The Devil's Square Eye

Shawn Smith- July 25, 2006

Staring blankly into the space before me
A multitude of images flash before my eyes
A multitude of messages reach my ears, beating on the internal drum
A multitude of emotions course through my being
Hunger, anger, laughter, sorrow, revulsion, lust......
Yet nothing of substance is communicated

Invitations
Grandiose promises
Titillation's
Wars
Rumors of wars
Proclamations
Denunciations
Empty blab

All critical thinking is suspended
All time appears to stand still
All black becomes white and white becomes black
As the flab increases around my waist
As the cells of my brain burn into a wasteland of nothingness
Fantasy and reality co-mingle

Bulbous breasts and fire breathing messengers of God
Intellectuals and hate-mongers
Singers and bafoons
Politicians and Barney, the purple dinosaur
Misery and opulence
Feasts and famines
Golfers and bungee jumpers
Worm-eaters and violinists
The latest formula of laundry detergent and the war on Lebanon
The good, the bad and the ugly
All sharing the same space
All vying for my attention
All calling me to their version of the gospel truth
All attempting to empty both my wallet and my soul

The devil himself has stared me down with his big square eye
Peeping into my soul
Stealing away the core of my being
And here I sit not moving, not blinking, not offering any form of resistance
Slowly and surely he wears me down until I become a shell of who I once was