You ever wonder why old myths persist
in elevating those the gods cast down?
An easy trend to note; it can’t be missed.
The deity that wears the lofty crown
will always have a counterpoint, a foil.
An enemy that pays the utmost price,
of hideous appearance — you’ll recoil,
but also marvel at their daring vice.
Is Lucifer Prometheus, you ask?
The shining star, sent to the depths below?
Who, if not Satan, got the crucial task
of making sure that Man was in the know?
Our spark, at unimaginable cost.
It was for us that paradise was lost.
© 2023 Arthur Gee
Image: Satan in Paradise Lost, as illustrated by Gustave Doré