Cesare Borgia in Heaven
He nods to his father, the pope,
sets a velvet cushion atop a giant rose petal,
and sits to savor the warm light of God.
A monk in brown cassock stares.
“Mind your own business,”
Borgia draws his dagger,
“or I’ll cut your eyes out!”
The monk looks away. Saints
and angels cower, pretending
sudden interest in their hymnals.
After rearranging his silk robes
Borgia adopts the dignified mien
that served him well in politics.
The nerve of some people! Questioning
his right to be here. Bribery,
marrying his sister to the powerful,
and murdering them
once they were no longer useful.
He earned his place. The trick
was to convince the public he was on their side.
No wonder Machiavelli wrote a book about him.
Borgia sips wine from a silver goblet.
Even if poisoned, it can no longer hurt
him now. He smiles
at what others refuse to admit.
If gold can buy “justice” on Earth
why should things be different in heaven?
Jon Wesick is the host of the Gelato Poetry Series, instigator of the San Diego Poetry Un-Slam, and an editor of the San Diego Poetry Annual, Jon Wesick has published over two hundred fifty poems in journals such as The New Orphic Review, Pearl, Pudding, and Slipstream. He has also published over fifty short stories. Jon has a Ph.D. in physics and is a longtime student of Buddhism and the martial arts. One of his poems won second place in the 2007 African American Writers and Artists contest.