No Real Name
By John Herlihy

Some people think otherwise,
But why should it not have a name?
This fiendish impulse we carry within us,
Strong enough to make us insane.
His name is none other than Lucifer,
There is no one more famous the world over.
He walks the meadow of our heart to pick clover;
Worse, he wanders in our souls with imperiousness,
While we deny his existence in all seriousness.

There are times I feel my heart racing,
No doubt, the fiend is thoughtfully pacing.
A decision to take action lies at hand,
As evil lingers in the shadows with a reprimand.
Lucifer stands always at the ready with a cup,
Filled with drafts of evil desires for me to sup.
With red cape and pointed horns that slowly grow,
His eyes shine with a mysterious glow.
God’s eternal day doesn’t lack a single hour
That our friend Lucifer doesn’t tower
Over our lives with his insidious power.

He makes us less than what we truly are,
Our human nature has fallen from a nearby star.
In your reckoning, he goes by another name,
A designation that brings with it far less shame;
Even without a name, he still plays his sordid game.
Whether Satan, Mephistopheles, Beelzebub, or Iblis,
It matters nothing to him that we have no peace,
In his mind, we live our lives on his lasting lease.
Even if we attribute to him no real name,
He still walks thru our souls as landlord all the same.
While we humans will have to endure this old chum,
In a tenantry that will last the ages until kingdom come.