the people of God
come to the altar
spreading the blood
of sacrificed time
the fruit and grains
of lost Sunday mornings
pour the wedding wine
of dollars given in faith
for the temple and the Levites
to live upon the fat
while excess flows below
to the valley of Kidron
to the garbage of  Gehenna

and so the cycle goes
an offering for a receiving
a sacrifice for a sin’s forgiving
while Micah,
voice of Lord weeps words unheard:

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.”