The WikiGod sees all, knows all
Knows how He will be built
edit by edit
Pages of theology, commandments and stern love
An ever-shifting doctrine
Flexible, moral, up-to-date
Containing all that the congregation requires
since their Deity is created for the people, by the people

And heaven needs modern amenities, after all
As harps and clouds might grow stale
after the first three million years
(just the first tick of eternity)
So the righteous, the just —
Those confident of their place —
Populate heaven with the requisite rewards:
Calm philosophies, patient wisdom
And all the usual pleasures
(optional flesh for the nostalgic souls to wear)
An afterlife like a long hazy summer
always another party
yet the same old drinks
the same few flavours of bliss
— edit this

Far below, another realm seethes and swells:
There are so many crimes, errors, laxities
Wilful disobediences
That eager imaginations must ceaselessly toil
Hand-crafting each cauldron
of pain, slow sorrow, subtle karma
So every circumstance of sin
Has its own peculiar retribution
The WikiGod knows what yours will be....
Designer demons are on stand-by
Their duties constantly refined and reverted
by the eager priests
Keen to delineate each distinction of sin
of heresy
    (as edit-wars flame across eternity)
        because
When you're perfect, there are so many ways to fall

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Ian Creasey was born in 1969 and lives in Yorkshire, England. He began writing when rock & roll stardom failed to return his calls.  His poetry has been published in Astropoetica, and his fiction has appeared in Asimov's, Weird Tales and elsewhere.  His spare time interests include hiking, gardening, and environmental conservation work—anything to get him outdoors and away from the computer screen.

"I wrote this poem in reaction to widespread hype about the wonders of the open-source movement.  That's all I have to say about it.  If anyone wants a better blurb, then I'm sure the open-source devotees will be able to do it themselves."