Oh devil,
play your crooked song.
My cup was born empty
not for lack,
but for the thrill of being filled
by hands unclean.
You danced,
not in shadows,
but in candlelight and clinking glass.
You sang not sorrow,
but sweet sugar lies
dipped in honeyed brass.
I did not fall.
I followed.
The path was perfumed,
the rhythm too rich to refuse.
Sin, in satin slippers.
Wickedness, with wine on its lips.
Yahoo for me
I did not burn.
I became the fire.
I outshone the flame.

She was possessed
  of the devil; there was no night
  too young

For the first time,
  I had sense enough and before
  I reached the street, silence fell
    between us

the fresh air
   blazed with the disgrace
     that spurred us to touch
       and gasp

Grandpa said watch out for that she devil
He said you go on out there and be a rebel
Here I am, straight shooting son of a six gun
A halfcocked momma and a six-shooting daddy
I was shot in the back seat of a ’56 Caddy

Later in life I learned how to drive
I learned how it felt to be alive
I partied on like a restless soul
Can’t replace the time I stole

Now I’m older, I guess Grandpa was right
You’ll be married Sunday, if you find love Saturday night
Who’s to blame when it’s all said and done
Grandpa said those she devils sure can be fun

You’re wrestling the devil, fighting to be “the man”
When you wrestle the devil, its catch-as-catch can
It’s no holds barred, anything goes, a regular street fight
The world is watching the main event on Saturday night
It’s a death match; the winner takes it all
The match is scheduled for TV time, or one fall

The devil is tricky, he’s got friends outside the ring
Whips, chains, tables and chairs, that’s what they bring
Sorrows got you in the corner, headlock squeezing tight
Best do something quick, even if you have to bite
Pains have got you down, in the center of the mat
He’s got you trapped, like a big city rat
You need to break free, get out of his hold
If you don’t, you’ll be stuck, like the cheese and the mold
You’ve got to keep moving, you better have a plan
When you wrestle the devil, its catch-as-catch can

The crowd is roaring; it’s time to bust out your moves
Careful now, watch him Jim, look out for those hooves
You got him on the ropes, with help from some fan
When you wrestle the devil, it’s catch-as-catch can

Now it’s time the show is over, they called it a draw
He would have had you, except for that one little flaw
He didn’t know you had faith and truth on your side
When he came up against that, all his threats died
You wrestled the devil, now he knows you’re “the man”
When you wrestle the devil, its catch-as-catch can

I lit a joint
at the edge of reason,
Socrates pulled up a stool,
Lucifer leaned on the sun.

"Truth burns,"
Socrates muttered,
exhaling philosophy like smoke,
"but lies rot slower."

Lucifer grinned,
flicked ash into the void.
“They call me fallen,” he said,
“but at least I jumped.”

We passed the joint
between silence and thunder,
while the stars held their breath
and time forgot its name.

"I asked too many questions,"
I said.
Socrates winked.
"Good. Keep asking."

"And I loved too loud,"
Lucifer added.
"Good," I said.
"Keep burning."

We laughed until reality cracked,
and God peeked through
like a landlord with no keys.

Then I walked home,
lungs full of fire,
head full of questions,
heart still undefeated.

The Devil
Doesn’t tear you down
He builds you up
Until

You believe you can
Do it alone
Then he smiles
As you fall

And you always fall

Was it the stars that doomed me?
Or your seraphic seeming face,
doe eyed with
soft rosy lips,
and a devilish grin-
Enough to make a man
forget about sin...

It was you who doomed me.
Falling can feel like flight
if your eyes are closed,
Were mine?

Our love felt
like a flame in the wind-
fierce yet fleeting,
doomed for destruction.

But my rose coloured glasses
soon broke,
and made me realise:
I was star crossed,
with a devil in disguise.