The prisoner,
he says he’s unhappy about God.
He says he doesn’t think
because of a soul
that is made in the image of God.
He says he perceives
because of nerve endings
that make images in his brain.

The prisoner,
he says science is wonderful
and will produce a new man.
He tells his holy brother
he’ll have to move out of the way
to make room for chemistry.
He says everything is chemistry,
and chemistry is everything.

The prisoner,
he says he understands all of this,
but he wants to know
what will happen to men—
the new men science will produce.
He’s worried about science
and what he doesn’t understand.

The prisoner,
he says that if there is no God
and no life beyond the grave
then men must be allowed
to do whatever they want.
And the new man will indeed
do whatever it is he wants.

The prisoner,
he hopes the new man
will be more clever than he.
Because an intelligent man
can do whatever he wants
as long as he’s clever enough
to get away with it.

The prisoner,
he wasn’t clever enough.
It was all chemistry’s fault,
for the lies and lust,
the madness and murder.
Yet he worries about science,
and if chemistry is everything after all.

The prisoner,
worries about science
and what he doesn’t understand
as he rots before his grave
and the nothing that is beyond it
at the end of his godless life.

The prisoner,
he says he’s unhappy about God.
He says he misses Him.

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