LAMENT of the DISPAIRING SOUL

LAMENT OF THE DESPAIRING SOUL

by Alan Valentine

A black mist envelopes my being like a cancer on my soul.

My windows are dark and shuttered; I can only ponder what is on the outside.

My dreams are filled with grotesque horror. Can I imagine anything worse?

I can, and do.

Apparitions ascend to the heavens and descend to the nether world of hell.

Oh lamentations of lamentations! The demon hoards are upon me, never ceasing.

I have endured these hauntings since the womb. Must they persist until the gray hairs appear?

Confusion, bafflement…I hear, but do I listen? The tapping at the door…have I gone mad?

Oh that I wish this heart inside me would stop its incessant beating.

Still tapping, but louder now. I cannot bear it!

Slowly, and ever so warily, I approach the majestic portal that leads to the outside world.

The tapping has not halted. The intensity has heightened to a maddening pitch.

I cannot bear it any longer! I must unbolt the latch to this framed structure and reveal the horror that lurks behind. I do it now!

“Dude! I’ve been texting you all day. Are you still writing those crazy depressing poems? You need to get out of here. Let’s go. I’m buying!”