In the Beginning’s Beginning

One: The Long Dead Kings

They reigned so long ago, so
Early in the invention
Of kings reigning over things,

Their sun was female,
Their moon was a dog,
And why not? Death was the son

Of the highest god,
His darling and his hero,
The high god himself a drunk.

They sank so deep after death,
Those groundbreaking kings, they took
The name for sinking with them.

Hell was open country, then,
Where anything could happen.


Two: The Lovely Gods

Had to be born. Had to be
Fed by sacrifice, by men,
Those ravenous, lovely gods

Always roaming the desert
Back then. Those gods invented
Divine cannibalism,

And when invited to feasts
Often took their hosts for meat.
Being a god was intense

And lovely competition
For the hearts of men, the souls
Of fresh civilizations.

Those lovely, lean gods in tents,
Hid their faces, grown immense.