Two Demons Parse Your Fate
Ward Kelley
Two demons parse your fate, not always clear if they correctly consigned your stiff soul.
You expect at first to hear raucous glee
concerning your weakness and tendency
to exaggerate all your attributes . . .
yet you discern little joy in their tones.
Soon they both shake their heads over the skill
of your race to misjudge every action –
they wonder how humans unattended
to each other’s needs can yet produce Art
which will even make two unholies weep.
You hear them pronounce, “Those not actively
participating in the craziness
of this life are, at times, driven insanely Artful
by tranquility.” Hiding brings brooding.
You now remember how you came to Art.
Do artists – when they fall outside the norm –
always flee the silence of their own souls?
Soon the demons agree: you who misjudge
nearly everything will be perfect at
judging your own Art . . . although only once
you’re dead.
Two demons, both you.