This poem was originally published as a Twitter thread here. You can find the next poem, Seven Deadly Sins II: Avaritia here.
I found the village sleeping
or that was what I thought
But when I dared edge closer
the sight had me distraught
For all across the hamlet
the people were awake
Indulging in vain antics and
conceit of every make
Some locked in front of mirrors
some by indignant frays
And others yet were lost inside
a supercilious craze
And all this madness hailed from
the village center square
The music drew me closer;
I knew I must go there
I clenched the crystal tightly
and sent a prayer up high
Aware it was an angel,
though fallen, I’d defy
And then I entered boldly
into the market place
Heart racing quicker than my mind,
a stern look on my face
The villagers had seen me,
and armed they closer drew.
But then a cold voice stopped them:
“Ah, I did wait for you”.
And suddenly before me
the angel in his might
Surrounded by an aura
of blinding, humbling light
I stood there as if frozen
Too shocked to fight or flee
For there before me towered a
perfected form of me
Again now spoke the angel
“I’ll grant you what you see
and all the fame you covet if you
pledge yourself to me”.
And shamefully it tempted,
it almost made me slip
But then I felt the crystal burn
like fire in my grip.
I raised my hand and watched as
bright rays of light burst out
to engulf the hubric angel
before he could but shout
And dawn broke on the village,
the townsfolk shocked and dazed
Like all had been a nightmare
now gone without a trace
I left in the confusion
and thusly it begins:
I walked off in the sunrise on
the hunt for six more sins.
This poem was written in response to a hashtag game series by Marc Tizura/@areyouingrenin. The theme was “The Seven Deadly Sins”, and this day’s particular prompt was Pride – Lucifer. The Twitter hashtag is #tfteotw – go find more flash fiction there!
More of my other #tfteotw texts will be uploaded on this page before long. Here is one: The Mothman Prophecy.
...these grains of sand 