Le Chasseur Maudit

Pious, punitive, ridiculous,
The fable of magical justice,
It’s everything righteousness does best,

The dream of a cosmic punishment
That fits the crime to weird perfection,
Warning it’s defiance of divine

To defy the local norms, the dream.
There’s never been righteousness wasn’t
Putting fellow humans in their place.

We’ll grant you a minor share of grace
For making the villain a noble,
For pointing out harms done to peasants,

But just because you align yourself
And your righteousness with real victims
Doesn’t mean your fable’s not the same

Old trick of using tales to channel
Your conspecifics’ raw behaviors
Into the routines you feel are best,

Even though you’re too foolish to know
So much as what’s best for hungry you
Much less what’s best for the hungry rest.