The Shadow of God

He got to the top of the mountain

And he saw the shadow of God,

Then he heard it mutter, and shouting

‘Will you heed the reck of the rod.’

Then he fell on his face in horror

When he saw the burning bush,

And he said, ‘I’ll begin tomorrow,

Don’t be in such a rush.’

He headed down from the mountain

And his face was strained and grey,

He stood by the edge of a fountain,

Said ‘I’ve come to make your day.’

He saw the villagers gathered

And he said, ‘New rules from God,

They’ll clatter down from the mountain

And will make you reck his rod.’

And then the first of the tablets

Came rolling into the square,

Engraved with a form of writing

That they’d never seen out there,

They asked the man to explain it,

And he thought, ‘this might be fun,’

‘No matter what you might gain by it,

Don’t ever design a gun!’

The wise men nodded so wisely,

And the dumb ones just looked glum,

Whatever they knew, knew slightly,

They’d never heard of a gun,

The second tablet tumbled down

From somewhere up on the mountain,

It bounced and reared and fell right in

To the water, deep in the fountain.

‘All should be baptised here, it said

By jumping into the water,

But know you’ll be married here instead

If you jump with somebody’s daughter.’

More tablets rolled down the mountainside

Too quick for any to count them,

And some were crushed in the awful rush,

The ones that had tried to mount them.

‘You mustn’t commit adultery

Unless you’re adults in play,

And then when you swap your wives about

It’s only for just one day,

The seventh tablet deals with death

And what you should do, or oughta,

After you kill, just take a breath

Then go for a general slaughter.’

The man went back to the mountain top

And he sought the shadow of God,

‘Got all the tablets, thanks my friend,

But isn’t it rather odd?

I couldn’t make out a word they said,

They passeth my understanding.’

‘Don’t call me your friend, you slimy sod,

The Devil wants you, for branding!’

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[WordKnurd]

Throughout most of my college carreer I listened to my fellow millenials b***h about rhyme and meter and tell me how terrible it is, and how stifling it is, and how no serious poets use it anymore. And my whole college carreer I wanted to slap them upside the head because there is absolutely a time and place for classical forms. It's poems like these that make me feel vindicated. Aside from the fact that it is a clever, thought provoking piece, it is also a pleasure to hear.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

How fantastical in your delivery, ah for these essences to be real, well done, good read.

[Valentine]

Whew, an unexpected write from you. Not mocking religion but showing just how easy the Devil can twist people into doing bad things. Valentine