The Temple Built to Sell Illusion

(A poem in five acts)

By Kelly Watt

Act I: The Mask of the Mic

3

Truth can’t sell.

Lies ring well.

Prophets rebel, fell.

6

Stage lights blind and bind belief.

Fame feeds fear, not inner relief.

Gold crowns rest on thieving grief.

9

They bow to mirrors, cracked and cursed,

Dreams rehearsed in beats reversed,

Truth unrehearsed stays unreimbursed.

3

Hooks over soul.

Chorus eats whole.

Pain turned goal.

6

Brand your face, not your fire.

Loyal lips sing to empire’s choir.

Raw gets rinsed, then sold higher.

9

Verses trimmed with bulletproof smiles,

Preacher-poets chained by radio dials,

Truth walks miles, truth wears trials.

Act II: The Grift Called Glory

3

Honest gets ghosted.

Loyal gets posted.

Mouths stay coated.

6

Contracts whisper what tongues can’t shout.

What you say, they’ll bleed out.

Heart’s edit becomes cash clout.

9

Mic’s a leash dressed as crown,

You rise as long as you bow down,

Choke on applause, wear the gown.

3

Gates stay guarded.

Stage lights started.

Souls half-hearted.

6

The ones who scream become suspect.

Love the brand, not the defect.

Kill the truth, sign the check.

9

Gold-plated crosses, deals in sin,

Winners grin while martyrs spin,

No truth gets piped within.

Act III: Empire’s Choir, Jesus on Mute

3

Temple sells lies.

Crucifix buys ties.

Prophets get fries.

6

Jesus flipped tables, now he’s tame.

Traded justice for faith in name.

Empire’s gospel plays the same.

9

Render to Caesar, cash that clause,

Silence becomes the highest applause,

Scripture warped into moral jaws.

3

Saints get shelved.

Truth is expelled.

Gospels repelled.

6

Paul packaged Christ for Roman scope.

Fit him tight in empire's trope.

Stripped the sword, handed hope.

9

Burning bush turned to glow effect,

Spirit sold in branded dialect,

Truth redacted, made correct.

Act IV: The Martyr’s Math

3

Truth walks alone.

Echoes a throne.

Silence grown stone.

6

Nina howled, they called her mad.

Baldwin bled where truth had stabbed.

Lauryn fled when hearts were grabbed.

9

Every prophet dances edge of blade,

Words made thunder, still betrayed,

Truth decays where trust is paid.

3

Fame feeds flame.

Then blames same.

Truth stays unnamed.

6

You want it raw? Uncut, divine?

They’ll shelf your voice by design.

Truth don’t sell; lies align.

9

The mic’s a muzzle with a crown,

You speak too much, they shut down,

Silence’s purchase buys renown.

Act V: Fire Remains Unscaled

3

Fire don’t fold.

Truth not sold.

Steel hearts hold.

6

Let glass shatter, let flames rise.

Kill the echo, birth new cries.

Truth walks in outlawed guise.

9

Burn the temple built to sell,

Break illusion, crack the spell,

Truth ain’t tame, truth won’t dwell.

3

Build with blaze.

Not market praise.

God rewrites plays.

6

Jesus wept for power’s throne.

Love breaks laws, walks alone.

Truth returns where lies are grown.

9

This fire ain’t for their stage,

It’s street-lit, exile-scribed rage,

Prophets roar, uncaged by wage.

Final Stanza: The Unbuyable Voice

3

Truth is flame.

Not for fame.

Never tame.

6

Let them crown their silent sheep.

You sow fire, you don’t sleep.

Prophets don’t climb; they leap.

9

When the temple sells illusion loud,

Speak unbought beneath the cloud,

Truth ain't safe—but it’s allowed.