A savage offer to appease the gods Showers of blood to bring applause Temples built high upon the earth Nearer to God to assure their worth Fear of leprosy propagates The blood and tears of the young and weak Atop this monument, to consecrate Ensure a future not as bleak Bodies of martyrs are strewn across stone As the priests wields the knife, emperor on his throne Flint pierces skin, the blood gushes about As the hand plunges under the ribs and rips the heart out With severed ventricles still spurting blood Still beating, glistens in the piercing sun Saturated with blood, his arm outstretched Toward their nebulous god Thousands to their knees, the audience is awed Decapitate the head Toss the body of the dead Disembowelment The gods are pleased Use the rest for consumption Cannibalistic luncheon Weeks on end, a severe drought Wipes all the food and crops out Were they sacrificed for pleasure?