The Reply! Poem by Denis Martindale

One day, the Devil marched into Heaven...
Then he boldly approached the Throne of God,
Staring at the Lord, he smirked as he asked,
What exactly did God think of the damage below...
Explaining his handiwork, the Devil became drunk,
With a revived sense of power and contempt,
Yet God kept silent, allowing him to run his mouth...

I took Your world and I carved it up,
I took the rainforests and divided them into pieces,
I took the oceans and sent ships to pollute them,
I took the healthy fish and then I took their lives...

I filled the world with cars and used up the fossil fuels,
Designed cars with windscreens too close to the drivers
And when they needed blood for their injuries,
I was already polluting that as well...

Diseases, sexually-transmitted here and there,
Parasites in the drinking water,
Land mines waiting for the passers by,
More and more weapons, from knives to atomic bombs...

I sabotaged medical research, threatened or bribed,
I withheld technology's secrets, increased prices,
I spread rumours, caused fears, ran wild like vermin,
I did all these cruelties and more...

I caused witchcraft and sorcery to be accepted,
Deceived billions through the media,
Persecuted the faithful, caused chaos everywhere,
Yes, I've been very busy and very successful...

Then the Lord stared at the Devil and gave His reply...

NOW IT'S MY TURN! ! !


Denis Martindale,16 March 2016.