Being a Sin Eater is a family business, handed down from father to child.

My family and I were dirt poor, with hungry mouths and bellies to feed,
We were the town's pariahs, but filled a need.
My father was a Sin Eater,who was called when the Angel Of Death had passed,
No one may look upon his face, he wore a Death Mask.
When he was needed, a note was placed on our door,
With a name, time and place and no more.
Being his children, we had a cross to bear,
The town folks shunned us, pelted us with rocks and nobody cared.
When somebody died, it was my father's job to eat their sins,
This must be done before the departed's soul could ascend.
A feast was laid out on the body, the food father had to eat,
He must sample all,from head to feer.
It would be just father and us in the room,
Just one lone candle glowed in the gloom.
We were made to accompany father, to place leftovers in a sack,
The mourners stood outside the door in a pack.
With each bite father took, he shrieked in pain,
He gobbled, slobbered and looked quite insane.
Demonic laughter cackled, while ghostly figures floated in air,
My brother Henry and I, whispered silent prayers.
We cursed fate, that gave us this plight,
Children should not have to behold these hideous sights.
Father's belly bloated and his eyes cast a yellow glow,
He just became swollen all over and evil from his mouth did flow.
Often during the ceremony the corpse was defiled,
Father's body became possessed, no sight for a child.
When he a finished with the corpse he screamed," It is complete!"
Then the pack of mourners disappeared, so we could retreat.
We would find some coins cast on the ground,
This meant, this is your pay and we don't want you around.
So was the life of the outcast and his lowly spawn,
Father would be hired by everyone.
My father lost his mind and hung himself from a tree,
Henry refused to eat father's sins, so the task was left up to me.
His body was taken down and Mama provided the bread,
She covered his corpse with it, " Eat now," she said.
As I ate, my belly bloated with each sin,
It was agony, but I forced myself to eat again and again.
My eyes glowed, I screamed and retched,
The putrid taste within my mouth, I shall never forget.
I felt the innocence leave my body, as sin and corruption made a home,
This was to be my fate, it would never leave me alone.
The Feast Of Sins, is now how I dine,
My father's plight is now mine.
When the Sin Eater is now required, I make the house call,
It is my screams that can be heard, when night falls.

Music: Dark Angel