Cobwebbed Bakelite, his hands are skeletal
receiver heavy, weighted with the lead of words
he never should have said. A vow, for this?
The telephone is black and tick-tack of the rotary
encodes the pulses for the number of the beast.
For gains in life comes this eternal pain,
for sins, for words, for alchemy and gold.
For Marguerite, his hands inside her dress.
But now it’s late (it’s never been enough),
“It is not fair”, he screams into the microphone
“Answer Lucifer, your fuck, it’s Doctor Faust,
there is an error here: I’m taking you to court”
But suddenly — familiar fumes, a sense of burn
and brimstone vapor condensates on Bakelite
The laughter of the beast, as noxious as the smoke
the doctors chest is ripped apart: behold his scream
“I am both jury and the judge — your soul is mine”
They found the doctor dead, an Iphone in his hand
and on the screen a pentagram engraved.
Faust by Jean-Paul Laurens
Shay (Fireblossom) wants us to use a rotary phone where it definitely couldn’t belong at toads
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October 15, 2015
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Bjorn wow you make it work down to the classic art by Laurens.
Dr. Faust modernized, but the same result in the end. Well done, Bjorn. 🙂
Poor Doctor Faust, he got flamed!
Faustus should be careful–as should Lucifer–that might be a recorded line! Thanks, Bjorn. k.
Love this retelling of the old demonic tale, Bjorn–both wry and grisly, tongue-in-cheek and tinged with an ironic but genuine despair and terror. Shouting down the phone line to Lucifer is so human a thing–because so futile, as Lucifer, like AT&T, is known for a resounding lack of courteous customer service.
Ah Mephistopheles! Well done in imagining this iconic tale and final scene of Dr Faustus.
A pretty cool response to the prompt. Smiles.
oooo. That’s not Goethe’s version! Nicely done.
Wow! This is a perfect response to the prompt!
Of course the Devil has all the best technology (as well as tunes). I love it.
Splendid response.
Bravo to you for having a go at the legendary story of Faust – a herculean, multi-interpreted mainstay of literary themes … your appropriation with a rotary phone that “encodes the pulses for the number of the beast”. I love it!