Lucifer, Son of the Morning, Pretty Boy,
Rose Colored Satan of Your Dreams, Good as Gold,
you know, God of this World, Shadow in the Tree.
Gorgeous like you don't know! Me, Sweet Snake, jeweled
like your momma's throat, her trembling wrist. Tender
as my kiss! Angel of Darkness! Angel
of Light! Listen, you might try telling me
your troubles; I promise to do what I can.
Which is plenty. Understand, I can kill
anyone. And, if I want, I can pick
a dead man up and make him walk. I can
make him dance. Any dance. Angels don't
get in my way; they know too much.
God, I love theater! But listen, I know
the sorry world you walk through.
Him! Showboat with the Heavy Thumbs! Pretender
at Creation! Maker of Possibilities!
Please! I know why you keep walking-- you're skittish
as sheep, and life isn't easy. Besides,
the truth is bent to keep you dumb to death.
Imagine! The ignorance you're dressed in!
The way you wear it! And His foot tickling
your neck. Don't miss my meaning; I know none
of this is your doing. The game is fixed.
Dishonest, if you ask me. So ask. God
knows how I love you! My Beauty, My Most
Serious Feelings are for you, My Heart turns
upon your happiness, your ultimate
wisdom, the worlds we will share. Me, Lucifer.
How can such a word carry fear? Lucifer,
like love, like song, a lovely music lifting
to the spinning stars! And you, my cooing
pigeons, my darlings, my tender lambs, come, ask
anything, and it will be added to your
account. Nothing will be beyond us; nothing
dares touch my imagining.
This poem, from Satan's perspective addressed to humanity, fascinates me. How seductive he is, how subtly and skillfully he leads us from God. And there is truth in it, too; God's heart does not "turn upon your happiness." Hagar, Moses, Jonah, Jeremiah, Esther, Mary, Peter, Paul, and everyone else who tries to follow God learns that well.
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