The Devil,

embarrassed by His initiation of
and
humanities glee
in the well-learned perpetuation of
Evil,

decided to
hang up his horns,
like some aging quarterback
hangs up his cleats.
Ol’ Scratch,
one day,
just brushes the soot off his
red tux and says,
“The Hell with this!
I can’t keep up with them, anymore,
So, I’m done!”
and walks out.

Would greed be washed away
by the sudden, universal urge
to share toys with other kids?

Would war self-obliterate?

Lies drown in waves of truth telling?

Hate cool in the gentle breezes of
Bishop Tu-tu’s Truth and Reconciliation?

Wellllll,

from what I’ve seen of us,
with Hades vacant of Satan and His Minions,

there would be a rush of applicants
to stoke the fires,
pitch the forks,
keep Dante’s Inferno glowing.

We all just appreciate,
to much,
the habit of the heat.