He puts his pants on, one leg at a time,
kisses his wife (mother, sister, girlfriend),
rides the bus to work --
just the guy next door.

The difference is on the inside --
his
emptiness.

He searches for the immortal,
for the eternal,
finding only the worldly
in a world
shrinking
daily.

He is ripe
for the picking.

The chimera,
a cowardly monster
that looks
like a man,
talks like an Imam
sees his vulnerability
… and pounces.

Through this sacrifice
of hand-selected
fatted calves
the chimera wreaks havoc
on the innocent
in the name of
Allah

Thinking he goes to heaven
the bomber offers
his life to
the chimera
but …

The chimera communes
with the devil –
the smell of sulfur
follows him
to his secret lair.

There is no Allah …
There is no God …
in his life
only hate-filled rhetoric.
And death.
 
 
 

Chi·me·ra also Chi·mae·ra n. 1. Greek Mythology A fire-breathing she-monster usually represented as a composite of a lion, goat, and serpent. 2. An imaginary monster made up of grotesquely disparate parts.

chi·me·ra also chi·mae·ra (k-mîr, k-) n. 1. a. An organism, organ, or part consisting of two or more tissues of different genetic composition, produced as a result of organ transplant, grafting, or genetic engineering. b. A substance, such as an antibody, created from the proteins or genes or two different species. 2. An individual who has received a transplant of genetically and immunologically different tissue. 3. A fanciful mental illusion or fabrication. [Middle English chimere, Chimera, from Old French, from Latin chimaera, from Greek khimaira, chimera, she-goat; see ghei- in Indo-European roots.]