in the beginning god also created the end
said the imam
between these thoughts
there is emptiness
said a monk in red and yellow
that’s right, said an economist,
but in the middle thoughts become theory
as for me, said the broker
there is up and there is down
how true, said the bookie,
but horses do place between
winning and losing
mercy, said a christian priest,
as in a life sentence
instead of an execution
is about the lesser loss
not the lessor win
a killer of the innocent
has no central way, no heart
a puppeteer of fear 
in the hot desert sand
wielding his edge of death
he knows exactly what he does