I literally found a troubling verse;
    God said Elijah would appear
Before my Savior came to earth;
    Jesus said, He did in Spirit, don't fear.

Literally, the prophet said my Lord
    Would rule from David's throne,
Not with the Word, but with a sword.
    Read in Spirit, I heard Jesus moan.

And in my Bible, quite literally,
    An Apostle called Satan, no less,
Holds the keys to Heaven's gates.
    Read in Spirit, I heard Jesus profess.

How could my mother endure,
    I thought, His strange command
That I be born again?
    In Spirit, He sighed, in Spirit, My man.

Then, my Bible, literally, says
    A Gospel writer and my Lord
Taught ancient prophesies fulfilled,
    In Spirit only. Truth is our reward.

I read my Bible literally and pause,
    Let dead folks bury dead?
Baptize me with fire, my Lord?
    God is a Spirit, He said.

Christ will return when stars fall down,
    The sun goes dark, the moon -- wild --
Turns to blood? To that, I frown.
    Still reading literally, My child?