[Elvisceration]

The Devil lived and walked among men
But now he is vanquished and never will do again

The revolt had begun with the best of intention
(Which is something historians often fail to mention)
Heaven was blissful only for the few
So those that languished tuning harps conspired and overthrew
God and his minions; but paradise was soon lost
And into the Hell of their predecessors' sins the infernal insurgents were tossed.

After the war, which, Behold!, was not good
The snow blanketed streets ran with the blood
Of Beelzebub and others of the high ranks,
Which was The Devil's paranoid thanks
And a warning to others who might do as he had done
And revolt against the leader of the revolution.

Wars then came of varying degrees
And The Devil did battle with his enemies:
In the first the war was hot, to The Devil's taste
And diabolic wrath laid an imitator to waste.
But the manner of the next was new to the Prince of Lies
As it had to be conducted using diplomacy and spies.

Subtlety was never Satan's strongest card
And he found the new mode of combat hard.
Still at times he had the upper hand
Until those with Right on their side made a stand.
So, for a while everything was dark and light
And The Devil's adversaries were secretly thankful he was there to fight.

But to state this would be to state
That one loved the devil one claimed to hate.

The rhetoric then came fast and thick:
Propaganda is like mud: throw enough and some will stick.
They said: 'They worship machines and are godless alcoholics
And even enter men in the women's olympics'.
They joined hands in a choir and sang together:
'We've signed legislation that will outlaw Hell forever'.

These words were destructive, as their use was so deft
But then, when there was not one demon left,
The victors turned and surveyed the desolation they had made
And they were disconsolate and dismayed
That all the reality they knew had disappeared
Behold! It was just as they had feared.

One cried: 'Only now do I see
That without him there can be no me'.
And, without purpose or drive she was gone
Into a nightmare of glassy-eyed oblivion.
Popping too many pills, only wearing a dressing gown:
It was also the walls around her that tumbled down.

And now she burns upon her pyre
Like the smouldering ruins of the Evil Empire.

The Devil Lived and walked among men
But now he is vanquished and never will do again.

[DarkPower]

very interesting

[paxarchy]

Is it just me or is this about Soviet Russia and the Cold War? Or maybe this is one of those "applicable" themes (like the ones Tolkien was so fond of!). My only issue (and this might be the intent so this is not a criticism) is that what at first seems to be suggesting a balance of Good and Evil, later changes to be a balance between Imperial identity and the enemy Other. Either way, I really like it.

[Elvisceration]

Thankyou both very much for reading and commenting. Paxarchy, it is about Soviet Russia. In the poem I attempted to cast a version of the Milton's Paradise Lost with characters from the story of communism in Russia. Basically, Stalin is the devil for a very good reason: under his reign his regime was responsible for the deaths of more than four times as many people as the Nazis. Because of this it pisses me off that I see people in sweaters with CCCP and a hammer and sickle on them.
The poem's meaning is more than that though. It was inspired by my reading that Margaret Thatcher tried to stop the felling of the Berlin Wall; the final insignia of communism and the fable of the angel that helps the devil because 'without him there is no me'. Thatcher (and Regan to a lesser extent) needed the 'devil' of communism and Stalin's legacy in order to feel that they were 'Right' (a pun there based on their shared ideology). When the Berlin Wall fell Thatcher was reduced to what she is today; a rusted version of the Iron Lady she once was. This can be reduced to the demons we create ourselves on a day to day level, or, as is the fashion now, can be read as an allegory of what a certain cowboy is doing in America right now...

[paxarchy]

Ok, so I admit that I actually did pick up on the Milton, and the Stalin, (Beelzebub = Hitler? Trotsky?). And you definitely answered my question about applicability, since it can mean Thatcher, Regan, Bush, etc. In fact, I'd say the poem is delightfully Orwellian, and seems to be mixed with themes of Russian folktale, which is a nice touch of irony. You also make a passing reference to individual demons, but this is where I would like to ask you more.
One could, without too much trouble make the claim that Empire requires an enemy, which would account for the need of the one to have the other (especially if they are both empires). Do you think that we do this in our everyday lives? Do individuals require enemies as much as empires do so that we create demons that end up being indispensible to us?

[Elvisceration]

Hey. First of all, your replies here are really insightful and intelligent (i'd never considered the russian folktale thing). I'm repling to this in a phone box cos my cafe is closed and I'd like to write to you more, but quickly I do think people need adversaries in their everyday life in order to give it meaning. These are not necessarily human or even tangible, and could be negative emotions within oneself or whatever, but the small conflicts within our daily lives give it purpose and give us drive and character. I don't think I'm being melodramatic when I say that when all life's conflicts are resolved people tend to deteriorate and even die soon after. Agan thanks for your comments

[RENA HANDS]

Which was The Devil's paranoid thanks
And a warning to others who might do as he had done
And revolt against the leader of the revolution.

Wars then came of varying degrees
And The Devil did battle with his enemies:
In the first the war was hot, to The Devil's taste
And diabolic wrath laid an imitator to waste.

So, for a while everything was dark and light
And The Devil's adversaries were secretly thankful he was there to fight.

"The Devil" or "The Devil's the doesn't need to be capitalized.

But to state this would be to state
That one loved the devil one claimed to hate.

This sentence is a bit awkward and "the devil," Devil should be capitalized.

In the first the war was hot, to The Devil's taste

In the first, the war was hot, to the Devil's taste
The there should be a comma and "The" doesn't need to be capitalized.

And even enter men in the women's Olympics'.

The word Olympics should be capitalized.

Like the smouldering ruins of the Evil Empire.

The word is smoldering.

Fascinating also extremely perplexing, to which war do you refer to?