Faust Poem by Gert Strydom

"In the past twenty-four years my magical power has grown
while I had researched, delved into the depths of the unknown
what some people call the occult has been giving power to me
but now here on this last day I am on my own.

With my Moses-staff full of its own magic
I am guarded against lightning, witchery and every trick
but could not find something to hold time in check
and from the movement of time inadequate is even this stick

but today in just a short time my time will be running out
and even where to my cause I have been devout
an end will come to me when the clock strikes at midnight.
You must simply help me! " He suddenly does shout.

Impatiently he walks, stops and again moves along.
I look at him and he is young and strong,
seems full of knowledge, knows about things that are going on.
He says softly to me: "I do for freedom long…"

And I the religious man, not a monk, but one who believe in the power of Christ
he on this last day has invited as an honoured guest and on my presence he did insist
to bring him back to the one true Lord God and to his power of protection
where on this very day he Faust, is the protagonist.

He looks at me with eyes ice cold that can chill a man right to the bone,
continues his speech: "You my friend are the one
who has to help me, my knowledge (everything) will be worthless
and all that I have done will in a single moment be undone."

I do protest. "My learned doctor, by this time you do surely know
that only the Lord God this power you need can bestow
but you will have to turn your life around as it is on very troubling ground"
and suddenly a light, maybe a recollection does in his eyes glow.

"What do you ask from me? Speak frankly, " he does say.
"That Jesus Christ is the omnipotent Lord God and He is the only way.
You will have to confess and ask forgiveness for every iniquity.
You will have to give your whole life to him now and forever on every day."

Faust coughs as if he has swallowed something and cannot get rid of it.
In anger does slam his fist in his hand and do again do it hit.
"You do not understand. You are asking me to forsake and loose everything…
This power and knowledge I have built up bit by painful bit."

"I, Faust, have bargained with Lucifer, with that highest Devil
to grant me power and unknown skill to do whatever I will
and he granted me twenty-four years which will run out at midnight."
The thought of it lets him look somewhat white and almost ill.

Together we have a feast at the fireplace where he boasts about sin,
where his two midnight-black female cats do join in
and somehow he has got an idea of how to take the prince of darkness on
something that by himself will make him, Faust to win.

He says: ‘this is Melisandra and the other one is Nekrosa, who do me aid, "
he lifts his Moses-staff and in a moment it flashes and changes are made.
Astoundingly the cats do become two lovely, pretty, witty smiling women.
They have raven black hair, green eyes and do want me to persuade

but there is nothing that I can do and I do feel at danger here in this room,
as if it has become a lightening-rod for some unknown kind of doom
and somehow they do understand that I myself cannot really help them
while both do cling to a piece of jewellery, which they say, is a magic heirloom.

Faust rises and walks to the middle of the room and draws on the floor with chalk
a huge pentagram with a circle around it and to find candles away he does walk.
A black candle is placed in each corner and a large one in the middle,
flicking his fingers they are lit before he does strange things talk.

In his hand is opened a worn down book with Solomon's seal on it
and also the curse of Asreal, which does it, somehow fit
when he starts muttering a magic kind of formulary
and as a token do on both of his hands spit.

A portal in the middle of that pentagram circle begins to pulse and shine
with a very bright blue light that keeps brightening as if it's to somewhere divine.
Faust and the two women do all greet me and then everything does flash
and suddenly unexpected I am back in the comfort of the hermit cave that is mine.

I know and sense that to God he could not and did not go
and to where Faust and his companions went no one do really know
while I wonder if he will ever change his strange ways to the cross
and wonder what he did on himself bestow?

© Gert Strydom