Say, Satan

Forty days and forty nights
without a bite to eat!
And then this dude comes strolling by
with offers pretty sweet.
I guess he thinks it’s going to work
Like earworms in my head.
I’m talking with my Father here;
He’s planting thoughts of bread.
Instead
He’s planting thoughts of bread.

Say, Satan, for a guy so smart,
You say things pretty odd!
The temporal does not sustain,
Not like the word of God!
Like young chicks helpless in a nest
Cared for by mother bird,
Nourished directly from her mouth,
So God gives us his word.
His word.
So God gives us his word.

And then the nerve! He hauls me off
And takes me to the temple.
Says, “Jesus, you’re the Son of God;
This one is really simple!”
He wanted me to just leap off,
To base jump to the ground.
Said, “God has got his angels here
And they won’t let you down!”
Just jump!
And they won’t let you down!

Say, Satan, don’t you ever read?
You need to crack that book!
I know it’s probably been a while;
You ought to take a look.
For if you had been listening,
You probably could have guessed.
It’s not for us to test the Lord,
No, He gives all the tests.
Not us
No, He gives all the tests

But still he tries the bribe again, 
Thinks third time is the charm.
He takes me to a lofty place
And sweeps wide with his arm.
Says, “All of this I give to you,
A gift to you from me.
The only thing you’ve got to do:
Fall down and worship me!”
Fall down!
Fall down and worship me!

Say, Satan, have you lost your mind?
You’ve really got some nerve!
The Book says, “Worship God alone;
Him only shall you serve!”
I know that we’re not done just yet,
But let’s call it a day.
Your offers: easy to refuse. 
No thanks, now go away!
No thanks!
No thanks, now go away!

(From Matthew 4)

Copyright © | Year Posted 2022



Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Date: 2/13/2022 8:35:00 PM
Here's a thought for you, based on your poem: The letters of the word for 'bread' ('lechem') in Hebrew are the same as those for the word 'he fought,' or 'he warred.' Just as war is a 'joining of forces,' so is eating also a war -- the body contending with the spirit... Better that eating complement the spirit, but it's a tough war! This is not my thought. It's that of a a Chasidic Rabbi who's pen name was 'Sefas Emes.' ('Lips of Truth.') ~ Gershon (fighting all the way through dinner).
Login to Reply
Kyser Avatar
Jeff Kyser
Date: 2/14/2022 6:46:00 AM
Wow, that's very interesting! I have been studying a little of the koine greek and I feel like we miss so much in English, an I have suspected the same is true of the Hebrew. Thanks for sharing!
Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetics
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter