Don't Be Evil

The old man slumped back in his bed
And looked at me with eyes of lead.
I knew that he would soon be dead.
The words he spoke stayed in my head.

"Don't be evil," he advised me.
"God, who loved, has now despised me.
"Of my fate the priests apprised me.
"The truth, I fear, has not surprised me."

He then recounted, without boast
How little he gave, yet took the most.
With bitter grin he said, "I'll roast
"The moment I give up the ghost."

"Whether you live to be very old
"Your sins come back a thousandfold.
"Believe the stories you've been told.
"You'll bear the heat if your heart is cold."

His eyes were open when he died.
I think that then his spirit cried
One final time for bliss denied
As I stood, useless, by his side.

In all those years, I've often thought
Of that stern lesson that he taught
A younger man, who may have sought
A different path than the one he ought.

Copyright February 17, 2012 by Allan M. Heller

Optional additional stanza:

But since the old man did repent
Then maybe he did circumvent
Eternity in Hades spent
And guarantee his soul's ascent.