"After all I've done for you!"
how sharper than a serpent's tooth

I've heard these words.
I've said them too.

A rumination of "the truth"
illuminates reality:

These words negate the deeds we do
and martyrs burn most seethingly.

For "after all I've done for you"?
Conveys intent--it was for me.

Words, as deeds, can't be undone.
Let us pray--the bell has rung...

No gold, no coin indulgences
can replace the things we've said.

So let us not "forgive" the dead
for they are freed from lusting flesh.
It is the living that I dread --
insatiable, we never rest,
for even as we sleep we dream
of more, more, more to sate our greed.

So come, I say, the bell has rung.
Let's pray forgiveness for ourselves.
Dirges? Yes. They must be sung.
Thus, the dead bury themselves,
with diversionary tacts
in pretense -- the Book of Acts --
I pat myself upon my back
clucking through my serpent tooth
for "after all I've done for you"
I should express my gratitude
for you allowed me to feel good
as I consoled myself with lies.