I had never walked through the gate.
After a few more wonderful meetings,
I grew anxious.
An adjacent shadow enclave called to me
And offered isolation from the crowds.
Within the shadows, I exhaled deeply.
I was grateful to be hidden from the sun;
The light meant more smiles and happiness.
If not for the hidden haze and the pause it gave me,
The city would have had nothing to smile about.
With my nerves calming and my skin embattled,
I studied my surroundings and found a small corridor.
The darkness leading downward fed my curiosity.
In such a bright celebratory city,
A tunnel of black was a blessing.
No cheering, no dancing, no laughter.
Only a dark, damp and cold wooden door.
The escaping cool breeze filled my lungs with acceptance.
Darkness was the first welcoming from the city
That I actually accepted.
Narrow stone stairs supplied a pathway
For my descent and led me into a large cavern.
Streaks of sunlight gleamed through the cracks,
But were devoured by the shades of grey.
A flowing stream separated the cavern floor in half
And provided a beautiful sound.
Disregarded by the city, the cavern was abandoned
And hidden behind the shadows.
All who frolicked in the sun and warmth of others,
Would find no such pleasures under city.
That was where I found my serenity.
My acceptance was gifted by the shadows.
My security was granted by the hidden sanctuary.
During my appreciation of my new dwelling,
Lucifer appeared before me.
His long yellow hair and beard split the darkness.
It made sense for him to appear;
Pride had filled my heart at that moment.
He greeted me with honor and respect,
I showed the same in return.
We talked of the path of God.
He spoke of hidden sources deep within my mind.
Mastering the traits would assist me in my task.
I was to practice my skills during my stay in the city.
His words of corruption and defiance would be a gift.
He praised my wrath in the previous village
But acknowledged the small effort.
I had to grow in my intentions, expand my horizons.
My path brought me to the city of Hell
And releasing my abilities would allow me to leave.
After Lucifer left, I sat on the banks of the stream,
Listening to my thoughts.
I do not understand how I was able to achieve
What I am about to discuss next, but the knowledge
Would serve as a turning point in my studies.
I lifted an arm to stretch my shoulder.
As I did, a large stone rose into the air.
I lowered my arm and the stone followed.
I rested my arm and the stone fell to the ground.
Again, I focused on the stone, raising it off the ground.
I pulled it closer and then pushed it away.
With a quick sway of my palm,
The stone shattered against the wall.
I focused on the running stream.
The cool, clear water became turbulent.
I smiled at the idea of controlling elements.
After my discovery, I ventured back to the upper city.
The sun was bright exiting into the corridor.
My anxiety grew, and I shielded my eyes.
The sounds of another festival echoed through my ears.
People were dancing and singing.
Rose petals covered the street;
Green leaves were being tossed in excitement.
If there was ever a city that needed corruption,
It was Hell.
As the sun disappeared behind the city walls,
All of the citizens migrated inside.
They did so in a quick manner,
As if they were afraid of the dark.
The night received no celebration,
No festival for the stars.
It was only me alone in the street,
With an entire city within my grasp.
I wanted to start small in my quest,
So I slaughtered a few of their cattle
And displayed the corpses in an upright position.
Their hooves submerged in a thick pool of blood.
Some might find the sight disturbing,
But I found it to be the most beautiful vision
I had seen in the city since arriving.
Back down I went for some much needed rest.
I slept to the sounds of the cow blood
Dripping through the cracks, down into the stream.
I awoke to the aroma of rotting flesh,
But also to the sounds of more celebration.
My confusion led me up to the city,
Where I witnessed more dancing and singing.
They were celebrating life through the death of the cows.
Somehow I had provided another reason for a festival.
Frustration fed my emotions.
My wrath spiked at the sight, but instead of Amon,
I saw Beelzebub, the demon of gluttony,
Dancing across the street.
He broke rhythm and made his way through the crowd.
He said he couldn’t help himself from partaking.
I was not as amused as he.
It was good that Amon did not appear,
As I would have followed my rage
And murdered the entire population.
Beelzebub calmed me with his words.
He spoke about how greed could work.
But my mind was in too much turmoil to listen.
Merging back into the crowd, Beelzebub disappeared.
I needed something more dramatic than cows
To rattle the emotions of the city.
Their happiness was strong, but my will was stronger.
With that resolve, I grabbed the nearest person
And swiftly pulled him down into my dwelling.
The speed of the force blackened his vision.
When he awoke, he was lying on his back.
Each of his limbs were tied to boulders,
His body soaking in the current.
He looked around franticly,
As if he was searching for answers;
I knew he would find none.
His entire life up until that point was happiness.
I doubted that the understanding would ever reach him,
But watching him struggle for reason was enjoyable.
It felt as if I was watching myself;
Through the struggles I once lived through in that cave.
The confusion, the torment; all without understanding.
The city seemed to believe that man could do no wrong.
So, even while being bound within water,
He greeted me as if I was to release him.
He said he was having difficulties removing his hands.
Was it possible that his emotions
Were so deeply trained that no fear even existed?
Soon he smiled uncontrollably.
A blessing in my eyes, as I saw an opportunity;
A flaw in the happiness.
I said no words;
Only observed his downward spiral of emotions.
Once he knew that I was not going to rescue him,
His facial expressions altered.
Fear was what I desired.
How deep would his thoughts go?
Moments earlier, he was dancing in the sunlight,
Now he struggled in the darkness, confused.
Hi
s anxiousness turned to a fight for freedom.
True fear always led to violent acts;
The binds tore into his wrists
With every twist and turn for release.
I had to remind myself that the thoughts of sin
I endured within my imprisonment
Did not exist within this world.
He truly knew nothing of sin or evil,
Therefore did not know how to react.
In his mind, I was suppose to help him.
That was what any other person would have done.
Why should the expectation of me be any different?
His confusion was not from fear,
But from that notion that I had not freed him.
I felt pity for his sheltered mind: I could relate.
I was once like him when I was back on my farm.
Fear of the unknown did not exist for me then.
Upon my own land, I was a king.
But unlike him, I had now seen the horror of the world.
I had seen the corruption of man
Through the murderous ways of others.
Life was not song and flowers.
Life was a balance between day and night;
One more wholesome than the other.
As the water crested his chest,
He still looked to me for release.
As the water filled his ears,
He extended his neck to conquer the rise.
After a final inhale, he sealed his lips.
His eyes were wide open;
His head trembled in a panic.
Soon, his body absorbed the safety reservoir of air.
His mouth opened, and the water seeped inside.
His body grew lifeless, except for twitches.
I was indebted to him; his death provided knowledge
Regarding a mind full of serenity.
I was above ground early, long before the rise of the sun.
I perched his body on the stone,
The center of the festivities.
It was a sacred monument of sorts.
How would they react to a corpse tied to their relic?
I viewed the scene as art,
My second welcoming gift to the city of Hell.
As the sun rose to an intolerable level,
Out emerged the residents of the city.
There was no dancing, no celebrating.
All that was replaced with tears of sorrow.
Death slapped each of them across the face
As they stared at the bloated corpse.
I did not desire screams or chaos,
I only wanted the concept of fear
To blend with their fictitious views of the world.
I needed their acceptance that evilness
Existed within the land
And that their city was not immune to it.
The word spread throughout the city
And even to the hilltop palace of the king.
Within moments, the happy king
Headed down the street accompanied
By his loyal companions to see for himself.
To the population,
The king represented safety and solidarity.
To me, he represented an opportunity
To expand my gift giving.
I looked upon their beaten faces
While waiting for the king to arrive.
Never had they felt such despair.
Most just roamed aimlessly with no purpose.
The disruption in their peaceful pattern
Had shattered the very meaning of their lives.
The only celebration was buried deep within my mind
Where I and my fellow demons
Paraded the corpse through the streets.
We tossed blood and fragments of flesh
Instead of flowers and bread.
We sang hymns of destruction and violence
Instead of nature and love.
Our dark parade would last forever within our dreams.
The king ordered the cleansing of the fountain.
I peered around the crowd to capture a sinful gesture.
I wanted anger to emerge from the skin
Of just one citizen within the vast majority.
I needed someone to demand punishment
For whoever committed the evilness.
Did they believe it was an act of God?
All of the eyes were filled with tears of sadness.
All of the mouths were filled with words of despair.
Through the moans of sorrow, I found him.
A frail man, near the king, who shed no remorse.
He was the only one not reacting to the scene,
And he seemed to care more about the others.
Whereas some might view him as disrespectful,
I saw him as an opportunity;
A pawn to extend the reach to the king.
As I watched them walk back to the palace,
I pondered several outcomes,
But the appearance of Mammon shifted my thoughts.
Greed would be the answer.
A king without greed seemed unworthy of his crown;
Power and sin were almost a natural companionship.
To corrupt an entire city,
I needed to corrupt the very entity
That all of the citizens admired.
I needed the king.
As the days passed and the festivals returned,
I was hidden within the shadows,
Far from the eyes of the city,
Undisturbed by the citizens.
The courtyard went back to its original state.
The corpse was all disposed of in an ethical manner
And of course, a celebration was in order.
Although the days were overflowing with joy,
There was a sense of remembrance;
A sense of doubt regarding the world
Beyond the peace loving walls of the city.
There was a hesitation to begin the festivals.
There was a silence before each song.
The atmosphere was changing as questions lingered.
The doubt of all being good haunted them.
As silence and night fell upon the buildings,
I emerged from my dwelling with Mammon by my side.
We ventured up the windy road to the hilltop palace.
In a place with no fear or hatred,
There was no need for guards.
As the advisor to the king slept,
Mammon and I visited him.
Through the whispering of our voices,
We attacked his dreams.
We decayed his fantasies and destroyed his passions.
His muscles began to twitch as we continued.
We spoke of the benefits of greed and the prosperity of sin.
We spoke of opportunity and commitment.
With our vision embedded in the skull of the advisor,
We walked from the palace.
Questions plagued my mind that night.
How much would the advisor believe?
How much would he follow his dreams?
The approaching morning would carry the answers
Like the aroma of flowers through the wind.
For once, I welcomed the sun.
As the city celebrated another festival
Regarding something I did not understand,
I saw the advisor walking toward the courtyard.
He silenced the crowd with scroll in his hand.
His announcement was that the king
Had decided to tax the festivals.
In order to participate in the celebrations,
One would first contribute coin.
I paid close attention and saw resentment
Flood the audience like a raging river.
Confusion and astonishment coated the people’s faces.
My whisper of greed was well perceived by the advisor
And even more accepted by the king.
More wealth, more power.
A combination that any good king
Would be foolish to ignore.
The anguish of the city increased
As people chose not to accept the king’s demands.
My voice through the corridors encircled the residents
Like a snake inflicting them with venom in their ears.
The vision of the once great king
Deteriorated into a vast pool of greed.
Anger and bitterness clouded the skies,
Blocking the happiness of the sun.
My nightly rituals of visiting the advisor in his sleep
Kept the situation alive and fresh.
The next morning, the advisor announced that the king
Would also accept gifts as payments for celebrating.
The emotions erupted from displeasure to anger;
A level which only offered me even more options.
Anger, rage and hatred were a recipe for complete disorder.
Once achieved, the mind could be manipulated.
An angry mind
Had enough pain to shadow any rational thought;
Laying down all guard so that infection could proceed.
The crowd shouted back at the advisor.
They wanted freedom, they wanted justice.
I would be the one to offer them both.
Their eyes widened as my voice traveled,
Floating though the crowds like anaroma.
I whispered thoughts of marching to the palace.
Anger, a beautiful aspect of humans.
It seizes up the mortal mind,
Completely closing the gates to rational thought.
If any such catalyst was needed for sin,
The emotion of anger was the key.
Just days before, the city was celebrating life,
Now they were storming the palace.
I was warming up to the city.
I began to admire the architecture and landscape.
The way the corridors shadowed themselves
Was a beauty to behold.
The stone structures and paths were not meant
To support such happiness.
As the mindless, angry mob
Walked up to the unguarded palace door,
I had a moment of pride,
Prompting Lucifer to appear again.
He spoke of the longevity of sin.
His words reduced my acceptance,
But also enlightened me with additional visions.
Consistency in sin needed to be fluid.
If their anger was left untouched,
Their minds would have an opportunity
To regain control; destroying the work.
A lapse in the mind meant an alternate choice.
An alternate path meant rationalizing the situation;
Therefore emotions would become untangled.
I quickly ran amongst the group,
Making my way to the doors.
With my fists, I pounded on the wood.
The Harvester Page 4
