by readwithjeremy winner of Violence - The Ennead Contest

In jealousy did Lucifer rebel

against the very God who gave him life

and did create all of the universe

from cosmic flesh His Holiness is made,

for when our Father did create the Son—

Messiah who would carry out His will,

through whom He'd speak and give to man commands

and vest his power lest a trouble rise—

the dev'llish angel cast his love for God

into the flames of hatred, for he thought

himself the Father's equal, as he was

the first of His creations and was blind

to fact that he, until the clay had set,

did not exist and so there was no way

for him to witness his own birth, unlike

the angels whom our Father after made,

whom Lucifer could see and then inform

that they'd come after him and God, so that

they never got the wrong impression that

th'existence that they own'd had come from naught.

And so, in rage and blindness, Lucifer—

most beautiful and charismatic of

the angels God did make—accru'd a force

one third of Heaven's populace and wag'd

a war against the angels and their God,

refusing to believe himself as less

and contemplating what, if possible,

his power may yet be if th'war was won,

thus proving him superior to God.

Th'Angelic Wars, they call'd the incident,

which rag'd for three long days and three long nights

and on the battlefield's second day

the Devil's brother clash'd to duel swords;

th'archangel Michael pressed into his blade

and here with hatred bitter in his voice

did Lucifer disparage him: "Thou fool,

thou art a simple tool for Father's will,

assuming that a liar never lies

for fact that inexplicably thou love

a Father who would cast thy love aside,

replacing thee and I with something new

which He's created, when He could've chose

from thee or I or Gabriel instead

to house His holy strength inside, t'ensure

His will would touch the reaches of the space

He hath created, yet hath not yet fill'd."

He push'd our Michael off a distance from

himself and here the angels circl'd round

and thrust at what they hop'd a down'd defence

and parried strikes from th'other on their guard.

And during this exchange did Michael say

with pleading tone to sway his brother back:

"My brother Lucifer, cannot thou read

the signs above our heads that tell our roles?

Our forms aren't made to house such strength as His—

so infinite a store possess'd by Him

that we asunder would be split upon

th'investment of his power in our arms.

My brother, turn thy gaze toward the stars,

I beg of thee, discern what they relay!"

Their fight continued; Lucifer's retort:

"A cunning strategist thou think thyself,

attempting to distract th'attention gave

to thee by me who's willing to combat

with thee to see his victory achiev'd."

With this the Devil thrust and cut the flesh

on Michael's side to spill his ichor red,

yet still did he insist to Lucifer:

"I mean to end our spat without the use

of vi'lence, brother. Please, it's honest truth;

I wish for us t'return to Heaven with

our interlocking arms' togetherness."

And here the angel slowly sheath'd his blade,

instilling trust between the brothers two,

which Lucifer, upon the sight of this

believ'd, now turning eyes upon the sky.

Astronomy's where Lucifer was weak,

however, so when up he gaz'd upon

the constellations, trying with his eyes

to read the signs, the characters he saw

did warp and shift upon the page of night,

and as he was embarrass'd by this lack'd

ability—dyslexia we've nam'd—

he threw aside his brother's pleading cry

replying with: "I read it diff'rently,

my brother, so naive in placing faith

that he no longer sees what stands before

his very eyes, instead believing what

our Father's brainwash'd him to think and see."

Upon the utterance of these few words

th'archangel Michael clos'd his weary eyes

and when he open'd them a flame had lit

within them both which rose beyond the lids

and burn'd in streaks across his temples up

to light his halo with a fiery heat.

And here he drew his blade again, now lit

with fury's flame, which skyward did he hold

and said to his opponent: "Then it comes

to this. For thy defiance I shall strike

from th'rocks on which we fight thy presence here

to show to thee, denying light of good,

the very power thou surrender'd when

thy pride and insolence divided us."

At this the Devil fell and forces next

t'recuperate upon defeat by swing

of Michael's holy sword. Within the crags,

however, did his demons get to work

in forging most infernal engines cruel

and on the third of days did they emerge

to lay a waste upon their holy foes

whereat the Father sent his vessel down—

omnipotent and carrying his wrath—

to single-handedly defeat the third

of Heaven's angels who betray'd their King;

to sweep them from the Father's universe

and banish them toward the nether realm.

And since Messiah wasn't Lucifer's

own brother, as th'archangel Michael was,

he made no move convincing him to come

return to light, for love was not the same

between the Devil and the Father's form

corporeal—a diff'rent sort of Son

from those He'd made before, like Lucifer

and Gabriel and Michael, Uriel,

and Raphael and Saraqael, Raguel

and Remiel, the eight most powerful

of angels who existed 'til the Lord

gave life to the Messiah's diff'rent flesh,

created for the aforemention'd cause.

Defeated by the power of the Lord,

the army following in Satan's steps

descended, cast upon the sulphur's heat

across th'abyss of black infinity

Messiah form'd t'imprison them in Hell,

for none of them could ever cross this pool

before their wings would give to gravity

and see them drown eternally within

its crashing waters' writhing discontent.

But as we know, they weren't uncrossable,

for with millennia that came and pass'd

the Devil rested, gaining back his strength

and once he'd healed, then did he attempt

to cross the gap that separated him

from God's domain and when he prov'd a match

for trial that Messiah set in place

he found the Earth and God's new children—man,

and here the villain play'd his worst of tricks.

The paradise we lost; you know the tale.