The Blackness of Hinnom
The blackness of Hinnom enveloping all—
Light in constriction and death like a pall,
Animals festering there on the sand,
Trees in despondency stand.
The blackness of aeons, unnerving and drear,
Persons of stature encumbered in fear,
Landscapes unkempt, in accursedness cast,
Vitriol borne of the past.
Dogs licking bones of the carcasses strewn,
Flickers of hope an ephemeral boon,
Petrified God in surveillance bereft,
Sin an unmovable heft.
Crows in profusion, the darkness of coal,
Death is endemic and out of control,
Forces of evil with magical clout,
Loosing their spells with a shout.
Worshippers stalwartly sing in the church,
Blasphemies linger, the saints to besmirch,
Nearer my God to thy providence please!
Here upon feverish knees!
Hinnom commanding in terrible force,
Puissantly keeping a damnable course,
Destinies sadly imperiled and mired,
Oh, such a woe has transpired…
Art by Jacques Raymond BRASCASSAT (1804-1867) “La Sorcière” (The Witch) 1835 Musée des Augustins. Toulouse
