James 3:5-10
The heart is hungry,
the tongue is its servant.
“More, more,” it cries,
even though it has never missed a meal
and knows that the storehouses overflow.
The heart is greedy;
the tongue insists,
“I know what is best
for your well-being.
Trust me, make me your king;
these others are fools.”
The mines thrust deeper
to ravage red earth,
forests are levelled,
while quarries gobble their way
to the horizon and beyond.
The heart is never satisfied.
“More, more!” the tongue shouts
at gargantuan dozers and digging machines;
“Less, less!” the tongue protests against
the people and their taxes.
They are an inconvenience, undeserving;
annoying obstacles to the heart’s
never-ending lusts.
The heart will never have enough,
even as multiple tongues bring
their restless evil workings
to the task.
© Ken Rookes 2012
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