Hell is a Real Place...

They were out in the summer heat
Running down shoppers in the lot
Handing pamphlets to all they'd meet
Screaming a summary of their plot

Hell is a real place
and heaven is far away
Everyone needs grace
The world is in decay

Most of the shoppers were polite
in agreement or neutral disposition
A few knew verses they would recite
as if contributing to the mission

Some were rude or less discrete
bothered by more than just the heat
demanding reasons more concrete
to alter the natural cadence of their feet

One man walking near to me
spoke softly in measured words
He spoke beyond the sights to see
like a shepherd's gaze beyond the herd

Hell is a real place
and heaven is far away
The world needs more than grace
especially on a fevered day

Another voice came passing by
with another perspective to declare
In words recited like a lexical-sigh
oddly reminiscent of Voltaire

Hell is a real place
that's here today
Upon the face
of all dismay

All these things seemed so unreal
for me to witness without occasion
What truth did all these words reveal
What meaning derived from this equation

It seemed the whole world had professed
that hell was real enough somewhere
but heaven only some confessed
with speculations of how to get there

So I suppose that this means hell is real
enough to the world, so that all must act
as if it's part of the existential deal
despite obliviousness to conclude as fact

Reality is a belief in much the same
An idea that mortals can't disclaim
without risking more than blame
An idea that proves belief in shame
And shame is why we play the game
that makes hell & earth seem all the same

Hell is a real place
as real as anywhere
Revealed by its debase
in all of everywhere