note: Although I wrote this many years before he died, it was the reading of Crisis of Conscience that inspired this poem and it is to the memory of Raymond Franz that I dedicate it and to all those both within and without the Organization that desire change and that are working towards it.
"Prometheus Among Us"
Who would challenge the gods,
Or question what is divine?
Prometheus, the fool, who proved he cared,
Prometheus, the wise, who stooped to share,
A spark of truth with a darkened world,
A means to eat and temper the cold,
Prometheus, bearer of the sacred fire,
Prometheus, called to a purpose higher,
Than himself or other Titan born,
Virtuous flesh eternally torn,
Prometheus bound and made transfixed,
Prometheus among us, within our midst,
A society of Prometheans well intentioned,
Constantly stirring fresh contentions,
But Zeus is watching well to smote,
By mighty quake and thundering bolt,
All foes seeking reformation,
Who dare to leave their proper station,
And yet Truth be their admirable goal,
Prometheus too revealed his soul,
And staked his life upon this claim,
He thus lost his freedom but gained a name,
As a champion of enlightened duty,
Perhaps therein lies the hidden beauty.
-1999-