Seven Deadly Sins III: Luxuria

This poem was originally published as a Twitter thread. The previous poem, “Seven Deadly Sins II: Avaritia”, can be found here. The next one, “Invida”, can be found here.

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Night found me in a city
so normal from without
With market, church and houses
but then I heard a shout

I hurried to the rescue but
imagine my surprise
when insight struck me there was
deep pleasure in those cries

See, underneath the streetlights
in homes and every court
There took place fornication
and orgies of each sort

I found myself so dumbstruck
that I could only stare
Entirely did I forget
to watch and to beware

And punishment came quickly
as from I know not where
I felt hands wrap around me
and tangle in my hair

Before my scream escaped me
there stepped before my gaze
A being oh so perfect
my mind was wrapped in haze

Its body was perfection
no thread obscured its skin
And as it touched my face I burned
with fires from within

My quest now all forgotten
I let the crystal fall
It hit the ground and just like that
I was a helpless thrall

I don’t know what’s the number
of hours, nights and days
I let drift by in mist before
I woke up from this daze

But wake I did in horror
of what I had let pass
In panic and unclothed I scrambled,
searching in the grass

Relief was otherworldly
when suddenly I found
The prison crystal lying there
untouched upon the ground

But barely did I grab it
when somewhere close behind
Seductive words addressed me:
“Oh look, what did you find?”

I turned and faced the demon
for with the crystal back
I saw as clear as day my foe
as masks began to crack

Where once I saw perfection
a monster now prevailed
Three heads and wings and bird’s feet,
completed by a tail

And yet the helpless townsfolk
persisted in their vice
Like they still could not see the fiend
before their very eyes

I had found Asmodeus,
the avatar of Lust
That he had touched me filled me with
both anger and disgust

I hid the gem behind me when
the demon drew in close
“Let you and I lay down here”
and I did not oppose

But as the lustful angel
embraced me for a kiss
I struck him with the crystal
and he let out a hiss

A flash of light, then nothing
the angel was no more
And I stood naked and alone
and shaken to the core

The city also silenced
as all its folk came to
And realized that they were
as used and naked too

As people fled to safety
and hid behind locked doors
I searched and found my clothes and
then walked into the moors

With three sins bound and captured
just four of them remained
Not til it was all over would
I grieve the scars I’d gained.

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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 Lust – Asmodeus. The Twitter hashtag is #tfteotw – go find more flash fiction there! The next poem in the series, “Seven Deadly Sins IV: Invidia”, can be found here.