The Devil Is In the Details

The Devil’s watch has started and the time is consummate A strange and tranquil calmness mocks our terrifying wait There, just beyond our window moves like fearsome reprobates A pair of tortuous demons meant all Hell to perpetrate We will not yield in panic! We will not abdicate! The oaths we swore, though did not know what fortune could mandate Then all at once the door explodes like Hell’s infernal gate And from its raw primordial wound two creatures detonate A thunderous commotion rings as demons orchestrate Concussive pandemonium ‘til heads reverberate Our precious things and property? Just grist to lubricate The cogs and gears of ruin in their trek to decimate All supplications fail to slow or cause to deviate The terrors’ stupefying quest to misappropriate It seems no thing that we hold dear shall realize escape Each second’s an eternity, yet hours accelerate And suddenly as it began, the anarchy abates Back to their lair they are recalled and though they hesitate To disobey their Master’s voice they dare not contemplate So final mischief they perform then through the door gyrate Perdition’s gate they seal once more, no fear can infiltrate Now silence will return again and we’ll recuperate In time the fear will disappear and doubts evaporate So order once again returns, our world to dominate Yet in our minds there still exists (though we equivocate) Confession for the origin of this despairing state For harsh parental curse once made we can’t repudiate What went around has come around to now reciprocate Thus progeny of progeny is ours to expiate We can’t take back what Nature in its wisdom still dictates "I hope your children grow up to be JUST LIKE YOU!" still grates And devil’s laughter is the fee we pay to procreate Date: December 19, 2018 Contest Name: Give Me Goosebumps Poetry Contest Sponsor: Nina Parmenter