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I met the devil in the woods
Emerged from fire as he should
The flames he brought within his wake
I saw the trees had yet withstood

And here I made my first mistake
For fire was water like a lake
Or even more a simple glow
The type that only demons make

He said “You are a man I know.
I saw you born, I saw you grow
I come at last to stake my claim
And all my darkened gifts bestow”

My sins are many, like my fame
They cling to those that bear my name
And yet I hoped now that I might
Escape the fire, all the blame

His eyes were dancing in the light
He held a mirror to my sight
Within its frame I saw my face
Was just like his, to his delight

“These woods” he said “are hallowed space
Where men must truly see their face
I’d set you free if I but could
Yet who but you could take my place?”

It seems that I mis-understood
He cared not for the bad or good
On hell’s sweet precipice I stood
Claimed by myself here in the woods

I never did the things I should
So I’m the devil in the woods

(c) Helen M Valentina 2016