The billboard watched Jeremiah from its lofty perch, sure of the righteousness of its message. The trademark bull’s eye sat in the lower right corner. A pair of pre-teens made to look like women wrapped each other in their arms. Their lips moments from touching, no clothing concealing them from the lustful eyes of the people below. ‘I am woman’ rose in giant letters at the top of the billboard. Jeremiah had no idea what product they sold.
The Potomac dripped to his side. Water-worn rocks littered the bed, memorials to the once great flow of the river. A few green trees dipped their toes into decaying pools.
Jeremiah climbed over the rocks until he stood near the middle of the river. A plane lumbered from the north, following the watery highway towards the airport. The whir of landing gear lowering barely audible beneath the roar of the engines. He reached out as though he could touch the wheels, as though he could touch heaven. His heart called out to God.
For hours, he sat on the rocks and waited for an answer. None came. A seven-bird train flew overhead, dark splashes against a gray sky. The flock cried to one another, alerting the other members to something they saw. Jeremiah imagined himself soaring above the earth, soaring above the mess and the ruin, rising on eagle’s wings to the realm of the Lord.
The Almighty God sat on his throne and observed the world he had created. Seraphim, flames of fire, cried out to each other and shielded the Great I Am from the view of sinful man. Smoke boiled out of the throne room and covered the sky. Jeremiah fell to the earth and hid his face. His heart burned inside him, touched by living fire.
Do you see, Jeremiah?
Morning light tapped the closed blinds. Bright, yellow rays slipped through the cracks. They woke up and pulled the blinds tighter. She flipped a switch. The lamp arose with a hiss, spreading a hazy, gray glow across the floor. A cloud, the color of lead, obscured the sun.
She walked the floor, bare footsteps tapping the cold wood. The knock on the door grew more insistent. Her pace slowed. A gray robe fell onto the wood.
“Come in.”
His mouth arched up at the corners. His eyes stared into emptiness. A quick glance upstairs. Her head shook from side to side.
“When?” he asked. “We have time,” she said. “Can they join us?” he said. She purred and rubbed her leg on his.
“Twenty.” “I only have five.” “It costs twenty. Pay it or get out.” “Please, sir. My family. We haven’t eaten.” Begging hands grabbed the front of a shirt. A man with arms like a python approached. “I don’t run a charity.” “Just this time. I’ll pay you back. Whatever it takes.” A quick nod. The python threw out the garbage. Manicured hands smoothed out the wrinkled shirt.
A dry mist rose from the east. Fine particles blown by an un
forgiving wind. Dust
like dead scaly skin covered the windshields of the parked
cars.
Fifty-foot-high screens lit up the plaza, one on each side. They gathered on the stone steps and on the stony heart of the plaza to bathe in the glow. A commercial played. He stroked the razor across his daughter’s face she took it from him pulling back her bikini and stroked inside her thigh. They stared hard as the screen went dark.
Bright colors burst forth. Flames rose in pillars along the stage. Six dancers strutted in front of the camera. White bikini on dark skin black bikini on white skin tweaked and twerked for the camera. The edge of the bikini slipped inside they stared hard. Rolling gyrating they held the pole with one hand. “And the winner is …” He descended on his throne red eyes red hair dark skin pushed the women aside the man grabbed his horns and performed an act. The serpent rose and received the praise. his stony heart felt nothing but anger and hate
Fire fell from the sky and scorched the earth. They cursed his name.
“Give them to us.” “My daughters have not known man.” “Give them to us so we can do what we please.”
Will not my shepherds teach these people my path?
“Kiss the ring lest the shepherd be mad.” Michelangelo guarded Mary holding the slain Christ. A hand raised to bless the people. High stone walls guarded the palace, enclosed the shepherds who gathered in their locked bedrooms and fulfilled each other’s desires.
“Now is your good life your best life.” “I condemn no man or woman. Who am I to judge? God is a God of love.”
I will remove your lampstand.
“He dined with the prostitutes and tax collectors. So will we. Am I without sin should I cast the first stone who else will provide what we need?” “Bless you mychild the Lord loves a cheerful giver.’
he rubbed his lips and brooded. the account stared back at him. anger rose in his heart. thoughts caressed his mind. how to get another zero. the building gently swayed in the wind. he looked down from the top floor at the people running around without direction. he would provide it. the old way would have to be destroyed first so the new way could take root. God was too strong in their hearts placed there by the Almighty himself. there was no god but him. he would remove The Almighty’s precepts from their hearts and replace them with tablets of stone and paper with the desire for gold and power. the power belonged to him. fear and anger and greed and lust would be his delusions his magic to make The Almighty disappear. they would surely follow him and worship him.
they followed him and their hearts were glad
then satan entered them
“Do not sin against the Lord your God.”
“Let us make an example of him.”
They hissed at him, cursing and accusing him until his boss couldn’t stand the pressure. “It serves you right . Hater homophobe i know what you do.” The stores wouldn’t let him in. The ground withheld its produce. They cried to the Lord. “Do you see what we did to him?”
“Let us make an example of her.”
She prayed outside the iron bars. One prayer to the God of the universe for each woman who entered, for each child who entered, carried in the safety of the mother’s womb. They spit at her venom falling from their lips. A brick struck the side of her head. Again and again they struck her in an attempt to purge the evil from their hearts. She lay motionless other than the slight rise and fall of her chest. The police arrived and pushed through the crowds until they reached the woman on the ground. Steel clamped her hands behind her back. Her feet dragged along the pavement as the crowd cheered. “Do you see what we did to her?”
They cowered and clung to their jobs lest they end up like him, they held their tongues so they wouldn’t share her fate, fearing the approval of men more than the approval of God.
Run through the streets; search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
Dressed in black helmets covered faces black gloves and black shoes all as one united in a common cause
They chanted slogans hate hate they chanted
Bricks and knives soup cans
hungering after unrighteousness flames guns chanting hate hate
Evil they called out
evil
fed them
our god is a god of chaos!
the original rebel
Their boot lands on his head. The ground fights back and splits it open.
‘They did it!’ evil chants as blood roles off their boot.
around they danced the wooden statue the goat’s head them watched their bodies sacrificed arms outstretched to welcome they bowed backwards bodies offered the goat’s head licked its lips angels chained in darkness fallen angels left their proper dwelling man on man in man the drums beat louder women removed bloody hands from beneath them offerings to the goat’s head the child cried the knife entered his skull his blood ran on the feet of the wooden statue ‘a blessing on us the child’s blood for a blessing’ spinning gyrating flames licked their feet and danced harder they
‘enter us!’ the demons obliged lies they told lies they believed they wanted and took murder
greed lies the drugs warmed their bodies they did what was right in their own eyes
slander
drunkenness
slaves they sold themselves excrement wallowing
Evil Black White Brown mankind fire delusion
“My God, what can I do? See, I cover myself in ashes, in sackcloth. No food has touched my lips. Send your Spirit through the land and convict the nation for we are a sinful people in need of your mercy.”
As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities and in the streets? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. Is it I whom they provoke? declares the Lord. Is it not themselves, to their own shame? Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.
Morning sun faded into darkness. All fell silent. In the stillness, he heard the voice once more. The distinct, sweet, comforting, yet terrifying voice of his Lord and Master. He rose to his feet. His legs carried him where he did not want to go.