Goethe’s Flame

The Faustian Bargain was Faust, who asked
Mephistopheles---a Freemason myth---
To give him the power to interpret
Any Poet, and derive from them their
Knowledge. To interpret perfectly their
Words. Goethe, who wrote Faust, had an intelligence
Quotient of about two-hundred twenty.
What I derive from Goethe is that his smarts
Felt like they were a curse from the Devil.
For knowing meanings with certainty, and
Not being able to convince others
Because they are unable to perceive
It, might seem like the power came from some
Ancient and arcane force of shrewd evil.
It is a discovery we have yet
To make, even in this, our modern age.
Yet, the curse of knowledge saved Faust from hell
And just perhaps, this curse will  save us, too.