A Cautionary Tale

Faustus begin thine incantations,
Take good care to draw thy circle true,
By god must you prevail -
For if you fail these
Demons make a meal of you.

Your soul shall be their meat -
A kingly feast for them to eat,
Beware your future at hand,
Alas for thou art dammed.

[good angel:]
"faustus seek repentance,
Abjure this evil art,
Cease this wretched wickedness
And cleans thy foolish heart,
For the evil that once served you
Has made of you a slave,
And transformed your bed of roses'
To a premature grave."

Then in a mighty flash of light
Before thee mephistopheles appears.

[faustus:]
"i charge thee go and change thy shape,
For you fill my soul with fear.
Now swift-as-hell back to the fire
Return an old franciscan friar."

[mephistopheles:]
"mortal command me while you can,
For surely thou art dammed."

[bad angel:]
"faustus be thou resolute
In what thou wilst perform,
Ignore these righteous idiots -
Their trinity to scorn,
For years of depravation you receive eternal life,
But fame and wealth and maidens-fair
Are by far the better price."

[faustus:]
"temptations all around me,
Is there nowhere i can turn?
Hellfire is all about me,
Now i know that i shall burn,
I face excommunication for the error
Of my ways - to burn in hell for all my days.
Bell, book and candle, candle, book, bell,
Forwards and backwards to damn me to hell.

Jehova i beg thee have mercy on my soul.
Be gone foul beast that stands before me,
My god! the midnight hour chimes,
Oh lord have mercy he comes for me,
I haven't got much time.
I am awake this is no dream,
I cry - but terror takes my scream,
And now my future is at hand,
Also for i am dammed."

[good angel:]
"think for just one moment
And i'm sure that you will see,
The moral of this story -
That what shall be must be.
He who gives his soul to hell,
Must dare to pay the price,
He versed in divinity must
Live a noble life -
Or else he is damned!