goddamn in poetry

“goddamn” is my favourite curse word by far
because it is sneakily the worst curse of them all

there are so many ways you can tell
someone to deficate copulate urinate
insult their ethnicity their intellect their mom
all of this pales in the face of
simple workman-like goddamn because
goddamn means you’re telling them
I am conjuring an all-powerful invisible man
to torture you mercilessly until the end of time
starting the moment you die

I’m not sure what kind of
poop or sex you’re swearing about
but I doubt it could be half as bad as that
yet it’s mild enough
to be said on prime-time network teevee!

as if suggesting that I
shared a night of tender pleasures with your mom
is worse than wishing that you
will have a magical goat-monster
set you on infinite fire

as if reminding you how
poop is a thing that exists
is anything in the face of
suggesting a cosmology where
the whole focus of existing
is to see if you will slip up
break the wrong ancient rule
of twenty thousand ancient conflicting rule sets
to see who gets poked with sticks for eternity and
that I want you to be one of the unlucky ones
poked with sticks for eternity

that is some harsh stuff
that is the hardest stuff
yet it can even leak through in a pop song
on the bubblegum radio dial from time to time
because no one’s actually thinking about it
except for me, I guess

“goddamn” is my favourite curse word by far
because it is sneakily the worst curse of them all
I mean, goddamn
goddamn