Talks with the Devil

“I don’t want your soul.”

The devils rolls his eyes as he speaks to me

“So, what is it? You’ll stop me from growing old?”

I lean forward, taunting the devil like a boss does an employee

Because he had to take something if what I wanted was fame

There had to be a price, that was always the game

So, I threw my hands in the air and huffed out the air I left

“You’ve gotta take something man! I told you, anything but my breath”

I said that because I know his games and he could easily take my life

That’s why I’m successful, I’m smart, not an artist or someone’s wife.

“As I said there is a price. But I’m not sure you will be pleased”

I scoffed and put my hands on hips. “And what if I will be?”

“The price is love. I’ll erase it from existence.”

The made me stop to think.

Would love really make such a difference?

I let the thought sink.

So, I thought about fame, fans are supposed to love their martyr

Then my mother crossed my mind, and my heart thumped a little harder

What is a world without love if not and empty abyss?

If you do not truly love, how can you truly miss?

If fame and glory are the goal, could I live without a heart?

I sighed and shook my head. Well, I guess I’d better start.

So, I shook hands with the devil, and he sent me on my way

But the world I came back to was in total disarray

There were pets running about, and not an owner in sight

There were hungry, starving children with not a piece of bread to bite.

And as I walked down the street, cameras flashed my way

But they weren’t asking for a picture, they were distracting me from pushing prying hands away.

Hands that yanked at my skirt and ripped at my hair

People yelled about selling parts of me, “since she got fame it was only fair”

When I finally ran away, I knocked on a neighbor’s door

But when they opened it, they took one look at me and shut it once more

So, I found a payphone nearby and dialed up a number

The cop asked if I’d pay a bribe and to that I could only stutter

“No, I mean, aren’t you supposed to help?”

“If there’s nothing in it for me then, no. I only do it for the wealth”

I dropped the line and stumbled away

And as I looked up at the sky

I saw a missile coming my way

I let out a long, heavy sort of sigh

Before I could even pray the world blew up into ash

And I found myself facing the devil, poised for a rematch.

“So, anything but breath huh? Was it good enough for ya?”

“It was terrible! A complete dystopia!”

The devil shook his head and laughed an eerie noise

“No, my sweet little child, that happens every day just not in a city of elegance and poise.”

I shook my head and laughed “There aren’t pets running about!”

“Take a trip to out of your fairytale, you’ll shut your mouth.”

“Okay, but starving children? Are you out of your mind?”

“I’ll take you to the poorest cracks of the world and a show you what’s inside.”

“And what about the fans? Selling pieces of me?”

“Take a stroll amongst the stars and much more than that is what you’ll see.”

I huffed and walked around him. “What about the neighbors? Maybe I was running from a kidnapper?”

“If we all help running girls, I sure we’d be happier.”

“Fine! But what about the cop? He was supposed to help.”

“Not in your world, they only do it for the wealth.”

How dare he quote the officer and make a fool out of me?

“Lastly, why don’t explain that missile, why would they do that to poor, innocent me?”

The devil smiled, then threw his head back with a room shuddering laugh.

“You are far from innocent but even if you were, this happens every day, do you think the monster asked?”

He crossed his arms and continued. “This happens everywhere!”

“Our world is full of love but not enough to share!”

“We live in our dystopias ignoring our faults.”

“Until our fates come to bite us, then hide in money-filled vaults”

I was shocked and confused, had we always lived like this?

Was I just transported to a smaller world? A more compact crisis?

A world without love was a world without peace

And if that was the world I chose, I would rather be deceased

“I’m sorry for my mistake, please send my back home.”

I begged him to send me to world where in love, I wasn’t alone.

And for the first time in history, the devil showed an ounce of mercy

“I suppose I could undo your fate and send you a world where you are better perceived.”

I was ready to hug him, I was overjoyed! But it didn’t last too long.

“I’ll send to our world of starving kids but in your neighborhood nothing is wrong.”

“And you’ll only have a year to live, so I suggest you use it wisely”

And from that day for a year, I did my part to help the world and put my greed behind me.