Eviction Notice

from The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

You are hereby banished from
The House of Fear forever.
With malice aforethought, you have
Flagrantly withheld the monthly rent
Of guilt, anxiety, fear, shame
And self-condemnation.
You have adamantly refused to
Worry about your salvation.
Already I overheard one dismal tenant say,
“There goes the neighborhood!”
Your freedom from fear is not only
Dangerous but contagious.
Real estate values have plummeted;
Gullible investors are hard to find.
Why?
Your callous and carefree rejection
Of slavery!
A pox on you and
All deluded lovers of liberty!

-The Prince of Darkness