King of the Night, they called him, but a throne wasn’t enough.
Nothing short of divinity would satisfy, and divinity was eternally out of reach.
On the outside, he could play pretend – lock himself in his office and watch the feeds, marveling at his own creation. Heaven on earth, all his lovely pets in paradise.
In here, though, all he could be was a serpent. Crawling on his belly, mouth full of dust.
He watches them carry away Eve on a stretcher.
He places the blue pill on a broken Adam’s tongue.
He looks out over Eden and feels nothing.