Chair of Reckoning

Seated on the Chair of Reckoning,
high above the valley,
misty mountains of crime surround.
Situational gravity tots up the tally.

The judging, the weighing, the judicial outcome
all in the balance.
The malfeasance against humanity
and the very planet.

Will there be impartiality?
Maybe.
Will there be compassion?
It depends on the transgression's extent.

The judge is subject to judgment.
Being human- also complicit.
Culpable, if the punishment is unjust.
Who decides? Who is without sin?

The winds at the peak clear the mind.
The chaos is far removed.
The air pierces the mind and breath.
The decision is due.

Sagacity, discernment, and perspicacity 
come to the fore,
and all and sundry are in the dock,
Terror will strike at the core.

Seated on the Chair of Reckoning,
the time has come to weigh the misdeed,
Punishment decided
and imposed with due speed.

It is done.
Penalties imposed.
The Chair of Reckoning
now abandoned for the nonce.


©Ellen Pepper 2026

image credit: freepik

What triggered the Shift?

Epictitus once said,
"We suffer not from events themselves,
but from our judgments about them." 

I've been dreaming lately of the Time Before:
The Time of Chaos and Dismay.

The Beast was ruling
and thieving
and raping
and cruelling.
Let loose from moral and ethical standards,
breaking all the rules.
Corruption of the highest order.

What I'm getting at is that 
I was remembering that time, 
and after, when the Shift took place.
What triggered it?

From the depths of despair to the uplift of spirit.
Like going outside in summer after a hard winter.
A sea change. A tsunami of hope and goodwill.
Dissipation of random hate.
The very air suddenly seemed more oxygenated.

What triggered it?

The Collective became restive. 
Too much revved up vitriol tired mortals.
Misanthropy suddenly seen as foolish.
Resentment became resignation.
The desire for harmony arose after turmoil.

What triggered it?

"Things change." said the Buddha.
"Neptune and Saturn were conjunct at 0 Aries."said the Astrologer.
“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” said Deepak Chopra.

Plus les choses changent, moins elles semblent identiques.
(The more things change, the less they seem to be the same.)

Upon waking after these dreams, my first words are always, "What triggered it?"
I'm just curious. I'm not a spy from the past trying to change the future. Honest.

 It happened. I just want to know how.

 

©Ellen Pepper 2026
image: https://japaneseclass.jp/img/The_Best_of_Dreams

The eagle has lost its soul.

 

The eagle has lost its soul.
Dropping bombs.
Killing innocents.
Abducting a leader and his wife,
no matter their crimes.

Invasion commenced in the wee hours.
Civilians peacefully lying abed, 
unsuspecting the imminent invasion
of a hostile force killing them dead.

More mayhem instituted by
a smugly insanely tempestuous toddler in chief.
Possibly illegally in power.
A conman, grifter, liar and thief.

War crime. 
Hailed by the Chief.
Breaking of covenants
and causing fear and grief.

And what's it meant to cover up?
Child rape, corruption, ill health, greed.
The current destruction of the USA.
The ongoing end to democracy.

How long, America?
How long before you rise up
and take him down?
The world is watching.

Countries on tenterhooks.
Fearful of his next act of utter insanity.
Who has the intestinal fortitude
to stop this vile creature?

Anyone?

©Ellen Pepper 2026
image: https://www.nbcnews