The doorway looms as darkness falls
A shudder and a sigh
As birds like angels cry
An unsigned invitation carried softly in hand
Walking slowly to the door
Not knowing what this all was meant to be for
Answered by a man in black
Masked in a snake's visage
A quiet member of the masquerade
Unease of sickness on my soul weighed
The threshold crossed while the lifeless stare
As the man clad in black quietly dares
Me continue on my way
Within, a party, in full effect
Patrons dressed in their finery
Stark, grotesque shapes hiding their true eyes
Horrid shapes obscuring hidden lies
Shadows without clarity or distinction
Lurid music fills the air
Dark, disdainful, intrusive
The walls are painted in hues so queer
A thick sharp red, in indecipherable pattern without stop nor start
A shudder slowly runs down through my heart
Led forward by the man in black
Ignored by those in revelry
A dance hall, covered in surreality
Incomprehensible sounds flow forth in brutality
Amidst the noise and ambience could almost be heard
Mournful tremors, quiet screaming, soft voices all alone
But most of all, through discordant tone
Sharp laughter heard amidst the moans
All around me creatures, ignorant, dance
As if revelling in horrific trance
The man in black's shadow compels me follow
Without a gesture or a word
Through the ballroom, into a darkened hall
Dark shapes and images, from sight's edge, seem to beckon and call
Disturbing figures whisper, leering out from within the walls
Quickly, swiftly, my gaze cast down unto the floor
we continue swiftly onward until at last we reach the door
An onyx black gateway, its dark presence calling
Its symbol music without rhyme
The man in black reaches for the door
And enters into darkness's core
My mind is torn, spirit split between
Following through, or turning away, from this dark, accursed scene
Crazed, flittering images, both ancient and new
streak across my vision as I enter slowly through
Soft whisperings in the dark
A room filled with anger and fear
Through the sightless dark a simple light
A shining beacon to failing sight
With heedless abandon, like a moth to a flame
Away from consuming dark I came
Within the light, as if on display
A small hooded figure, bound and bloodied, lay
A wave of nausea, sick with fear
As the shape lay tied before me
Desperately turning, seeking to run
But the dark man's there, behind me, in his grasp a small gun
He tells me to turn
To face the bound man
Barrel pointed at my chest
I do my very best
Not to scream
From within his pocket he procures a small knife
And, throwing it to me, states with a smile
To "end this poor man's meaningless life"
His orders clear and colour in my mind
My soul shrank sharply in disgust and fear
He raises his gun, and states if I don't
My blood, my life, my soul will lie on the floor
And my last moment's breath no living soul would hear
Why me, I cry
What is it I have done?
What is it he has done?
He tells me the reasons are not mine to learn
The man and the knife are now my only concern
My mind begins racing
My heart seems to have stopped
Every scene before this moment a haze
My hand, grasping the knife, certain to strain
As I walk towards the man in disgust and disdain
A painful question rises within my head
Was this the path I chose to have led?
Had destiny affected my course?
Was I always meant to be here
Amidst a masked gunman, a knife,
And a man whose future starkly clear?
The grip digs into my wet, tremoring skin
Lifting the blade, hands high in the air
Like a preacher admonishing humanity's sins
The man moves, he trembles, the hood falls from off his face
As the knife plunges down his eyes look up
Neither fear, nor horror, no scream or shout
Just a saddened understanding
No birds like angels cried
As I left the house behind me
My sight is shattered now, torn
Horrors once held in check now born
My spirit's empty, all light has died
As the blood-stained knife drops slowly from my side
Something I'd written a while ago, with the idea loosely based off a short story from the book City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer. Great book, if you're looking for one.
-N
