The Devil Is Too Sublime

This fallen angel

made of white marble 

had to be taken

out of the cathedral 

it was distracting 

the pretty penitents 

with its allure

and unhealthy 

beauty.

Perhaps his 

nape-length 

center parted hair,

or his naked torso

or the way 

his chiropteral wings

cupped his body

drove this 

satanic panic

in Liege, in 1848.

The second sculptor brother

may not have succeeded 

in removing 

the elements of seduction

by adding horns

and chaining him

ankle and wrist

in bondage.

Probably it 

was not wise

to replace the first

sexy statue

with a second 

using the same model

when working on the theme

"the Triumph of Religion 

over the Genius of Evil".

Lucifer Liège (Belgium) by Luc Viatour

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_g%C3%A9nie_du_mal#/media/File:Lucifer_Liege_Luc_Viatour_new.jpg