by M.S.
the poet and the devil sat side by side
at the cliffs above the sea
with cold air between them
and the devil spoke saying:
if you complete my rhyme within the allotted time I
will end your pain, your poison, and your crime
the poet replied:
you must be of seer kin!
my pain is half blindness
my drink is half poison
and my crime is half payment
the devil said:
i do not lie—
your pain will become peace
your drink, an endless feast
your crime, to be forgotten
forgiven by the priest
the poet nodded:
you are a welcome prophet
and your words are indeed warming
but my blue seas have seen
black oracles swarming
the devil pressed:
yes, of one thing you are right
the ravens take up flight
but though men see omens
i alone give men sight
the poet conceded:
your words feel like billows
raging against the cliffs!
but billows are pillows
for a poet like me
and the devil said with glee:
good! then let us now settle
your measure of mettle
do bend without breaking
the form of my petal:
Who swims in the waves
when sailors are drowning
and waves to the fishes
when fishes are counting?
the poet responded:
i know i cannot settle
the full measure of my mettle
for i am full of drink
and my mouth is full of wool
but though i am a fool
for sinking to this level
i know that you speak
of yourself, you Devil!
And the poet grasped the thing
there on that muddy ledge
and with his drunken strength
he pushed it from the edge
but through the devil’s falling eyes
his prophesy came true
for as it slipped away
the poet followed too
yes, in his rhythmic stupor
the bard was bound to rhyme
and what he did to Satan
was done to him in time
so now he is released
at peace in that deep feast
the poet thanks the priest
the sea holds one more beast
and the poet and the devil swim side by side
at the cliffs below the sea
with no air between them
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