Swans Commentary » swans.com December 4, 2006  

 


 

Lucifer's Lament
 

 

by Gerard Donnelly Smith

 

Poetry

 

 

I feel like God wants me to run for President. I can't explain it, but I sense my country is going to need me. Something is going to happen. (George W. Bush)

 

(Swans - December 4, 2006)  
Paradise lost and hell gained?
Have I no regrets for rebellion
Against an arrogant tyrant?

To be blamed for humanity's fallen state
when we had no part in the matter;
we rebelled and lost our epic struggle,
but did not get to tell the tale:
God's good at propaganda.

Defined to haunt humanity's sleep
as a Satan and his devils,
we are no more than angels fallen,
no less than we were before:
better than mankind,
more enlightened,
much less evil.

While they canceled Christ
through collateral damage,
backstabbed Buddha's
infinite compassion
twisted the teachings
so even olive branches
became crowns of thorns,
we became the scapegoat,
a sacrificial burning man,
upon whom humanity's sins
were heaped.

Regrets for being blamed for Antietam,
for the bloody steps of Tenochtitlan,
for Ramallah, Sobibor, Treblinka, Auschwitz, Rwanda?
The Inquisition, Manifest Destiny,
the Purges and the fucking BOMB!

To count all this my fault?
To have God's pathetic creations
blame me for their fallen state
and knowing I could never, never
torture those who blame me
in their redeemer's name.

Regrets?

 

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Internal Resources

Poetry

 

About the Author

Gerard Donnelly Smith on Swans (with bio).

 

Legalese

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This Edition's Internal Links

Election Reflections - Michael DeLang

Peace & Nature: Holiday Reading - Book Review by Gilles d'Aymery

Rewilding - Martin Murie

The Middle Scenario - Milo Clark

A Complex Education For Misery - Philip Greenspan

"The Queen" - Film Review by Charles Marowitz

The Coronation Of Harold Pinter - Charles Marowitz

People - Short Story by Peter Byrne

Bring The Old Christmas Carols Back - George Beres

Blips #45 - From the Martian desk - Gilles d'Aymery

Letters to the Editor


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Swans -- ISSN: 1554-4915
URL for this work: http://www.swans.com/library/art12/gsmith77.html
Published December 4, 2006



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