Sacrificed For Our Pleasure

 
We have never required worship,
no, it is a feckless endeavor,

this continual arrangement of
ceremonies and incense-based

recitals.  We have never sought
prayers or incantations, have never

yearned for votive candles or
young maidens sacrificed for

our pleasure.  Instead the only
occupation to which we aspire

is nuance or intuition or radiance
as expressed by a receipt of

forgiveness or the transference
of a poetic thought or two. 
 

 
Artist's note:
Will and Ariel Durant (1885-1981 and 1898-1981) wrote in "The History of Civilization," discussing the architectural transition from tomb to temple, "For to primitive thought, the dead were more important and powerful than the living; and, besides, the dead could remain settled in one place, while the living wandered too often to warrant a permanent home."