any authors out there? I've been published in a couple places including a thing called the Writers on the rock anthology here in Wisconsin. Since many of these minor things will never be put in a book for sale, I thought I would share them with you all (why shouldn't you enjoy them). I"ll post them from time to time. enjoy.


Demons
By Jeffrey Stueber

Most people think demons and their characteristics are the sole property of the Bible. They are, according to this holy book, ethereal beings that tempt you away from God and inhabit pigs that plummet from a tall precipice. This is only part of the story.

Demons are not milky, formless beings that inhabit the stratosphere, waiting to pounce upon us as a lion upon his prey. Rather, they are beings that occupy our minds and torment us as if from the depths of hell. They endow us with various phobias, paranoias, and ailments of the soul. Like a pitchfork stabbing at our cerebrum, the pain, though only temporal, can be intense.

There are several well-known demons. Two of these are close cousins of each other – Hate and Jealousy. Throughout the history of the Earth, they have left in their wake a swath of destruction that could fill an eternity-sized kettle. Many of their disciples rose to do their bidding with battle cries often resembling pleas for more “living space.” They went about securing their living space, leaving piles of corpses in their wake. The great one, the demons’ master, was proud of their work, once, and secured these demons a place with a great ruler among those of the European Continent, until the rulers’ demise.

Two other demons are known as Fear and Despair. I myself have been tempted by these and have nearly succumbed to their whispers. They take a different route toward conquest by pinpricking their victim’s consciousness like one pricks a balloon until it collapses. When one submits to their crimes upon the mind, only a skilled human practitioner can restore health to that soul.

The last demon worth mentioning is often referred to as Denial. This demon also whispers into your ears what you wish to hear – phrases like “all is well” and “peace in our time.” These sayings numb one into a sense of complacency until danger overtakes you, much as a flood overtakes an unsuspecting anthill. While humans believe what Denial tells them, Hate and Jealousy go about dominating the planet, reaping destruction on the unprepared.

These are just some of the demons that occupy dark recesses of our realm, whether in the mind, soul, or body. Their purpose is destruction and they serve their Master well. Can mankind ever escape their hold on us?