The Priest that said Repent!

‘The time has come,’ he heard them say

Outside his tiny cell,

‘Go in and get the beast to pray

To save his soul from Hell.’

The Priest then walked up to the bars

And stated his intent,

‘Will you confess at last, my son?

Will you, at last, repent?’

 

‘The only thing that I repent,’

The prisoner said at last,

While staring at the Priestly face

At length, through double glass,

‘Is how your justice operates,

Your Judge sits on his bench,

Determines guilt before the trial

And brooks no argument.’

 

‘You have been tried by twelve and true

Your jurors had their say,

Condemned you as a murderer

Before they walked away.’

‘They would have found me innocent

Had he not been precise,

And sent them back to change their view,

Not only once, but twice.’

 

‘The law’s the law,’ the Priest replied,

‘The verdict said it’s you,

You had your day in court, and now

You’ll have to pay your due.’

‘I’m innocent,’ the prisoner said,

‘I swear it before God!’

‘Take not his name in vain, my son,

It’s time to reck his rod.’

 

‘Your God is just an ornament

To keep us fools in check,

If he were real, he’d swoop on down

And break the Judge’s neck.

The only God is in my heart

And he knows everything,

He welcomes us, the innocent,

Hypocrisy is sin.’

 

‘You risk your soul,’ the priest replied,

‘So hold your tongue in check,

For soon it will be silenced as

The rope, it breaks your neck.’

‘How many Nuns have you despoiled,

How many children died,

How many now lie buried, spread

Across the countryside?’

 

‘You hide behind your surplice, and

Your cassock and your gown,

You say you represent him, but

In fact, you put him down.

You tie us up with ritual

And steal our Peter’s Pence,

Then hide your sins by making all

The laity repent.’

 

‘I’ve had enough,’ the Priest replied,

Then turned and stepped aside,

The gaolers tied his hands and feet

And shuffled him outside,

They dragged him to the gallows and

Put on the dreaded hood,

But still he called, ‘Repent yourself,

Oh Priest! You know you should!’

 

It barely took a minute for

The rope and then the drop,

And then just twenty seconds for

His beating heart to stop,

The Priest’s thin hands had trembled

As he walked out in the cold,

And prayed, not for the prisoner,

But for his own poor soul.

 

His sins lay heavy on him as

He walked up to the nave,

Then knelt before the altar asking

God, his soul to save,

But God was strangely silent

And the Priest had felt like dross,

The morning saw him hanging

From the altar’s Holy Cross.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Ah! The one thing that I feel turns people away from religion the most: Hypocrisy. What's worse is when crimes are committed by the clergy and the church covers it up and allows it to continue. Still, the world is full of hypocrites: politicians who pretend to care about the needy, those pretending to have more than they do, those who adopt opinions that they really don't believe in, etc. Yes! The world is full of hypocrites.

"False face must hide what the false heart doth know." ~ Shakespeare

[Daniel Sala]

For example, but just one example of the quality in this poem:

"‘Your God is just an ornament
To keep us fools in check,
If he were real, he’d swoop on down
And break the Judge’s neck.
The only God is in my heart
And he knows everything,
He welcomes us, the innocent,
Hypocrisy is sin.’"
or
"...And prayed, not for the prisoner,
But for his own poor soul."

This is just one of your poems..., it is such a pleasure to read these intelligent, witty, and dark pieces of yours which are pure craftsmanship. The talent and skill make your work stand head and shoulders above a lot of us, which is not a criticism of others but a well-earnt compliment to your poetry. Thank you.

[Tate Morgan]

Well now Justice finally done .Well told dave

[TL Boehm]

This one is even chillier than normal. When one knows one's one soul so well - there is where the monster or the righteous man lives. And that is where conviction happens.

[Emerald Seas]

A well- written dark tale. Do not judge, lest ye be judged.... and all that jazz. Well done!

[Enid Blake]

A very apt ending to this tale of injustice/justice? I'm not sure I know which term to use!

[annie lee]

What a gripping story -- with an ending that somehow seems just. Well done. I enjoyed reading this.

[Robert Lindsay]

Dark wit as always David. You bring some grim humour and pathos together here in a combination that strangely works. Good write!

[Baby Ricochet]

Wretched and grizzly. Brilliant as always sir!

[Marie]

Well David you've certainly redeemed yourself with this grisly poem....you were tending a bit towad cheerfulness for awhile there....