Satan and His Allies are Banished to Hell
AUTHOR’S PLEA
Of Man’s first disobedience,
embracing the Forbidden Tree,
a taste of fruit was evidence
of sinful souls whose destiny
was loss of bliss in Paradise.
A Godly Presence will restore
the gift of Earth: He’ll visit twice,
and rid the world forevermore
of those possessed by lust and greed
and arrogance. Oh Muses, guide
me now, with words of wisdom; lead
me not upon a path of pride
in prose and rhyme. Let Providence
be recognized, and let my voice
reveal the realms divine from whence
the heavens hear my soul rejoice.
ANGELS REBEL, AND ARE CAST INTO HELL
Let me start with the reason that profligate souls
were seduced and deceived, and coerced to rebel
against Nature, to blindly abandon their roles
as the Seraphim, straddling the edges of hell
with their features askew in a menacing pose.
‘Twas the serpentlike Satan who caused all the pain.
He arose from the darkness below to impose
his command over Adam and Eve, and to reign
over all of their children. But cast into hell,
to the flames of a furnace, tempestuous fire,
he was vexed by the thought of the angels who dwell
in the splendor of Heaven. Consumed with desire
for revenge, he was desperate. Darkness prevailed
in his dungeon of souls—even towers of flame
burned as black as the night! All the sufferers wailed
as the titanlike Devil arose to exclaim:
“Oh Beelzebub, brazen as I, let us fight
to the end. Never bend to the heavenly foe.
We will gather our valorous partners, unite
in resistance, and rule over Earth from below.”
SATAN PLOTS REVENGE
Beelzebub and Satan fought
together once, and misery
in hell engendered sympathy
for common cause. So Satan, fraught
with anguish from the judgments wrought
by God, collected all his hate
and courage to coordinate
a plan of action for a course
of war to wage by guile or force,
to rip asunder Heaven’s gate.
BEELZEBUB QUESTIONS SATAN
The fiend Beelzebub, grotesque in mien,
encloaked in shadows, spewed a bilious stream
of curses: “We’ve been conquered! How obscene
to plummet from the realm of those who deem
us undeserving! Yet perhaps the good
of Nature overwhelms us. . .have we failed
to show the netherworld’s transcendence? Should
we face defeat?” “Our enemies are veiled
in sanctimony,” Satan said. “Delight
in doing ill! It’s better that we reign
in hell instead of serving heaven. Fight,
I say again, to overcome your pain!”
With that the Prince of Demons gathered in
his breath, expanding like Leviathan.
SATAN FREES HIMSELF
A burst of frantic speed
propelled the Demon now.
He snapped his captive chain
and turned away to lead
his partner with a vow
of vengeance, to obtain
the forces deviltry would need
to smite its foe. “We can’t allow
the gods in heaven to remain
the Conquerors!” And Satan, freed
at last, could now envision how
to reacquire his rightful reign.
SATAN SEEKS HIS CAPTIVE ALLIES
“Infernal world! It mocks and tortures me!”
cried Satan as he flew through mournful gloom
in search of friends still stranded in the tomb
of fire. “They’ll all revive, most certainly,”
Beelzebub assured him, “when they hear
your voice!” So Satan came to rally all
his slumbrous cohorts, issuing a call
to arms with wind and flame and shield and spear.
THE DEMON WARRIOR
And what a sight was Satan with a shield
as round and massive as the moon, a spear
like mast of mighty warring ship to wield
against his foe, to stoke his darkest fear.
THE DEVILS ARE RALLIED
On lakes of fire the Prince of Demons came to free
his allies. Glowing, ponderous, ethereal,
he rose above the rebels mired in misery
since falling from the heavens, with their spirits full
of indignation. “Rise with me, you potentates
and princes, once esteemed as mighty lords of man —
be not forever humbled in defeat! The Fates
proclaim your rightful place beside me!” They began
to stir at Satan’s words. Appearing like a swarm
of locusts came the dreary shapes of Dignities
and darkened souls, exploding from the sea of fire
and gathering from slumber, each inhuman form
unfolding spear and wing and falling to his knees
before the Master, who was burning with desire.
DEVIL LEADERS
Beelzebub and Satan stood
and watched as fallen angels rose
like locusts on the grassland. “Good
has turned to evil, and our blows
will rain on heaven’s royalty,
the arrogant elite who claim
to benefit humanity!”
Behold the leaders who defame
the works of God, who come adorned
with pomp and gold and quests for fame,
who thrive amidst the spirits scorned.
The first in line: a fiend whose name
was Moloch, king and deity,
exhorting boys to sacrifice
themselves in war, to heed the plea
of hegemons, with paradise
the prize. And second, Bélial,
the politician, smooth, discreet,
his empty words and vitriol
disguising patterns of deceit.
And Mammon, third, a man of greed,
designing rules and strategies
to flaunt his deviltry, to bleed
the poor to treat his own disease.
MORE DEVIL REBELS
And others: Chemos, wanton orgies, rites
of lust and bacchanal; and Astoreth,
whose virgins came to whet the appetites
of sacred harlots; Thammuz, facing death
each year for lewdness; Dagon, of the sea,
half-man; and Isis and Osiris, cast
from brutish memory of beauty past
to monstrous shapes and roles of sorcery.
DEVILS ROUSED AGAIN
The trumpets blared and voices filled the air
as devils swore allegiance to the King
of Evil. Facing them with tears and pride
and rage, revenge was foremost on his mind:
“Immortal spirits, powers matchless, dare
we fight the Host of Heaven, He who cast
us down? I say to you, He can’t divide
His legions, keeping some of us confined
in searing pain! Despair of peace, it must
be war—but not with battle gear alone.
We’ll work in close design, by fraud or guile,
to triumph by maneuvering behind
their backs!” And now the shouts and fiery glare
revealed a horde of demons unified.
PANDEMONIUM
In a corner of hell stood a flame-belching hill
that was rich with materials, iron and gold.
At the urging of Mammon, they started to drill
for the riches his devilish dreams had foretold.
So the army of devils ascended the mound
where they ravished the womb of their mother the Earth,
mining silver and gold with the fury and sound
of the Cyclops, amassing a treasure trove worth
all the riches of mortals. They started to build
a luxurious palace adorned with the gold
they disgorged from the earth, and resplendently filled
and bejeweled with silver—a thrill to behold
for the spirits in hell! There were openings wide
for the passage of titans, and lamps burning bright,
like a column of diamonds. The splendor inside
was the artwork of Vulcan (who prospered despite
his betrayal of Jove). It was given the name
Pandemonium: all of the demons arrived
for a council of war, with a plan to reclaim
what was rightfully theirs. And as Satan contrived
his maneuvers for war, all the demons were changed
from titanic to tiny, just wisps in the air,
so that thousands of spirits, enraged and deranged,
could prepare as a group for the savage affair.
