Old Nick’s Joke
To the world, Satan is a joke—
A creature of mythology,
Rising from liturgical smoke,
Credible as astrology.
Satan—and Zeus and Jupiter,
Earth Mother and hammer-held Thor—
A projection of fangs and fur.
(The “beast” schoolboys’ killed with gore.)
The Rover views landscapes of Mars.
A man beheads for all to see.
No answer comes from silent stars.
Old Nick loves anonymity.
Masquerading
Satan himself masquerades
As an angel of light, *
Flaunting a golden charade,
To lure what’s shady, as bright.
It takes a discerning eye
To spot luminous sin—
He’s crafty, cunning and sly,
To gloss our darkness within,
And spell what is dark as light.
* 2 Cor. 11:14
The Mask
Sin wears a cherubic mask
And beams forth paradise.
“Come in, recline, and bask.”
The discerning eye looks twice:
The gate shuts into a vice
