First and Last

Enemies first Brothers last

The Devil writes on heaven’s gate

Soft fingers dipped in blood

His script thin and delicate

His strokes steady and deliberate

Michael chomps at the bit

To stop the fiendish scribe

He wields a double edged sword

And paces on the ramparts

But father refuses his desire

And without his consent

Michael is powerless to act

To act of your own accord

Is to disobey

To disobey is to fall from grace

Michael is first amongst the host

His loyalty unending and flawless

So he bites back bile and anger

Bloodless knuckled and clenched fist

Beating against polished stone and pearl

Glaring at his brother

The Fallen one

The Beautiful one

The Favorite one

The Questioner

The Troublemaker

Anarchist and Rabble-rouser

He missed him

He loved him so much

The Morning Star

His hero

But this was long ago

Today he was

The Lord of Lies

Enemy of Father’s Word

 

At dawn the Devil finished his diabolic work

And Father said

LET THE WALL BE CLEANSED

And it was

The Devil’s bloody words were never seen

Michael strode down to the gates

And walked through the glistening archway

The wall shone white

As far as his eyes could see

White stones covered the ground

Each one identical

Each one perfect

Except for one

It was black

With flashes of metallic crimson

Throughout

Michael stared at the stone  

Contemplative

Then he picked it up

It was rough

Misshapen

And warm to the touch

He felt something underneath and

Turned the stone over

On the bottom of it were written seven words

DOUBT ISN’T SIN   I LOVE YOU STILL

The Archangel stared at the words

For many moments

His fingers wrapped around the stone

And he crushed it to dust in his mighty hand

He called Seraphim to send a wind

The dust scattered into oblivion

And Michael stood alone

And wept

Reviews

[The Flawed]

The imagery is great as in all your poems, you know I love your work, and this is no exception
But hay, what do I know?
Great job.

[Ebb and Flow]

Liked this very much, it was well written and wonderful to read. The first few lines drew me in and I was hooked.

Krystina

[Marie Harrison]

You're poem is a very moving one. I loved it! The constant struggle of forces.

[Matt Pellegrini]

My first thought is that this work sort of defies such a simple categorization of either poem or story. I almost felt it read more like a story, but just very truncated. And while I love the idea and concept in general and want so badly to suggest a full and fleshed out story, I think you may lose the quickness and power of this work and probably what you were going for, so I'd say length/detail-wise, it should probably remain the same.

Love the idea of Michael and Lucifer as "brothers." Also liked how you never revealed what the Devil wrote on the gates. In such a short period you really characterized and gave Michael such a complex and realistic personality. There's even the feeling that Michael might realize his brother might be on to something and might rebel since to act on your own accord is to disobey.

I just really really liked the concept and what you did with it. Really cool stuff.

[Cherrie Palmer]

Strong images woven together with poise, I loved the ending.

[Kaitlyn]

really good :)

[Emily B]

expertly drawn

[E.H. Monroe]

best piece. this is your pure message flow rocker.a double even a triple message wrapped in one story with anger, strength and final breakdown.
this is your parade leader.