Perpending Poet

The house was old and rickety

Every large step would result in a miniature earthquake

He had spent years in captivity

But now it was time to wake

Every day he’d paced the floor

Shivering and crying

Scared of the seven demons behind the door

Roaring, purring, sighing

With one last breath he left his tomb

Feeling brave for the first time

The demons watched him depart the room

Ready to punish him for his crime

The first demon approached quietly

With a smirk on his face

After a moment it said finally

“Let me put you in your place”

“They call me Sloth

I’m an enemy to all

I ruin every human thought

By forcing men to stall”

Remembering his previous laziness

The man almost cried

“I can move past this craziness”

And as he left the demon died

The next beast was made of dust

It raised its head

“My name is Lust”

The man’s heart filled with dread

But still he was able to vanquish his foe

Back into its hole

Prodding the beast with his toe

He said “my desires can be controlled”

With two demons dead and five to go

The next one nudged him gently

“I don’t know if you already know

But I go by Envy”

He ran and breathing a sigh of relief

The man moved down the stairs

But when he reached the bottom he gulped with grief

The next four came in pairs

“My name is Pride”

Another enemy slithered in

It was short but very wide

The battle would be hard to win

“And I’m his cousin Vanity

You know me well I know

For back when you were in society

You always made a show”

The man felt ashamed

Briefly silent but knew what he must do

I can love others just the same

He thought, and proceeded to walk through

The next duet he found

Was called Gluttony and Greed

They made such a large sound

That the man fell to his knees

They forced large sweets into his mouth

“We know that you want more”

The man decided to spit them out

And finally settle the score

“I only eat until I’m full!

I won’t take from others”

The two beasts went dull

And he faced their final brother

“I’m Wrath

The king that all men fear

Of course you already know that

I’m the reason why you’re here”

The man closed his eyes

Remembering his past

All the people he’d made cry

Because he had Wrath

“You no longer make moves for me”

Then he ran out of his prison

Finally he could be free

And live a life worth living

After leaving he looked around

Taking in the beautiful sights

Finally he could hear pure sound

And feel the warmth of light

He looked back and felt himself gasp

The house was no longer there

The biggest figure of his past

Had disappeared into thin air

How could he have been so blind?

Well now he had the key

The prison was just in his mind

Everyone in town passes by

The rubble, the smoke, the screams

The sirens, the roars, the splash

Everyone passes and no one stops

The cries, the ringing, the shivering

The nights, the homes, the lives that have taken a turn for the worse

Everyone turns on the news

The statistics, the reporters, the speculations

When, why, how it could have happened and how often it does

And everyone picks up the town paper

When it lands on their doorstep

Thrown by a lazy paperboy

Some flip past the front page, to a smaller headline

It tells them everything they’re already aware of