Herewith, the latest selection from dusted-off published poetry and short fiction, circa 1970s vintage and beyond....
Deus Misereatur
Unwilling to accept responsibility
for his own actions, man's first
collective decision was to create
the Creator. In that Supreme Being
would rest the authority to
affect us all; that Spirit would
move us to behave as we do. We
gratefully give ourselves up to
His protection, His mercy; ourselves
giving no quarter, showing no mercy
to those who deny His existence.
Time has changed our perceptions
for once a whole pantheon of gods
saw to our needs; gave way to an
Aten, finally a Jehovah, heir of El.
Man is adaptable and with his
changing imperatives he recognizes
the need to alter allegiance to
the new Supremacy. In this era
the computer is the latest
manifestation of Divine Presence;
the seat of bureaucracy its temples.
Number after number is sacrificed to
appease the god whose fodder we are.
Recognizing safety in anonymity
we embrace the liturgy of ciphers
and comforted, we exist blindly
in a uniform dance of submission.
c. 1978 Rita Rosenfeld
published in SAMISDAT
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