The Devil Couldn’t Reach Me

The devil couldn’t reach me, with hands fashioned
to bend me, I broke them. The devil couldn’t
reach me, my foes were few, so he sent a dear
friend, my circle became a speck.

The devil couldn’t reach me, he sent a serpent
in a dress, We lay, she lied, that bed has long
been laid to rest.

The devil couldn’t reach me, sorrow came upon
me like waves, I crafted a boat and surfed the pain.

The devil couldn’t reach me, loneliness he sent
to dwell beside me. Yet in the stillness of solitude,
I found the man I was destined to be.

The devil couldn’t reach me, He offered a kingdom
in exchange for my bones, But what is a kingdom
worth if the king is no longer whole?

The devil couldn’t reach me, He sent my regrets
to bury me beneath their weight, Yet I sought to mend
my heart, and in doing so, strengthened my faith.

The devil couldn’t reach me, He laid temptation
upon my tongue, Yet lust, anger and boastful pride,
I held them bound.

The devil couldn’t reach me, So he came himself
when all else had failed, I showed him every stab,
every cut, and every scar my flesh had bared.

My flesh was sore, yet my soul remained my own.

The devil couldn’t reach me, Not because I had
never fallen. Only then did he ask, what had
made me strong?

I told him he had taught me well, For every road
he built to break me became the very path I took
beyond the gates of hell.

The devil couldn’t reach me, For under the shadow
of the Almighty is where I dwell.

Akeel Louison
BlackRose