“The world, the flesh, and the devil”—
Apocryphal at best many think—
the Master steers me on the right track
but this trio of dark forces strives to derail me.
This week warfare in my soul—the three
bombard diabolical sexual images and
a resentment over five decades old! A HS-ex,
where once her pristine face—now furrowed—
sags as I study her photo. I whisper
a curse on her: old hag as I gloat . . .
(from this old goat!)
“Out, damned spot. Out I say”
as if I could bleach and scrub such stain away
from the white countertop of my mind,
which never purges the basement of this heart.
I hear Paul’s voice: Wretched man that I am!
Who will rescue me from this body of death?*
On the porch past dusk, breath fogs. I kneel, raise arms,
gaze through black trees, stars, chant “Come, Lord Jesus”*
over and over until my knees sting. I rise from the abyss
(where demon’s dread) and breath in His grace.
*Romans 7:24, *Revelation 22:20
