The Bargain

It was cold and dark where the dirt road crossed,

the silent beasts and sudden settling frost

my name drifted from the devil’s lips:

‘Traveler,

this place you found

under moon’s eclipse

a haven for the lost…’

--

Save a fate for the price of a human soul,

the silent conscience and set the toll

I weigh my fortune’s future tense:

‘Demon,

my child’s health

and ten years hence

I surrender all control…’

--

‘I see fame and wealth

And failing common sense

a hundred years or even more

for a selfless wish I’ll ignore the law

But

a decade later the demon returns to hear

a bargain for money and lust and

the father’s greatest fear

a child once was heaven bound

commits to forever underground

- MM