Theodicy

Ancient
Aged
The sky sepia
The wind thin, cutting,
blowing through
Instead of around
Oh time

There on the Great Bridge
The Dark City spreads before them
Empty streets
Empty buildings
Empty windows
Empty eyes
Watching

Somewhere out there
is The Street of Books
The Great Library
The Keeper of The Key
Behind blind panes
Pains
Shelf upon shelf
Row upon row
Spine after spine
Folio
Duo
Quarto
Octavo
Dry and dusty
Like the Great City

The Wind

The Darkness

Her eyes are flaming
When she speaks
Her breath glows like embers
Flying
Sparks from the fire
Of the house where Eldest sleeps

“Who is Anti Christ?”

“Who is not?”

The wind sighs and whispers about them
The Bridge
The City
There is the sound of great hammers pounding
Upon heavy anvils
Far away
Far below
Forging the links of the endless chain
The binding

“There is a problem when you have but one god, who is all good.”

“What is that?”

“The need for a Theodicy.”

“Theodicy?”

“If god is all good, how do you explain evil.”

“Free will.”

“Doesn’t work. No matter what you do, all evil returns to gods door, ultimately god must be responsible.”

“And?”

“In dualist thought there is no need for a theodicy.”

“Dualist?”

“A system where there are two opposed forces, good, and evil.”

“Separate?”

“Yes.”

“So god can be all good. Not responsible for the evil in the world.”

“Yes.”

“And The Other?”

“Is solely responsible for evil.’

“People can choose freely?”

“Yes.”


Her cloak moves in the wind
like the wings of a raptor
circling high
Eyes of flame
watching the ground below
for any sign of prey.

She closes her eyes
slowly
Turns her head
Opens them again
To gaze directly into his eyes
Her words float like embers
On the dark wind.

“Then there can be no certainty that good will win.”

"Yes."