I was there
when the fresh scent of the first water on hot rock
fell
God wiped a tear from my cheek
and it was not sadness
but pure energy
not one of us wore chains

I was there with Cain
and wished him well
I sketched the broken form of Abel
I left it for his parents
You see I've always done this kind of thing
even back then
when some of us were slaves
and some of us enslaved

I was there at Babel
God knows I was full of hope
Eyes wide open and hungry for heaven
I worked the stone and straw so well
Creation still so fresh back then
paradise was in our reach
I was fired up and sweetly desperate
a carnal motor formed of lust
God broke my heart back then,
with wonder,
He knocked us down, he set us up
he broke our will and split our tongues
oh Holy Holy Holy is his name
and feared
and brutal
and mouthed in flame
we fled across the whole earth
to jungle and to desert
to mountain and to valley
just to forget
what he done

what he done
aint no good
she said
Jezebel always sounded so convincing
and I was there
when she whispered unto Ahab
"Fuck this baby, turn to Baal"
and I was there when she said to me
"Sometimes you run out of luck
and you can't balance the books
so of course you must fuck
for money"

I was there in Savona
I told Mazzini to give up
"I was there at the begining"
I said
"nothing can come to any good"
I was there in Wellington
sketching with rocks on the ground
I made a picture of Abel's cracked skull
and his blood nourishing the cursed soil
a kid said
"what's that, a fucking Paki?"
and it rained,
the dinner ladies took us inside to watch cartoons
but I was watching everything then too

I was there love,
last night,
in each inch of flesh that met
I was in the release and the gasp
I had a compass and map
to your soul

Your soul:
an amazing creature buried beneath
your acts
you would seek to deny it
that's how you were taught
but I can find it
because this my love,
is what I'm for

I was there
this morning
as I opened the email
"Dear Sir,
We look forward to your contribution on the issues surrounding extreme violence
and atrocity, we would like to make arrangements for your payment..."
I was there
and so was Abel
and Adam
and an assortment of observant stand-up comedians
"You say anything" I said
"you say a word and I swear I'll kill you"

They stifled their laughter
just as I stifled something stronger
there was no lightning strike
no flame above my head
"Hey, guess what?"
What?
I replied
"God is dead!"

Thus spake Zarathustra