Hell of a quarter

A cluster of similar souls
all smiling out as if on a roll
faces bunched together almost touching laughter
Convinced there will be enough blessing water
To float outside of hell

Souls that held on for survival on death's bell
that just didn't really know themselves
Negotiating enough spiritual goodwill to fly
to navigate the empty neutral skies

Looking down on humanity while sailing
pointing out our errors, remarking on our failings
unable to retake the human test not even as a clone
Mocking our mistakes when they couldn't fix their own

Smiling down
pretending to be angels of old
They were just members of a board
of empty minded souls

looking for a herd or a hoard
they could lead with zeal a predictable recital
Send them nowhere cheerfully
smiling down with fancy titles

Their previous lives darkened
spent clawing at a higher position in the crowd
a useless hierarchy
Now they are just smoke in a pretty cloud

Smiling like they know something else
Like the rest of us believe something false
That they have mastered the cycle of spirits
That they had replicated heaven in their cluster

Foolish souls blown by the wind strongly
Lost by their overwhelming lust to belong
Holding their smiles firmly invisible lip pins
hiding torture from beneath and within

Who knows where their good intentions went
You know we choose our own punishment