13. Transparent Pride
“*Daughter*, dear, come here. Little one, be held by your parent.” Now I have to tell you, my sweet audience of a captive performer, I have no children, save…
4. I Laughed Myself Away
*Comedy* often makes us laugh, if it is done well. Curiously, so does a jolt of sudden fear, if it turns out that the shock was needless and especially if we…
A Tale of Woe and Water
They thought they could finish me, just sentence me to this interminable hellhole and walk away, thought Spider. _They thought they were being clever, making…
The Deskjob From Hell
The silk shirt slid easily under his tailored jacket. His hand reflexively touched his silk tie then came to rest on his lap. He didn’t want to be here. The…
5 Rivers
I crossed the river *Styx* to know the world’s pain. But you’d have to swim it to know mine own... I crossed the river *Lethe* to try and remember what I’ve…
Crumbling
I stood at a dead end, a dead end that was also my destination. Ten feet forward, a crumbling wall stood across the path. The height of it extended out of…
Fault [4]
All my fault. And tonight laying in my bed Not knowing who does Nightmares and crippling fears confined, Bottled in a stony, icy cave Life goes on, plunging…
Fault [3]
His touch slips I cling With neither fingers nor limbs But the heart grips Silent scream And bile alike rise up In the throat a scorching Which tears cannot…
Fault [1]
For God so loved the world He gave His only Son, That whosoever believes in Him should not perish But have eternal life. And I believed in Him. Crimson guilt…
Make It Stop.
Can you hear me? If you don’t act soon, I will slowly fade away into nothing. Can you see me? I’m losing more and more of myself and my sanity every day…
Words that Find No Ear
Eight hundred degrees. Not a second ticks in which I do not think of her lonesome face as she watches the Earth fill in. Six months pass. I am still here, and…
Choice of Heart
Brad watched It light a cigarette with the ground. “Why am I here?” Brad asked. It raised what might have been an eyebrow. “Isn’t that obvious? You didn’t--“…
The Generous Hell
When I arrived in Hell I expected brimstone, fire and anguish. Well, that was all there in ready supply, but no one really ever bothered with it. Instead we…
La Divina Commedia II
Virgil pointed at the low houses, built of white adobe, that lined the black sanded beach. Then up further, to the neat rows of vines that laced the hillside…
The Unjust Gavel
“I am power.” Said the Lord. “I am the creator and the saviour. I am the object of your worship and your devotion. And you will only rejoice in me.” Kenji…
London Keep Him, Heaven Help Me
The whole thing left me staring at the ceiling cursing time, distance, his impertinance and inconstancy. However gallant his offers, however magnificent the…
Conflicting Mandates
What it took was not a great deal of effort. The real problem came in the form of Doreen, their raven haired designated killer of anything resembling fun. I…
Apocalypse
I capture a cascade of mortal fractures-- making each passing moment that of everlasting torment. Placing the torn, blood-warm-bodies I slay on display like…
A Purpose-Driven Afterlife
I’m not sure how I got here, or what I’m supposed to do. That was also true when I was alive, but this time I get the distinct impression there really is a…
The Sweltering Jungle
After all the “glamorizing” of Hell in television and movies, I thought it wouldn’t really matter where my eternal soul laid its weary head. I thought I’d get…