Now once upon a time and long ago
There was a fellow by the name of Jack.
He was a drunk, and kind of mean and low.
For craftiness, he also had a knack.
One night he’d had a pint or two or four
And thought another one would do the trick.
The Devil offered Jack a final pour,
But, even more than Satan, Jack was slick.
The deal was for the soul of Jack in trade
For which the Devil then would pay the fare.
A sixpence of himself the Devil made,
But Jack just cut a Cross to trap him there.
The Devil then agreed to ten more years,
And Jack continued in his wicked ways.
When time had passed, the Devil reappeared,
But Jack had yet another trick to play.
He got Old Scratch to climb an apple tree,
Then penned him up there with another Cross.
The Devil promised then to let him be.
For him, the soul of Jack was just a loss.
All flesh must pass, and so did Jack one day.
He wasn’t welcome at the Pearly Gates,
So down to Hell he made his ghostly way.
When he arrived there, it was very late.
The Devil told him, with no little spite,
“Our deal is done; there’ll be no Hell for you!”
“It’s dark,” cried Jack, “Can you not spare a light?”
The answer was a coal the Devil threw.
Now Jack was eating turnips when he passed
And had a carved and hollow one in hand.
He popped the coal inside to make it last
And then began to wander through the land.
Along the lonesome roads and empty streets,
Sometimes at windows on a lonely night,
While scared and peeking from beneath our sheets,
We’ve seen the glowing of his lantern’s light.
His ever-plodding ghost is out there still
Without a place in which to rest or dwell.
So Jack O’Lantern wanders where he will,
Unfit for Heaven; not allowed in Hell.
Author notes
Tradition has it that the Devil may not pass through a cross. Jack foiled the Devil's schemes for his soul by first carving a cross in the sixpence of which the Devil had made himself, and then in the trunk of the apple tree which Jack had persuaded the Devil to climb. By doing so he forced the Devil to change or make null and void the terms of their contract.
Jack was clever and cunning, but like most schemers he did not consider the long-term consequences of his actions.
Jack was clever and cunning, but like most schemers he did not consider the long-term consequences of his actions.
A contest entry
- Jack-o-lantern by ea.
600 points, ended October 15, 14 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
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Congratulations on your silver trophy, and the wonderful history lesson, or perhaps a lesson i8n legends. Great minds do think alike.
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An excellent poem/story. Congratulations on silver trophy.
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This is excellent, very well researched and well done indeed.
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Thank you for the contest and the comment.
I like to think of old Jack as a lovable rake who's still out there trying to come up with yet another scheme to get out his current fix, but I suspect he was truly a cad if even the Devil has no use for him.
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