Petition to St. Peter

Surely, you can understand;
I'm not an evil man.
My sins have been the sins
Of tolerant submission.

The world does not confer its wealth
Upon the innocent. Survival
Is assured by subtlety and stealth;
Our human race has apes for antecedents.

Cast in with an ugly crew,
I did as you have done--
Denied my God to purchase
One more rising sun.

Consider my case with prudence,
St. Peter, before you bar the gates.
Man cannot live solely by his conscience;
He must answer also to the Fates.


©2012 Michael Fraley




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