The Fruits of Evil

The Fruits of Evil.


Once I took a walk into the world,
In the midst of a dream that seemed true,
To see where the way would lead,
And I walked down many roads,
And there I met an old man ,
Who also walked my path,
Even though he was stranger,
His face was very familiar to me,
And he smiled as we exchanged a glance.


He was busy in his work of harvesting,
In a wild garden watched by the gods,
Plucking fruits of evil from a tree,
Whose branches were formed of gold,
And adorned with leaves of silver gilt,
It was a wondrous thing to behold,
Ripe with so many precious fruits,
But then I looked again and saw,
That its black roots led into an open pit,
Filled to the brim with dead bodies,
That time had tried to forget,
And a serpent lay in chains amidst them,
The saviour of all fallen mankind,
Its jaws were bound with a myriad lies,
As tears fell softly, forever from its eyes.


I watched him collect them all,
One by one the fruits of evil,
Each glittered in the mocking sun,
Enticing him to consume them,
Wealth,
Fame,
Status,
Adoration,
Success,
Were etched upon their gilded rind,
And as he plucked each from a branch,
Each bestowed its dark blessings,
But the more of them he collected,
The more his was back bent,
Beneath the burden of his possessions.


Then I felt soft rain fall upon my face,
And I saw the gods were weeping,
And I watched that old man change,
Transform from a man into a demon,
For all the fruits of evil he had gathered,
Had become the bane of his being,
For each had sprouted a deadly seed,
That turned his liberty into his prison.


So I left the garden and all its gifts,
And walked once more on my way,
Down country lanes where a slow river ran,
And simple forest folk were at play,
I sat beside a child, who taught me all I knew,
And he showed me where the real garden grew,
Then in the dream the world became a womb,
Where the flowers of wisdom began to bloom
And in harmony our souls began to sing,
Until in simple beggars rags I awoke,
And realised I had been reborn as a king.