I think it’s rather good – and the last two verses certainly
have a message for today’s world!
The Devil Rejoices
(A Satanic Soliloquy)
When God ordained the sacrifice
Of His own Son on Calvary
To save mankind, it seemed the price
Might very well be paid to me.
But I survived. For man was base
And was, it seemed, so far depraved
That often he rejected Grace
And was not eager to be saved.
I worked on this, with willing aid
From Emperors and barbarians too,
I thought the onslaughts which we made
Would soon kill off that Christian crew.
We failed. I tried a subtler plan
And, saving monstrous doubts, I lied
That either Christ was just a man
Or else, being God, He had not died.
I split the Church, time and again
And, Hell’s below! It did me good
As block or noose or stake and flame
Helped Christians shed each others’ blood.
Yes even this did not provoke
The failure of my Enemy
And so I planned my master stroke –
Devilish good, even for me!
Each Christian talent, thought, idea,
God meant to make a harmony
I have distorted year by year
Into a fiend’s cacophony.
Forgetting they’re an orchestra,
Each played for self and, very soon
Some said that they alone should play
And all the rest were out of tune.
So, arguing round formality,
Preoccupied defining “We”,
They cannot see they all agree
On quite enough to ruin me!
(I discovered this poem
recently, hand-written on a scrap of paper inserted in a old book. I would love to know who wrote it – anybody
know?)
