Only for a Moment

The earth trembled.
The sky blackened.
“Defeat,” demons whispered.
He—
The Son of God,
The Light of Man—
Gone out.

Satan’s laughter
Echoes under Jerusalem’s streets.
God’s wrath rumbles in thunder,
Utter—unrelenting—complete.
The hollow shell of a world
Echoes as Creation’s orchestra
Plays in minor key.

“Defeat!” mounting into shrieks,
He—
The Savior,
Love of the Father—
Bows blood-stained brow
To the Boaster.  

Satan ambles into the throne room of the Universe,
Polished shoes click up the silent chamber.
“Foolish
To send your Son
Into the world You gave to me.”
A crooked smile lights
Eyes soulless and yet mysterious
Lustful and yet full of hatred.
“You reduced your Own to man,
And man is mine.”
Mine.

The claim rings
With the shrill cling
Of silver coins falling
Before Pharisees’ feet.

Suddenly. Somewhere dim and cool,
The sound of fabric shreds the still—
A curtain that divided man and God—
Now just fabric in a room.