To a Demon

To a Demon
I affirm, by the boasting in you which I
have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

It told me that I had to bow,
That God was gone, and gone was light-
That Legion ruled my spirit now,
That I was but a slave.
I laughed intrepid: Bow to whom?
To wicked fiends the like of you?
Let this my flesh be Legion’s tomb!
I serve the Lord Most High.
It furrowed angrily its brow
And, like a madman drunk with spite,
It staggered close and made a vow:
Tonight you’ll meet the grave.
I fear not dark, I mocked, nor gloom;
Nor do I fear the lies you spew.
I'm saved from your eternal doom,
For daily do I die!

-jwm

Of the Poem (Poetic Parameters):

Stanza: The poem is essentially four quatrains combined into a single stanza.

Meter: Every fourth line consists of a six syllable count, or a dimeter; the remaining lines are done in tetrameter (i.e. eight syllables per line).

Rhyme Scheme: abac dedf abac dedf (notice that the rhythmic structure of stanzas 1 and 3 correspond to one another, as does stanza 2 and 4).