Heart Land

The gash in my heart flows freely
I drink from the living fountain
People come and go so quickly
Disappear into this mountain
Hungry mineshafts in holy hills
Demand deliverance of the carcass
Of the predator-as-victim, pyre
In the hearth of heartland harkens

In these holy hills are hidden
Those who run but cannot hide
Their shield from the rule of justice
How much more will God abide?
At campfires of predators
Barbecue sauce runs thick as blood
The dead you've left are closing in
Hearts of Legions leaking floods

It must be terribly exhausting
Holding that mask so firmly in place
Grinning from the shadows lest light
Disgrace, betray that open face

The head of Mephistopheles
Mounted like a trophied treasure
Above the mantle of the savior whore
A fresh kill for the victim's pleasure
Who's harboring a fugitive?
Whose blood will be required
Where recompense and reckoning
And retribution stoke the fire?

The skeletons advance in dance
Wear your teeth marks on their bones
You wear their blood upon your fangs
In the boneyard that you now call home
The fire pit is mocking you
The memories have come to taunt
Go mount another savior's bones
Above the mount of your holy haunt

It must be terribly exhausting
Holding that mask so firmly in place
Grinning from the shadows lest light
Disgrace, betray that open face

Go boast to fellow predators
The conquests that you've made
The feasts in foreign palaces
The cool of someone else's shade
Your only friend, the wind, now beckons
Hot, from off the flames
Secure your winged feet of clay
Go tell your tales and change the names

Memories burn in a fireplace
The mantle now is bare
Fires tease at a jackal's lap
Burn victims in a savior's lair
We've seen behind that painted mask
Hiding such a gruesome view
So keep on running, runner, run
But you'll never hide yourself from you

It must be terribly exhausting
Holding that mask so firmly in place
Grinning from the shadows lest light
Disgrace, betray that open face

 © John Kennan 1-24-14