The devil's wealth

A gripping poetic dialogue on the true cost of selling one's soul. Through the voices of many, this masterpiece explores the deception of wealth and the thin line between success and sacrifice.

"The devil is wealthy,"
Said Rong
"He has enough money
to buy you from God."
"Do not sell your soul
because it is random,"
Said Stumble
Successful people
did not make
wealth by merely stealing
from Mama's pot:

"Do not think it is
literal,"
Said Uzi
"Do not think
It’s a joke,"
Said Brandi
"Selling your soul
is like a blood
covenant,"
Said Effiong
"The type you do
in a cult group,"
Said Six9ine
"It is thicker
than a wedding
ring at matrimony,"
Said Vallas
"Or a promise
In the mouth of
a flimsy king,"
Said Plato.

"Do not think
you are gambling
with the devil,"
Said Halloween
"You will be
be rich and successful
and that's the level,"
Said Kanye
"But do not think
it is cheap,"
Said Breezy
"like the robbery
of a bank,"
Said Juicy
"It wouldn't reward
on a platter of gold,"
Said Katy
"Nor promise you tomorrow,"
Said Akon.

"If you were
into occultism,
Said Grief
"You will know
the difference
between
reason
and faith,"
Said Thomas
"What you see
and what you hear,"
Said Lewis
"You will know
the process
and prices,"
Said Migos
"How real it is
and how fake,"
Said Whiz
"How real
the price you'll
pay and how fake,"
Said Wayne
"Because the devil is wealthy,"
Said Rong
"He has enough money
to buy you from God."

© Godwin Isiwu.

Author's Note

In an attempt to illustrate that nothing good comes easy in life, the poem noses into popular conspiracy theories: the success of devil's business behind a dark coverage and its opposing stereotypes; the business of buying the souls of people in exchange for their glory in heaven. The poem emphasizes on the capability of the devil to enrich anyone who wishes to worship him in exchange for their soul and his success in doing this. The poem showed how he enjoys enriching himself doing this business and how people underrate the whole concept thinking the implications and consequences associated with them are mere exaggerations. According to the poem, ' successful people did not make their wealth by merely stealing from Mama's pot' implying they had gone through worse things than people presume. Still in an attempt to describe that nothing good comes easy in life, the poem noses deeper into the theories; explains that joining any secret society that indulges in blood covenants and rituals that glorify Satan, deifying him in deliberation and devotion therefore could instantly and permanently disconnect one’s immortal soul from God's control—a price too expensive and real it becomes less than worthy of its benefice. This message and the poet's style of reporting them by using characters of real life successful people including those who are believed in real life to be in association with such conspiracies makes the poem and its messages more realistic. It is clear in the final stanza, when some characters spoke bracingly:

"If you were
into occultism,
Said Grief
"You will know
the difference
between
reason
and faith,"
Said Thomas
"What you see
and what you hear,"
Said Lewis
"You will know
the process
and prices,"
Said Migos
"How real it is
and how fake,"
Said Whiz
"How real
the price you'll
pay and how fake,"
Said Wayne
"Because the devil is wealthy,"
Said Rong
"He has enough money
to buy you from God."

The price to pay which in other words interprets to the process one undergoes while selling the soul is automatic and real, according to the dialogue. The poem particularly emphasizes on its reality: while you join these exemplary secret societies, consciously or otherwise, you will be undertaking proceedings other than the rational sin people commit against God outside the covenant and this will denounce your ownership of yourself, far more rigidly than any mortal sin for which you can be forgiven. Plainly, like the sin of the holy spirit or whatever physical sin considered so in any religious context, you cannot be forgiven since you signed yourself out of God's control and into everlasting submissiveness to Satan, an enemy of God, via means of blood covenant instead of mere wrong doings— which is generally considered sin, and which can be forgiven by God. This, in the view of a spiritual person is definitely graver than “stealing from Mama’s pot.”
The poem warns emphatically on how figurative people assume the concept of becoming successful the easy way in the light of the conspiracies about celebrities selling their souls; how they euphemize this meaning: According to popular belief, merely doing anything to make fame means selling your soul to the devil. The poem rejects this idea in other to more elaborately emphasize the gravity of the sacrifice successful people make to reach stardom. The poet hence wants everyone to know that one has a lot more to sacrifice for their success than people popularly think— he uses the instance of soul selling to make fame by stressing that there’s more to selling one's soul than merely doing anything to make fame: there's a blood covenant involved which once done, unlike the “promise from the mouth of a flimsy king”, according to the Plato in the poem, will never be reversed.
The characters used in the poem however lamented that what ever fame or glory, this price is not worthy to be paid by any man; in other words, the short path to success is far more glaring and difficult than we all think.