Prayer policy poetry

Generally speaking, members of the Pilot newsroom have a sense when certain stories are going to draw strong reactions from readers.

Sometimes that's because an article exposes a glaring problem or wrongdoing. Other times a story resonates due to the emotional responses it evokes. And sometimes feedback is a function of topic.

The latter is the true of today's story on Gov. Bob McDonnell's decision to rescind a policy adopted in 2008 which prohibited State Police troopers who volunteer as chaplains from praying in the manner of a specific faith tradition, or to a deity such as Jesus Christ, at official state events.

(In related news, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told the Washington Post that McDonnell's prayer policy is legally defensible, though some other legal scholars think otherwise.)

Plenty of readers across the philosophical spectrum have chimed in with comments on the story and the subject of religious freedom, but one (apparently facetious?) post caught our attention.

A commenter registered as "A Markowitz" posted a poem he composed several years ago that gives glory to grime.

We're going reproduce it below with the caveat that we aren't endorsing it, just reprinting the work for further inspection (so don't flame us too much) from you, our loyal readers.

Let us know what you think.

-- Julian Walker

Let us worship dirt. Let us revel in the richness of soil. Let us meditate on our own composition, from dirt we come, to dirt we return. Let us roll in rich loam. Let the compost heap be our holy altar. The world is a dirt ball floating in cosmic dust. The moon is dirt. The universe is dirt and all therein the dance of dirt. Dirt is life and life dirt dependent. Salt of the earth are we and the mountains our dirt cathedrals. Dirt Dirt Dirt Dirt Filth dung mud crud dust

Soil laden and excreting with dirt under our nails and feet of clay we acknowledge our oneness with Dirt. Holy Holy Holy Humus Basic art thou to all that is and in your embrace is final peace found. Who is like unto thee, Dirt among the mighty providing sustenance and life? Blessed be the Dirt under our feet! Blessed be the Dirt under our nails! Blessed be the Dirt that moves in intimate complexity! Blessed be the components of Dirt! We of the Dirt extol thee. Blessed be Dirt for ever and ever, Amen 

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