Beastly Numbers
I.
The number to phone in a fix?
999, here in Britain. Don’t mix
Up your up and your down,
Or the upright will frown:
You’ll be calling the Beast, 666.
II.
I’ve a mark on my hand and my head,
And I now understand what John said:
Choosing mottos, the trick’s
To avoid “666”—
It’s a woeful tattoo when you’re dead.
DCLXVI.
It’s ’06, and the sixth day of June,
So surely the time’s opportune
For the Beast to arise
And rain fire from the skies—
Either his or our number’s up soon.