Satan's Supper by James Bowker 1882
I.
The 'Old Lad' sat upon his throne,
Beneath a blasted oak,
And fiddled to the mandrake's groan,
The marsh-frog's lonely croak;
II.
Whilst winds they hissed, and shrieked, and moaned
About the branches bare,
And all around the corpses groaned,
And shook their mould'ring hair;
III.
As witches gathered one by one,
And knelt at Satan's feet,
With faces some all worn and wan,
And some with features sweet,
IV.
The earth did ope and imps upsprang
Of every shape and shade,
Who 'gan to dance as th' welkin rang
With tunes the 'Old Lad' played;
V.
At which the witches clapped their hands,
And laughed and screamed in glee;
Or jumped about in whirling bands,
And hopped in revelry,
VI.
Till Satan ceased, when all did rest,
And swarmed unto the meat:
The flesh of infants from the breast,
The toes from dead men's feet,
VII.
With sand for salt, and brimstone cates,
With blood for old wine red;
On glittering dish and golden plates
The dainty food was spread.
VIII.
From heavy cups, with jewels rough,
The witches quenched their thirst;
Yet not before the ruddie stuff
Had been by Satan cursed.
IX.
But one lank fiend of skin and bone,
With hungry-looking eyne,
Gazed at the food with dreary moans,
And many a mournful whine;
X.
For Satan would not let him feed
Upon the toothsome cheer,
(He had not done all day a deed
To cause a human tear);
XI.
And so he hopped from side to side,
To beg a bit of 'toke,'
And, vagrant-like, his plea denied,
He prayed that they might choke
XII.
Themselves with morsels rich and fat
Or die upon the floor,
Like paupers (grieving much thereat
The guardians of the poor).
XIII.
A cock then flapped his wings and crew,
Announcing coming light;
When, seizing on a jar of stew,
The snubbed imp took his flight.
XIV.
And at the solemn sound of doom
The witches flew away,
While Satan slunk off through the gloom,
Afraid of break of day;
XV.
And in the darkness drear he cried—
His voice a trifle gruff,
'Those omelettes were nicely fried;
I have not had enough!'
XVI.
A blight fell on the trembling flowers
And on the quivering trees—
No buds there drink the passing showers,
Or leaves wave in the breeze;
XVII.
For Satan's presence withered all
The daisies and the grass,
And all things over which like pall
His sulphurous tail did pass.
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