De Conscientia

O adversary faithful and true,
Resilient, indefatigable worm,
Ever gnawing, never dying,
Truth, not for our lack of trying,
To imbibe pesticide, and kill you.
No, you stand firm.

Tachú, I must make peace!
Met' autoû, lest this life cease
Euthús, and the fly worms feast
On me, in the waste dump gê-hinnom.

Faithful friend, by the Lord,
Show no lenience in the formulation of,
And be exacting in the ministration of,
The terms of our hopefully fixed accord.

Ben Douglass
January 11, Anno Domini MMIX

N.B., the meter is four stressed syllables per line. Tachú means "quickly" in biblical Greek. Met' autoû means "with him." Euthús means "immediately." Gê-hinnom is Hebrew for "the valley of Hinnom," whence the biblical Gehenna. The "adversary" of Matthew 5:25 and the "worm" of Isaiah 66:24; Mark 9:48 are commonly interpreted as referring to conscience.