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The Temptation of St Anthony
The Temptation of St Anthony
I entered the desert,
took a vow not to speak
Lucifer’s here too, hoping
silent men grow weak
My path seemed so straight
but quickly became oblique
I question whether it is I
that fetishise the bleak
The fish sang in bass tones,
dirges I once knew
A trapped fiend plucked strings
from a hamstrung canoe
The joyful decapitated
are half man half shrew
As laughter echoes from whalebone
prisons, meant to subdue
Beasts around the table
chant a satanic grace
I saw my own face
in the filth they embrace
Physicality beckons
in this unholy place
I pray what I've seen
my mind can efface
I avert my eyes
to remain true and just
From helping hands
that will morph and disgust
I’m not paranoid although
filling with lust
Some gifts look divine,
served by demons I distrust
Deities fawn and
confess their obsessions
Say they’ll absolve me
of any transgressions
I’m losing my will and
might make concessions
God be with the days,
I had my own possessions
As the churches crumble
the habits reveal
Is a sin still a sin
if you know it’s not real
If this is right, I’ve done
no wrong to appeal
I’m out on my feet,
but not ready to kneel
Even the heavens are tainted
with monsters that float
Their droppings rain down,
but I tighten my coat
Hunching to dodge scythes
that fixate on my throat
Focus past pain
to salvation so remote
Calm amidst chaos
is my weary repose
Rock bottom cannot
inflict any more woes
Right now it appears
as if anything goes
Should I step up to the plate
or keep on my toes
I’ve stooped low in thought
but never in deed
I’ll rise to full height
and in good faith be freed
After all, what’s a hellscape
unless you take the lead
I’m not yet a saint,
just planting the seed
I’ve long left the desert,
beatified in name
People believed me broken,
and can now heal the lame
I found peace in tortured
mind, I battled to tame
Wrested truth by devotion,
exposed lies within shame
By David Kavanagh
Copyright ©
David Kavanagh
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