A Magazine of Many Arts

Depiction of the demon **BelphÃ©gor**, a demon of discovery and of ingenious inventions who often takes the form of a young woman, from J.A.S. Collin de Plancy. Dictionnaire Infernal. Paris: E. Plon, 1863. Page 89.

by Robert Borski

Behind, and forward, 
the two symmetrical strings 
of zeros splay out like
triskaidekal scourges,
but now, half-way through eternity
(for this is how long it takes
to summit the midpoint of 
[10^30 + 666 x 10^14 + 1]),
the Number of the Beast
has finally been reached, numbingly
recited by the scorched lips
of those condemned to count
to the prime's terminus as punishment.

Nicely done then, my pretties,
says Belphegor -- accountant-prince of Hell
and prototype of every math teacher
who ever wielded chalk and found
sexual satisfaction in the thorn bushes
of differential calculus. But he, in fact,
can barely wait to announce 
his next assignment --
prove the primality of the number 
named in his honor. 

Just be sure to show the math.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belphegor%27s_prime

the ballroom is blue with the glaze of evening
white marble ethereal beneath chandelier lights
on the stage, the poor, savoring the final few
moments as themselves.

announcer at podium playing the crowd-
ten thousand six! ten thousand six hundred
from the lady with the cat; do I hear twelve?
twelve thousand?

hammers fall amidst cheers, over and over
crystal vials fixed in place, gears turning, that cursed
machine building up to a deafening roar;
bodies drop to the floor in a grey haze of grief
vials glowing bright with stolen gifts.

bidders claim their prizes.
on the stage, a young girl
hears her voice emerge in sweet melody
from the throat of her buyer,
bowing to thunderous applause.

August 2019

by Robert Borski

Davian Aw

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