Liber Solis - Chapter 2

Verses

Verse 33

I prayed at dawn because they said the heavens listen better then. The sun came up exactly as usual, which I took as either a sign or very poor customer service.

Verse 34

So I made another prayer, louder this time. Nothing. Even the crows looked embarrassed for me.

Verse 35

Then I said: perhaps the gods are deaf. And something behind my left shoulder laughed, though there was nobody there.

Verse 36

It said, “Do not insult the deaf. They at least have an excuse.”

Verse 37

I asked its name. It gave me seven, then admitted three were invented. I trusted it immediately, for honesty must begin somewhere.

Verse 38

We walked east while the sky burned pale gold. The thing beside me would not step into my shadow, which I considered rude.

Verse 39

It asked what I desired. I said wisdom. It laughed again. So I said wealth. It laughed harder. Finally I said, “Fine. An answer.” Then it became quiet.

Verse 40

“Answers are expensive,” it said. “Questions are what they give you for free.”

Verse 41

I told it I had spent half my life speaking upward. It asked whether I had ever checked if anyone lived there.

Verse 42

At noon the great furnace stood over us without blinking. I cursed it, and my companion bowed to it like an actor greeting an audience.

Verse 43

“Be polite,” it whispered. “That lamp has seen better men than you go mad.”

Verse 44

I said that prayer should rise like smoke. It replied, “Then perhaps yours is wet wood.”

Verse 45

This offended me, mainly because it was possible.

Verse 46

So I made a bargain: one truth in exchange for one cherished lie. The creature smiled and said, “At last, a currency accepted everywhere.”

Verse 47

I surrendered the lie that suffering makes a man noble. Nothing happened, except I felt lighter and slightly cheated.

Verse 48

Then it told me that misery has no wings. It crawls, it circles, it digs holes, but it does not ascend merely because we call its groaning holy.

Verse 49

“Then what reaches the heights?” I asked. It pointed at the sun and said, “Heat, mostly.”

Verse 50

I laughed until I hated myself for laughing. This pleased the creature greatly.

Verse 51

By evening the light had reddened, and every stone cast a long black tongue behind it. I wondered whether shadows were only proof that something stood between us and fire.

Verse 52

My companion said, “Careful. Keep thinking like that and someone will build a religion around you.”

Verse 53

I asked whether the heavens reject sorrowful men. It answered, “Perhaps the heavens reject postage due.”

Verse 54

Then I understood nothing, which was more honest than most revelations I had received.

Verse 55

When the sun sank, I shouted one final prayer after it. The horizon swallowed both light and words without visible preference.

Verse 56

And the thing beside me said, “There. Now you know the secret.” I asked what secret. It smiled with too many teeth and replied, “That silence answers everyone equally.”