An Existential Enquiry

Chapter I

Lights on the street, illuminating the wonders on display
An exhibition of art, salesmen imploring "Don't walk away"
Cold winds blowing, the maidens hug their jackets close
A wizard roams the streets tonight, or so the story goes

A man wanders with his hands in his pockets, he's no wizard you can tell
He walks over to another and asks, "Man have you got something to sell?"
The stranger is the wizard of whom the legends have warned
He, an ancient man who has eternally evil sworn

"I sold my soul a long time ago", said the wizard to the man
"You should do the same", he said, "Do it while you can"
Taken aback the man replied, "Stop talking funny, you old loon",
"Sell my soul? Ha !Why, I'm not dying any time soon"

The wizard laughed and cried, "You think life and death are in your control!"
"Don't be a fool boy, the spirits will debate the merits of your soul"
"A sinner you have been, and a sinner you will live on to be"
"I'll give you a chance to escape Hell, sell your soul to me"

Afraid the man tries to step back, but is drawn forward, attracted somehow
Angered by the wizard's words, he shouts, "You listen to me now"
"I don't know where you come from or what you do"
"But I'm not paying for this, so good day to you"

This time the man walks away with a firm resolve,not looking back
As the wizard smiles with mischief and retreats into his shack
"He is but a mortal, I know he will return", he said to himself
Still smiling he lit his pipe and put his hat on the nearest shelf

Chapter II

Across the thoroughfare the man walks once more
He thinks of the wizard,and of his folklore
Dismissing quickly, the fear of what awaits
After all, he reasons, it is all but fate

But now questions the man,
"By whom is fate decided?
Is it I, myself, or by things coincided ?
To think of my goals
of rationality and reason
but by nature controlled
the same as the seasons"

"If by destiny we live,
then how can I be punished?
Why forget and forgive ?
leave all business unfinished
Our thoughts are in our hands
And our actions too therefore
Ourselves then we command
Our fates, I can be sure"

"Is there a thing
as Heaven or Hell?
Are there angels who sing
To the Church bells?
Do demons exist
who blasphemy insist?
A purgatory
is it all a story?"


He walks as he thinks
He walks to his door
The mirror above his sink
His reflection unsure
he gets into bed
the voices in his head
Allow him not to sleep
And he asks,
of his tasks
"Will I sow what I reap?"



Chapter III


"If I know what will happen, then die I will slowly
Not afraid of what's next, peace I'll have surely
But the answers unknown,
will stay as they are
And the seeds I have sown
shall remain as scars"

"I cannot rid
Myself of my deeds
In some desperate bids
To satisfy my needs
The man that I've been
is not devoid of sin
But dubbed, am I wrong
Have I lived for so long
to suffer, the pain eternal
In the abode of the infernal ?"

"Reflective
a new perspective
Are my fears well-founded?
I would not be so
terribly astounded
If I were to know
that death ends all
that no angels may fall
What remains once we're gone
Words and actions, by our friends carried on"

All life is in doubt, all actions regretted
All thoughts and things aided and abetted
Inside the man, fear grows like a cancer
But he knows now where to find the answer

Walks out the door again, in the cold winter air
Makes his way back to the thoroughfare
Finds the wizard's shack, and goes on in
"I've been expecting you", said the wizard with a grin



Chapter IV

"Have you now?" asked the man perplexed
" Oh come on, mortal, it's not so complex"
"Would you like to share my pipe, some tea perhaps?"
"No thanks, I'd just like some answers" the guest snaps

"How'd you know I'd come?" persisted the man
"Well you could say sir, it's all a part of the plan !
Curiosity didn't kill the cat, I don't reckon
But it's the reason you were this way beckoned"

"You got that right, now tell me the nature of your being"
"Let's just say, sir, that I'm more than what you're seeing
I've got places to go, people to see, some souls to buy
And you're daft indeed if you're wondering why"

"So the Devil exists and you're one of his cohorts !"
"Actually sir, I'm a free agent of sorts
I sold my soul to stay here on this planet
400 years ago, before cars overran it"

"There's more to life than this universe
Which is why I chose this little curse
Heaven or Hell is but a roll of the dice
And we both know you don't live twice"

"Then, sir, do we have a deal?"
"Wait man, there's something amiss I feel"
..........
A strange fix I find myself in
this loon awaits my decision,
The years I've spent in this skin
I now see with precision

But humans aren't we all
The vendor in his stall
The miser who doesn't share
The dreamer who doesn't care

Is man a machine
To be judged on a scale
By powers unseen
Only heard of in tales

We breathe and we blink
We sleep and we stink
Until one day we're no more
And our body lies on the floor

That's how it is, the way it'll always be
The chance taken by all those before me
And I am a man, so human I shall remain
Keep my soul in my body, and endure the pain
................................

After pondering thus the man found his voice again. "I'm sorry to have taken up your time, old man......"

"But I've made up my mind at last, and I'll keep my soul to me.
And now perhaps, I'll have some of your tea"

Upon this the wizard fixed his guest with a passive stare
Then he fixed him a cup of tea, and returned to his chair

"Well mortal, then there's only one thing I must tell
And that'll be, 'No, I don't have anything to sell'"