Images Of Evil Poem by Barry Middleton

I hear the beating wings,
leather clad with scales of fire,
the dragon circling the earth.
Within a steel gray cloud,
lightning flashes death
as burning rain descends.
The flame of evil spreads,
consuming cabalistic lust
informs the soul.
Al-Qaum, Apep and Erebus,
set loose from chains,
lurk in a putrid fog.
The heart of the beast
beats an atavistic drum
from the well of time.
A rank and feted swamp
rumbles reptilian desire
from a dawn on black water.
Still frail ministers of love
raise their offerings of peace
to a silent Lord of Light.
~~~~~
Al-Qaum is the Arabian god of darkness and night. Apep is the ancient Egyptian serpent god of evil. Erebus is the Greek god of darkness born of Chaos. The poem was inspired by the unspeakably evil villain in Randy Wayne White's newest novel, "Mangrove Lightning".