Delayed Judgement

The cumulo-nimbus clouds crept up

From the South, preceding the dawn,

Under the cloak of darkness they

Arrived as the day was born,

The sun peered over the rim of the earth

And beamed its rays to the clouds,

While we of the feckless, reckless earth

Buried our dead in shrouds.

 

We buried our heads in the sand, I said

From the wars that nobody won,

But battered our ideologies

In the face of each daughter and son,

Though the right were wrong and the wrong were wrong

When the end was written in blood,

Just as the choices of man have bled

Since the seasons before the flood.

 

The clouds crept up on that terrible day

When the world, with bated breath,

Looked up to the skies for a warning

Would it be life for the world, or death?

The end of the Mayan Calendar

Fell due on that fateful day,

We felt the Mayans foretold the end,

The earth was passing away.

 

The sun beamed out of the cumulus cloud

That was drifting across the earth,

When a host that shone like a silver ray

Appeared like a miracle birth,

They lined the cloud, a million strong

Were seen by the weak and the bold,

And one shone brighter than all the rest

In a garment of purple and gold.

 

‘He’s come again, for the second time,’

We cried in our shock and awe,

‘The Judgement is nearly upon us,’ cried some,

‘You know what that means, it’s war!’

Some of us stood with our arms held high,

While others hid under a rock,

And then the barrages, into the sky,

Began, and they wouldn’t stop.

 

We watched as the rockets rose on high

And the planes took off like gnats,

Missiles and shells from the military fell

From the skies, in their futile attacks,

The Host of the Lord gazed down from the clouds

Untouched; we thought he’d escape,

Then one with a nuclear head went up

And the clouds became mushroom shaped.

 

‘The world has survived’ was the common excuse,

‘Mankind has a second chance,

Anything rather than Judgement,’ they said

Went back to their warlike plans,

While those with still a religious bent

Expectantly waited for Him,

They’ve murdered him twice, but still they rejoice

While awaiting the ‘Third Coming.’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Mockingbird]

very apocalyptic imagery. it's like the propaganda those doomsday people preach. i agree there will always be war, and that it is hubris for man to think he could conquer the host with his weapons of mass destruction. i say, 'dear lord, protect me from your followers.'

[John Stussy]

Intriguing tale you spin here Mr. Puget, so many of mankind fear our temporary existence that we automatically leap to war to try to save ourselves. We'll truly be our own demise with the hate that fills our little planet, and I've gotta agree with Tate, it'd be disastrous for us to run into other sentient species. It's a tale as old as man itself, the eradication of any potential more powerful entity. I find it silly that we maintain such a futile struggle, for in the end we all succumb to the one inevitable thing in life. We may try to fight and escape but death always comes for us one day. Excellent poem sir, very well penned.

[Epipsychologist]

If it is sad that we have to die, and sometimes kill, it is only because overall life was good. People are that way too, I think, and I hope that we can learn to find allies in each other, rather than enemies in the sky.

Good write.

[Valentine]

Not how I feel about the end times..but with the Mayan calanders predictions and the middle east like it is..it makes one wonder if we even deserve to be on God's earth..All we have done is tear it to pieces..With my mothers family being Jewish..I fear for the Jews..it seems all that is left is a remnant..Nice one david..and makes a person think..Hope all is well down under and that your weather is great..love Kathie

[Tate Morgan]

I think this piece is great it makes one think not only are humans masters of their own fate.they are also responsible for their own fate.heaven forbid we ever discover life in the universe other than here.For surely we will snuff it out just as fast as we can.There can be only one !!! Lol

[David Scott]

You are a true pessimist my friend. Ha
You seemed to leave your meter from time to time. I did not find the departure a distraction. A good commentary on the mindless ideology of most religious people...
However, an actual consistent review of a theology based on, only and entirel, Biblical principle, can bring a plausable belief system to answere life's questions...
Well, too much of a response... I'm sure.
Love your writing! We'll have to go work on nuclear disarmament. Ha.

[Damien Davison]

Right off the bat, I love how you said exactly what type of clouds they were. As you keep reading it just takes you away, my mind just began flowing with the story and your words, as always... The message was just great, I mean I don't follow that belief system, but I know a bit, but the message can apply as a general thing as well. Albert Einstein's definition of insanity. If I'm correct. Anyways, great write as always!

[Marie]

Anelectrifying poem...the murderous warrios who killed Him twice...those who still manage to hope for a Third Coming...