Anomy: Part II

This is a follow up to Anomy: An Epic Poem in Three Parts

Part II follows the protagonist as he brokers a deal with the Devil to get to Eden so he can eat the apple from the tree of life. This section pays homage to Faust, a classic German legend about a man who makes a pact with the Devil in exchange for knowledge. The story has been told by many authors but the two most influential works on Anomy were Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and Johann Goethe's Faust.

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The tree cannot be found on a map
To find it, I must first face a trap
And with Satan strike a deal !
So to learn what he knows
To Lucifer, I will propose
For my soul, the garden be revealed !

Before I can live a life eternal,
I must contract a pact infernal !

The Devil hangs down in New Orleans
Preying on people without means
In the house of the rising sun
He plays poker in the member’s club
With Asmodeus, Lillith and Beelzebub
Until his time on earth is done.

I asked him if he knew where Eden lie,
He nodded his head and answered aye.

I said that I was here to trade
For the tree, my soul I’d pay
And the Devil responded to me,
“I think most mortals would confess
Death is never quite a welcome guest
But even fewer men seek my company.”

“To close most pacts I must cajole
Yet you eagerly offer up your soul.
Without a fight, the deal is a bore.
Besides, I’d never get the soul you supply
Once you have a body that cannot die,
For your wish you must give more.”

“Should you insist that we proceed;
You’ll have to take someone’s soul for me”

The debt I offered I could not tender,
To promise a soul I’d need a lender
I must concede the request gave me pause
To serve the devil may be too much to bear
But for all eternity can’t one life be spared?
If my means damn me, I’m saved by my cause

I told the Devil I’d give him his price,
And he said just my offer would suffice
Satan’s show of mercy was mighty odd,
He said, “Souls do me no good in the end,
I’m only interested in making humans bend
To show they are more like me than God.”

“You are young and fueled by pride
Like I was when I decided to defy
But I have seen rebellion lost.
I once gazed upon God’ face
Now I know not his embrace
But understand defiance’s cost.”

“The souls I collect will all rise one day
When He returns, their debts are repaid
But I will still be stuck in hell
And like me, your soul will not rise
Because your body is still alive
And an empty earth will be your cell.”

I’ll not let a pleasure I’ll never know
Keep me from where I need to go !
I told Satan I care not of my fate,
Even if I’m making a mistake
It is my decision alone to make
And my desire is to see Eden’s gate.

More dissuasion he did not attempt
He knew now I would not relent
No matter how much he implore me.
I swear I saw the Devil sigh
But by the next blink of my eye
The gates of Eden stood before me.

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The centerpiece in Part II of Anomy is Satan. As I wrote, I had trouble reconciling how the Devil can be evil and culpable but still a creation of God who only did what he was predestined to do. Thus in Anomy, the Devil is not a villain but a living cautionary tale--he defied God and is now stuck on earth serving as a warning to others. He's not evil as much as bored. It is this boredom that has lead him to buy souls. He recognizes that his trade is pointless as all souls will rise eventually in the second coming. Thus he only gets people to sell the souls and compromise their ethics so as to irritate God and point out that if humans are worthy of forgiveness, perhaps so is he.

Click here to view Anomy: Part III