with special thanks to Mr Tammaro

The bird that fit in your hand

Went up to the tallest mountain peak

Only to sharpen its beak

Mountain then wears down

Only the size of a pebble now

Resting in a childs palm

That , we are told , constitutes

A second only            of eternity

Like the infinite numbers of days  pluss   one

So , you say , my child

Illustrating how long my afterlife will be in the bowels of hell

Now only of course   should I choose  the path    of

Sin

( and then you look away     as my lips tremble  like the thin tailfeathers of a bird     reaching the top of the largest mountain for the first time )