitterness,

of all that remains after joy has left.

Then,

before the sharp edge cuts your tongue,

grind down with your teeth

until it oozes and leaks,

'til it drips down your chin,

'til the balm it creates

heats and hazes and floats

like incense from the incensed,

until it rises in groans and sighs

too deep for words.

And when you have mashed into it

the fullness of your heart-sick sorrow,

you will have transformed profanity

into prayer.

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