Aaron Fielding never quite found his bearing -­

he was a man caught between two worlds without belonging to either.

He closed his eyes at Fidelio

and stopped his ears during Figaro.

He was a man who loved the world but despised individuals;

he loved to preach

but abhorred preaching.

He had been a King of Atlantis

and a Caesar of Rome.

Then, in a bad shuffle of the universal cards

he had been a seduced maiden of Victoria's Court.

Aaron feared God but challenged His wisdom.

He held that divine perfection

Could not create imperfection

(free will was no excuse).

Consequently, Aaron never quite found a seat in church.

Aaron never seemed to match

the cause and the effect;

the song and the dance.

He lived life to its fullest

while hounded by the gadfly of death.

And when it came, and Aaron left

a slight of the Engraver's hand

put Aaron's epithet:

Here lies a man

Who hated the world

But loved individuals.