18th October 2016

Prompt- ' 'Dante's nine circles of hell' from RyanBH

Those of you who are not familiar with the background, please see the picture above. This was 'Hell' as Dante depicted in his poem 'Inferno'.  I've tried to incorporate the punishments imparted at each level into this write. I don't claim it to be a succesful attempt, though.  :D

I could feel the blood pouring from the deep gashes

And the oppressing coppery stench tainted the air.

Every cell of my body screamed in pain

And I wished for this torture to end.

I could feel the cold fingers of death dancimg on my skin,

Taunting me with the promise of eternal sleep.

I close my eyes, willing my body to go numb

And soon my mind plunges into a dark abyss of nothingness.

A tranquil silence envelops me a I dwell in this Limbo,

But all too soon, I feel empty and alone.

I crave for the touch of a lover, to overcome this solitude

And violent gusts of Lust, toss me around like a ragdoll.

I fall deep into the putrid slush of Gluttony,

Craving for a drop of water to ease the burning in my throat.

I would have given up every last penny of my fortune,

The wealth, I amassed with Greed,to quench this thirst.

Anger born from desperation, surged through my veins,

Yet, I could not fight and was dragged down the slimy depths of defeat.

There was no relief with death and I craved an escape.

I wished those Heresies were true for once,

For then my soul would've perished with my body.

I was left to wallow in the boiling pools of Rage and self loathing

And I hoped against all hopes that this would be the end.

Yet once again, I was driven across the thin ropes of Deceit,

By demons scarier than those from my nightmares.

In the distance I saw a sparkling lake, the sight filling me with hope.

A cold gust of wind, soothed me with an unspoken promise of respite.

I crawled the distance, into the cool and welcoming waters,

But was tricked and submerged, by the ice cold grips of Treachery.

Before my eyes, the lake froze over,

Trapping me within it's depths for an eternity.

Phew! I admit, I wanted to give up on this topic, but I just couldn't. I'm afraid, this won't make much sense to some of you. I have to thank RyanBH  for introducing me to the topic. Though this write is far from good, it was something new to me.