From atop his Olympian office,
this self-deluded Zeus
toys with people’s lives,
deigning with an ink-stroke
of his omnipotent hand
who lives
and who hurts.
Blessed are those
who offer up
groveling sacrifices
of ingratiating praise,
for upon them
he bestows
his favor,
writes their names
on his Triplicate
Pad of Life.
But woe unto those
who threaten his ego
by daring to hurt
beyond his ability to medicate,
for they invoke
his wrath.
So it is with her.
She comes to him
for help,
begs him to remove
her crown of thorns.
Infuriated
by his own impotence,
he rises to his Titanic stature,
chilling her
with his cold,
ungodly shadow.
Thundering,
he hurls
a fiery lightning bolt
that consumes her,
leaving charred earth and stone
where she had been kneeling.
The smoke dissipates;
his wrath subsides.
He nods,
smiling in satisfaction, (continued)
as he resumes
his rightful place
upon his celestial throne,
this unmerciful jury
of
One.
Next: Happy Birthday
