faustus hood

the devil showed up with a contract

said he’d give me everything i want

for my soul

 

i said, “you’re not too bright are you?

have you not seen the way i live?

i have three years maybe five

before i die of liver failure

you should have made this offer

when i twenty

or thirteen when i sat next to a girl

who i dreamt about every night”

 

the devil answered,

“what is time?

is there nothing then that you want?

years ago you wrote,

‘like a fly trapped by a spider

i have loved winona ryder’

i can give you this”

 

i graciously declined

“like the grapes upon the vine

that shrivels when there is no one

to pick the harvest

i will partake of the investable decay

of the universe

and quoting and twisting my own words

is a tactic you have always employed

for long ago i wrote,

‘then one day death destroys

leaving all goal oriented occurrences since birth

laughable, unjustified, insignificant’

your temptation is not a prognostication”

 

“you’re a nihilist?!” the devil asked with disheartenment

to which i only gave a nod

“i cannot steal one who does not believe in god

see you in a few years”

 

***