Giving the Devil His Due

I have seen his work

I have seen him sow dissension;

pitting one member of the body against another

putting noxious words in one mouth

and using that to plant anger in another soul.

I have seen his work.

I have seen him send sickness;

sidelining warriors with minor ailments

not enough to kill them,

but enough to take them out of the fight at just the right time.

I have seen his work.

I have seen him exploit weakness;

finding the little places where one fails

and using that to ruin them

or trip up another.

I have seen his work.

I have seen him deceive with flattery;

puffing up the workers with fine words

so that they are too bloated

to fulfill their mission.

I have seen his work.

I have seen him distract;

convincing students they are bored

and getting their eyes off the Teacher

who offers Truth, not entertainment.

I have seen his work.

He is a very hard worker;

skilled in what he does

careful and quick in his manipulations

tenaciously persistent.

I have seen his work.

I have seen it all come to naught

as it is thrown into the garbage heap

and all burned away until there is nothing

and no one remembers what he has done.

I have seen his work.

I have seen it all pass away

while the work of those who struggled against him

who were also skilled and persistent

survive the fire like gold

while his work burns away like sticks and straw.