I – the beginning

life gathers around food,

eat as much as you want

and it is called gluttony

but it is never too much

said the glutton spirit.

i have been called worse before,

don’t mind me,

swats an aimless ghost

away – you’re in the way.
and glutton settled into the couch
within the heart, for the door
was left quite open: hear, hear
the soul within called – i want food,
more, a feast, dining, luxury, anyone?

glutton heard from afar, it was such a sweet
voice, the inside was even finer –
so much to work on, to devour, like a hungry ghost,
it nearly sang – nearly for
shutting up for now was cunning,
best not to alert the host
that one has come to dwell.

let it go on thinking this is all from
the stars being aligned, good genes, wonderful environment,
things like that, but not a spiritual attack,
never that, might send the wrong signal

truth be told, the host had doubts –
what if hell was real?
nah, pah – and still the nagging sensation,
smoke without fire,
some things defy explanations,
he has seen some weird shit, to know the
difference between tricks, super natural,
a sound within his stomach, a pain,
i need, i want, i do anything for … …

and the host sang, danced till night became morning,
and the plates kept on coming, meals after meals,
slowly became lust, pride, a family reunion in the making
when more is never enough. let’s add spice.

II – the external world

in the mundane boring world,

the baits are scattered all about,

don’t cluster

admonished the fisherman,

there is something for every fish!

??? the hateful spirit cast a disapproving

look on flesh,

bends it just a little, a slight wiggle,
wiggly worms, wiggly serotonin, wiggly limbic
system turning red, a fisherman’s job is a hard life,
fishing barely turns a profit these days,
the cards are stacked badly,
richness never came this way – this is a losing game,
and i am just a fish among men,
a bait i eat, that miserable paycheck,
a boss reels me in.

the man lost interest in a job that

fed just enough: became a public nuisance,
took up signs that the world was coming to an end,
that everything was rigged,
rebel, rebel.
it seemed like a good slogan, so very inventive,
the law enforcers did not see it that way.

and got thrown into a cell.

a lying ghost whispered to the prisoner

who found a tall tale to tell the judge,
who was quite open to ideas,
what is it?
and the man was inspired by memories he never had,
by experiences he never lived,
knowledge taken from another time:
it all boils down to this he told the
inquiring juries –
i am a victim, ransacked by the greedy corporation,
the top guys, they’re the real culprits,
you know it, you see it,
began to weave a stunning story
that made hearts tremble
for it was mixed with lies, truth, lies
within truths, truths within lies
till nothing was sure anymore … …

soon was a free man once again.

III – metaphysics explained

who says lying is bad?

baits of many kinds, the devil

cast his net long, wide and deep.

he’s got to be the best at catching

humans, swaying, distorting, levelling

the playing field

is what he tells the maker.

my ways are more succulent than your ways,

see for yourself.

and men, women, kids, teenagers

they all took a slice of pie

from the one called the father of lies,
or angel of light – there doesn’t that feel
better when you are named martyr even
if you nothing of that sort?
see … … it is already working,

you’re relaxed, calm, happiness flows in
your blood, it is the same offering i give
said the angel when i wore a different face

take it – now, real sacrifice, love, genuine products
cost something, ouch, real angels get spurned, what they
gave –

did not seem quite so

savory, a humility, truth, compassion, gentleness

they get stomped by the hideous

beast whose might amazes the audience!

IV – the outcome

they drew near to the beast whose roar
was terror, held power – that’s all it matters
and as the crowd drew near, so too did the beast.

felt such presence, such strength, such greatness,
then one by one, like soldiers following orders
each and every one of them shoved the weak,
dismantled honor, grace, love – called it the traits
of fools.

they walked like toddlers,
and daddy smiled, except daddy was a lot
more magnificent, i want to be just like daddy,
the toddler wrestled with each other to be
top dog, and daddy just smiled – you’ll never
in all eternity have my pride.

later on the same folks would praise
saints: fools while alive,
it’s odd how fast the labels change
when death takes place.

suddenly the crocodile tears,
suddenly the change in alignment.
suddenly the repentance
when there is no cost,
just an outward appearance of
a conniving group
reaching, taking, usurping heaven
because they refuse to be
embarking with what is repulsive
to the flesh,

this is seduction behind the scenes,
you never see her smile, her smirk,
her cold calculation, for a sea of lake
and fire is myth. is it not?

for it the mind, the heart, the soul
truly believed in that hellish place,
it would be a lot harder to tempt, to deceive,
when the stakes are real,

but children draw close to fairy tales,
it is safety, it is irresponsibility,
and the adults were children
as far as seduction was concerned!

V the aftermath

it’s the best thing ever

they all said before the total bill came about.

then one by one,

life gets reeled in,

from the river lethe: they no longer remember

spiritual gems, no longer aware a soul resides
within a shell, the shell is the temporary,
the to be discarded, the husk to be shed in time,
saw only in terms of what

animals can see – the evident, the now, the future
that think they control.

i am free, i eat, i drink, i am merry,

i won.

feed me: and they grew fat, turgid, swollen, ripe
filled with wanton lust,
always hungry, always searching, always wanting,
never actually full – that’s what makes
vices so addictive: the prey never
detaches, till the jaws snap.

feed the spirits.

and spirits are immortal, they can wait patiently,
they know the end and beginning,
now they wait,
the light extinguished,
ember gone cold,
salt water no longer salty,
i am only human you know – the fat, turgid, lifeless
life spoke.

now the spirits just need to

reel them in, for they no longer resist.