Be it that a devil's form may alter,
Depending upon the victim who's next.
A kind friar he'll possess, gentle martyr:
That holy shape becomes a devil best.
Devils do not conduct mischief so rash-
They switch the prices, then buy the next day,
Leaving behind traces of sulfur ash,
And like Discord, leads all to disarray.
Pray- confuse not the devils with the saints,
When evil disguises the good in cloak,
Like Elphy and Hero the devil taints,
And to Death and Hell these ladies invoke.
Our devils are not what in our minds trace,
If we ever one day meet face to face.
Author notes
This sonnet was prompted by the quote, "Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face to face." ~Nelson DeMille
* "A kind friar he'll possess, gentle martyr:
That holy shape becomes a devil best."
These lines refers to Doctor Faustus by Marlowe
* "They switch the prices, then buy the next day,"
This line refers to a story that my mom told my sisters and I while growing up. I think she got it from a book called Boundaries (not quite sure) and compared the devil to a theif: A theif breaks into a watch shop, but instead of stealing the watches, he switches the prices of the expensive watches with the cheap ones. Then the next day he goes and buys all the "cheaper" watches.
* Discord refers to the greek goddess who set in motion the Trojan War. (Story of the Golden Apple)
* Elphy refers to Elphaba in the musical, "Wicked".
* Hero refers to the character in Shakespeare's "Much ado about nothing"
A contest entry
- Hatred Bounces 24 hr PIF Quickie by Stardust-luvr.
700 points, ended September 20, 2007, 7 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - FORM CONTEST by Swan song.
450 points, ended December 20, 2007, 21 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - _.:*~*:._.:*~*OPTIONS: BIG POINTS*~*:._.:*~*:._ by Erika Elektrikka.
2200 points, ended March 12, 2008, 28 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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I almost enjoyed your notes as much as the poem. The imagery is wonderful and well deserving of a silver cup.
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Very well written!
Good Luck,
Erika
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I like the content of this it is differnt for a sonnet but i did enjoy.
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This reminds me of the saying that, "Only good can destroy evil." Which, if one really thinks about, only "evil" can destroy "evil". For "good" to destroy "evil" it would have to break from being good to do it. My opinion on that.
Evil could disguise itself as being good, but good can't disguise itself as being evil because that's negate being "good".
A nice poem that you have written here.
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great
Ooooh thats dark! I love the lines:
"Pray- confuse not the devils with the saints,
When evil disguises the good in cloak,
Like Elphy and Hero the devil taints,
And to Death and Hell these ladies invoke."
Kinda reminds me of the great line from Hamlet (and of course used in the film V for Vendetta):
"We are oft to blame in this - 'Tis too much proved that with devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the devil himself. "
Not the same theme as your piece, but does constitute a thought over where our devils, or indeed our saints, appear.
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Thank you! It's so nice to find another a v for vendetta/ hamlet fan Thanks for your encouragement
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excellent
nicely done, and its good to see a piece researched before written. the concepts were very strong and presented in an excellent way. thanks for sharing.
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well done and thanx for the insite of research done for your lines the lines:
When evil disguises the good in cloak,
Like Elphy and Hero the devil taints,
And to Death and Hell these ladies invoke.
Our devils are not what in our minds trace,
makes me also imagine the dr jekyll/mr hyde effect
best wishes xxx
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I can only guess who wrote this one. I enjoyed the thought put into this one. How people can change into something /someone totally unexpected. great job here.
best of luck to you.
Tory
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