The devil liked me..
1- Once in Santa Cruz, I met the Devil.
He told me. Johnnie ain’t your time to die.
You have more sin to taste and I don’t want you in hell.
Men, like you. The Purgatory Inn in your place.
You wanted everything and nothing.
You believed in everything and nothing.
You are not hell-bound. Just a teacher of the shit of living.
2- I met death near the Pacific.
I saved my friend from his grasp and he told me.
Johnnie, Johnnie. You will die alone and you will wish death would take you.
You are going to pay a hellish toll before death takes you away.
In Purgatory Inn, you will play chess and drink till the end of days.
3- You were a soldier once. You killed many and you saved many.
Johnnie, Johnnie, the Devil whispered to me.
God can’ t forgive you, the Devil can’t forgive you.
You must forgive yourself.
In hell, men who killed cannot find peace.
The scream of the dead will never stop.
4- I saw dying men, I saw dying children
Now the old soldier cried for them.
He couldn’t stop war and he couldn’t stop starvation.
Now he dances on memories, he cannot stop.
In his sleep, he is holding dying friends and crying children.
He asked God. He asked the Devil.
Why did you allow men to kill? The Innocence.
Coyote
Mercy from the devil is a peace offering to a tormented soul. I can only imagine the horrors that veterans relive. This was a powerful poem John. Hard hitting. 💪
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Thank you Nigel for reading and the comment. All of us fight the devil, my friend.
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