The Devil's Gate

I didn’t see anything strange that day

When I first drove into the town,

If anything it was normal, though

I was breaking virgin ground.

I’d never been into this countryside

Before, with its mounds and mines,

A patchwork town with its mullock heaps

And its sad, neglected grime.

 

But the people there, they would stand and stare

As I drove my motor through,

They’d stop and stand on the corners there

With nothing better to do.

The mines had closed when the ore ran out

Though most of the miners stayed,

They didn’t seem glad to see me drive

Or wave on their Grand Parade.

 

But I thought I’d stay in their tiny town

I was bushed, too tired to drive,

So parked the car by their only pub

And I ventured deep inside.

A man came out with a surly look

And he said, ‘You’re passing through?

I hope you’re not a believer, son,

Or this town will do for you!’

 

I shook my head at the things he said,

I only wanted to sleep,

His questions rattled around my head,

But then seemed far too deep.

I paid for a room and locked the door

Then went to sleep for a spell,

But then discovered a woman there

By the name of Jezebel.

 

‘Please help to smuggle me out of here,’

She said, ‘in the back of your car.’

She whispered this with her ruby lips

Too close to my own, by far.

‘Why don’t you just get up and leave,

And walk right out of the town?’

‘Nobody gets to leave this place,

If you try, he’ll cut you down.’

 

I said that she wasn’t making sense,

She was just confusing my head,

How could I concentrate, when she

Was sprawling over my bed?

‘They thought they’d taken his power away

When they tied him up in chain,

But he only waits at his evil gate

For his thousand years of pain.’

 

‘This town is under an evil spell

Since the miners found the rift,

If I said that my name was Jezebel

Then I think you’d get my drift.

He needs someone who believes in him

With a kind and gentle heart,

And that will help him to break his chains

Then he’ll tear this town apart.’

 

I asked her where I could see the man

And she said she’d take me there,

But only if I could promise her

Not to believe, or care.

‘He’ll use his wiles, and his gracious smiles

To get at the heart that’s true,

You have to reject, be circumspect,

Or he’ll take the soul from you.’

 

That night I followed her down a mine

That was cold, and dark and damp,

The only light we could use that night

Was a feeble miners lamp,

But then we came to a giant rift

In that ground, of ash and slate,

And there was a dark and evil glint

From a wrought iron double gate.

 

A man was chained to that evil gate

On the other side of sin,

Unless we opened that Devil’s Gate

There was no way he’d get in.

I stood surprised, for I saw his eyes

That were wise, before his fall,

‘Have you brought me a true believer, Jez?’

For a moment, he stood tall.

 

‘I brought you a non-believer, who

Will help me away from you,

I’ve wasted time on your promises,

For nothing you said was true.’

‘Alas for me, will I never be

Set free to challenge The One?’

‘No-one believes in the Devil now

So your power is all undone!’

 

There’s a town that’s tame, it has a name

But I’ll not be telling you,

I don’t want to see a believer there

To give the Devil his due.

For the fires that we all feared have gone

Since we learned we’re not to hate,

It would only take one bended knee

To open the Devil’s Gate.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Barbz]

"if ever a devil was born, without a pair of horns, It was you, Jezebel, It was You. If ever a Devils eyes, promised Paradise, It was You". A tame town, a bended knee and perhaps a she-devil let loose, once again.....My spin, as I have heard of spewed evil.....Very entertaining DLP......Barbz

[Terrence Chang]

I had fun reading the poem and now I crave more for your writing. I really enjoyed it

[Valentine]

If only he were locked up! No illness, no heartache, no pain, etc. Perhaps not enough people believe that he is real, if they did perhaps they would change their lives. deep thought provoking write. Keep them coming. Valentine

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Well, I'm glad to see that you pulled this one out of the recesses of your mind. You have an endless chest of treasures from which you always pull a gem. As always, your ability to spin your yarn is unmatched and unwavering. Sadly, I feel there are far too many willing to bow on bended knee to the devil. I hope that gate remains unfound.

[Dr. Wood ?]

another compelling and highly entertaining poem my friend....Story Teller of the highest order, you most certainly are