XX/XXI

This piece intrigued me from the start. Automatically, with "plague pits", I felt a certain distress, a restlessness, like souls stuck between this world and a much worse fate. Perhaps souls that are not able to pass, that are treated as expendable, used to feed chaos.

With the second stanza, I immediately pictured a church filled with people who are hungry for some kind of redemption. Who need the words of the preacher/pastor in their life, the challenge, the scriptures. I interpreted it as a frenzy of souls who are apprehensive, akin to the first stanza, who need that focus and to be shepherded in, and it turns seemingly good people into those looking for answers and any ties to stay sane. To stay grounded. But they're still dissatisfied, despite teachings, despite prayer. I took "your pity" as meaning a presence from beyond, not of past or future, hard to locate, who watches and maybe is seeking to prey on these souls. The "father hate", a distaste for those who are seeking a father figure in religion, in God?

Such a provoking piece!

One note: The "you're" in the fifth and sixth line should be without the apostrophe I believe. Just "your".