The Serpent and the Holy Man

Many poems and stories speak of a conversation between good and evil. So why not write my own.

The Serpent and the Holy Man

(A conversation with the devil)

By

Carlos Lorenzo Estrada 

I once met an old man

Who spoke in Bible verse.

He said, away from me foul deamon

With your wickedness and curse.

Why do you judge me harshly 

I so kindly did ask?

For I see depraved horns

Behind comely false mask.

But what of my eyes 

So sweetly in care?

Deceiver of men 

I see vulgar in stare.

But what of my words

Which are sweeter then wine?

They speak disingenuous lies

Foul grapes from thorned vines.

And what of my touch

So soft in embrace?

I am not fooled by you devil

Begone and make haste.

Come sit by my side, man

I have wonders to share.

You're a snake born of evil

A wretched omen of despair.

Let me show you the mysteries 

That faith tries to hide.

And for the briefest of moments 

The man chose my side....

Author's Note

An allegory that speaks to our imperfections and human frailties? Or perhaps we are born of two natures which indelibly we can not deny. In the end it is a choice between fact or fiction, love or hate, good or evil, faith or knowledge. These are all within our own personal journey we choose to make in life.

Reviews

[Poetic Beauty]

Many times we shall sit briefly on the wrong rock. We will let our temptations and imperfections lead us where we shouldn’t go. No one is perfect and we all make bad choices and mistakes. It is learning from them and not dwelling where we shouldn’t be that matters the most.

Love this tale between good and evil and the temptation that it presents in beautiful packages.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you so much for you comment. I couldn't agree more with your words. But I think also it is the beauty of our frailties in humanity that we are meant to fall into these vices. We are born into a beautiful world imperfectly as some beliefs would have us think. The act of carnal sensual lust and its allurement our constant attraction to this so called vice. But it does not define our choices or failures in life. It is we who individually make them and suffer similar falls from grace. But redemption is always there to offer opportunities to be better. I loved the dance between the two characters in this poem. It was like a battle between our inner psyche, dancing between a choice that would eventually be given. Where morality would be defined and a price to pay. Thank you for taking the time to read and especially comment with your thoughts. I enjoy reading your work and you're always very thoughtful in your words.

[Laura Kate]

Wonderful, and so clever. We make assumptions about people so easily - what they think, who they are, even. This highlights how wrong our perceptions can be, in terms of good and bad, right and wrong, the faithful and faithless. This flips the lens as it encourages the reader to think about their own perceptions, so I really enjoyed this.
Laura.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you so much Laura for reading this work. It was one of my most enjoyable writings to be honest, as far as my poetry is concerned. The message is as exactly as you describe. It was my hope not to offend anyone but simply illuminate one's perspective on the world. Things are not always black and white, wrong or right. We live in the spaces of gray in-between. No one is perfect nor should we ever be, we simply are human. Thank you again.

[Laura Kate]

I can totally see that, and thought it was really clever

[NotUsinganymore]

INteresting poem about judgemental religious people. There certainly are a lot.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you JungLee, for reading and commenting. It really was not my intent to insult or be harshly critical of people of faith. Simply to state we are human, born imperfect and prone to unwise choice and failures. Faith plays an important part of society. Even I as an agnostic recognize this truth. Without it one would have difficulty understanding virtue and morality. But faith does not make one divinely perfect. It is in the choices which we make that defines the content of our character and reflects our better humanity and grace. God is an image we can never live up to. But love is an idea we can all achieve if we simply try. Thank you again for your words and reading this work.

[NotUsinganymore]

You are welcome. Interesting I posted a new poem! Please check it out c:

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Well here I go on a tangent that this poem grew in me.
I have known too many born again Christians who preach and preach love and God and kindness and then have stabbed me in the back with deceit and slander.
Not so holy, says I.
j.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

You my friend speak to a fellow convert. I was a former alterboy at the local catholic church in a small town I grew up in. Then when my mother got tired of that we went Jehovah Witness for a time, and then Latter-day Saints, and finally a Christian church. Left religion behind back in my 20s. I'm more agnostic, probably leaning closer toward Atheism. I have had similar experience as you with supposedly Christian people. I try not to be too judgemental of faith, whatever brings a man closer to being a better human being I'll encourage. But I seen way to many preach a good word but fail to live up to their own moral standards time and time again. We are human beings, we're not meant to be perfect, but it sure as hell doesn't give us license to be A-holes to one another either. Being fallible is in our nature, but being absolutely deplorable is a choice. This poem reflects my understanding of humanity. No one's perfect, nor should we ever be. The only thing we should ever ask of ourselves is just be decent, which requires very little effort. I enjoyed writing this because it's really just who we are as a species. And Jacob my friend you can go on a tangent anytime you want. I enjoy and respect your perspective, as well as your art. Thank you for taking the time to read and also share your thoughts. I appreciate it.

[Neville]

... I am left in no doubt whatsoever that you hit the proverbial nail on its proverbial head with the words you have used so eloquently within your own author's note ... and if I was a judge, I would award ya full marks my friend ...

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you, Neville, for the nice comment on this work. I think I mentioned it before but want to say again, this was so fun to write. It felt like a dance between characters and in essence spoke of the human psyche on a deeper level. The constant battle within the self with the wrong and right choices we are given. And how their culmination define our lives. I literally felt as if I were speaking with two aspects of myself; the proverbial angel and devil on the shoulders. As well as outside forces coming into play with reading Godfather Death by Brothers Grimm and listening to the Rolling Stone Sympathy for the devil. It was pure synchronicity. And a dancing of muses. Thank you my friend for reading and leaving your kind thoughts I truly appreciate it.

[Neville]

..... you are sir, much more than merely welcome ..
Neville

[Chris Shaw]

Your couplets tell a wonderful story about human behaviour Carlos. Each one of us has our own imperfections. From time to time we will make mistakes. That:s life. Hopefully we will learn from those mistakes, but we will make them. All of us have good and bad in us. No one is exempt. Thank you for sharing with us.

Chris

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you, Chris, for reading and commenting on this work. You are absolutely correct we are born of these things and thus imperfect. Only through life's journey and rising from our failings do we achieve a sense of redemption, peace, and enlightened soul. Our vices do not define our souls, only our bad actions and the refusal to learn from them. The only thing we are capable of doing perfectly is love. And even that must be an individual choice. Thank you again for your kind words.

[Chris Shaw]

You are most welcome Carlos. Thankyou for your wisdom and sharing your wonderful thoughts with us on this site.

Chris

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

It's an absolute joy to be here and find this wonderful community. Since my father's death 15 yrs ago I hadn't written at all. And it was very difficult to not write but the blocking was very strong. I would think something but just get lost in thought and become unmotivated. This wonderful place and welcoming community gave me back my love for writing again. I will always be grateful because of that.

[Chris Shaw]

I am happy for you, that you are now motivated again to write and to share.

[Fran Marie]

Were a mixed up
lot. I think all of us
have good and bad
attributes..and
angel and devil
qualities can be
activated sometimes
in a heartbeat.

love the rhyme. and
rhythm..enjoyed this one

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you, Fran, for reading and commenting on this work. This one was an absolute joy to write because it really felt like a dance between the two. When ever I think of the duality of these two nature's of good and evil I am drawn back to the ending of William Peter Blatty's amazing book "legion". He ponders the idea almost poetically that the casting down and fall of Lucifer created the big bang and in essence the entire universe. And from that fall the semblance of man came to form. And it is from this moment humanity has the inherent qualities of good and evil, since the devil was created by God our souls by nature are of both. Great writing often posits within the mind of the reader profound ideas. I would be the first to admit I'm not a great writer but once in a while we can capture a bit of lightning in a bottle. I feel lucky to catch this enjoyable spark. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I truly appreciate it.

[Fran Marie]

you' re so very
welcome;

[Dylan Macadham]

The flow is rhythmic, the message sublime,
The last paired-line blows me away,
I'm jealous, Wish it was mine!
Dylan

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you, Dylan for reading as nd commenting on this work. I have to admit the last two lines were also my favorite. I really enjoyed the dance between the two characters culminating in the final verse. Recently I had read one of my favorite brother Grimm stories "Godfather death". It is an absolute classic. I just loved the irony of the last scene of that story. And after some thought this poem seemed to dance its way into my mind. Of course it didn't help that I also heard the old Rolling Stones song "sympathy for the devil" as well. Inspiration can come from strange places and have a bit of serendipity to it. Thank you so much for reading this bit of work, which I really enjoyed writing.

[mattavelli]

Hello, Carlos! :)
If you create the religion, the faithful will come. All you'd need is a pamphlet, a website, and some place for people to come give you money. There are people out there right now, waiting for you to give their lives meaning.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Hahaha, only you can make the absurd sound absolutely like a great idea lol. Tell you what. I'll create the holy text and robes, but you my friend will be the diety. The all powerful God of virtuous cynicism and poetry. I'll be like an arch duke of the church and we will make bank fooling the masses. We will have red caps that say...make America pray again. Lol gid er done.

[mattavelli]

Woohoo, if my wife says its OK, I'm all in. Haha

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Lol Wow that is love lol. To be comfortable enough to know that other women will be worshiping you and calling you lord. And she is ok with that? You better hang on to that woman, my friend lol

[mattavelli]

Hmm, maybe I shouldn't mention it to her. Haha