god of the unwanted and unloved
and the rulebreakers of the world
for the mythmakers and the takers
and the givers too; to the different and the strange
and the poor and unbelonging
for the stupid and the queer and the liars and the thieves
for the children who were shunned and not told why
for the people who do not know what they did wrong
and for the people who did but had no choice
and for the people left behind.

those who question the unjust system
that fights those who fight wrongdoing
or that fight back when fought against
who are punished for saying what is true and made to bite their tongues
it is not evil to be alive, to be flawed, to be someone
my mistakes are just like yours
and my heart is just like yours
and my value is just like yours
because to be alive is to be complicated.

for the scapegoats and anti-authority
for "I told you so" and "Today I said no"
not because they are good or bad
but because these are what make a story worth telling.

when I read about you they called you god of evil, and your children monsters, but you had not done anything more evil than them and your children had not done anything at all; I wanted to know what the distinction was, why the other gods could kill and maim but you couldn't raise a finger and why your sins mattered more than theirs. but who's this guy getting yelled at for not making eye contact - getting labelled a fiend and a dangerous criminal cause I give myself a shot every week, cause my beard is a political statement - cause my hand-flapping is a taunt and my love is dirty - cause I want healthcare for all and I think the minimum wage should be higher - suddenly I'm a monster too and it makes sense.

today you are god of the marginalized, the demonized, and the targetted.
you are god of the monsters — and that's a good thing.

*i am a pagan, this is not a marvel page