The What-Next

I. Sheol

afar
and under
from the eye

teeter-shaking
threatening to extinguish
any moment

one cold flame
covered
in absence

swallowed
down the dirt throat
of a mighty beast

waiting for ingestion
waiting for
waiting

what once was i
what once knew
a constant light

uncovered
still
unswallowed

what once was
was
now isn’t


II. Gehenna

Behind me swing shut the gates,
the western gates,
wrought iron old.

Above the level west
is the purple sky,
the slightest slip of clouds

dissolving into a present
darkness serene to messengers
confident with the message.

At my feet
below
the pyres rage.

The trash heaps beyond
the craggy walls,
the oven worship—

feared by mothers
fought by fathers
stoked with children—

redden the air
thicken my breath.
Ashen my skin

with the first step
a gentle nudge on the back
the teeth at my throat..


III. Elysium

Knee deep
the waterside rolls
knee deep

gently fighting
the knee deep
reeds

swatting my thighs
scraping my ankles
whispering ancient secrets.

Knee deep
past the white rocks
and unsettling dreams

the water’s murmur
as a soothing friend.
Knee deep

the plains ahead.
Knee deep
waiting the sudden clap

the clouds laughter
shout
the shock

the blue
white
shock

of it all.
One cold flame ahead
or behind

the burnt out
wreck of huts
a family gone

names not forgotten
yet swallowed
the dirt throat.

A glimpse
maybe an island
a celebration

some heroes
adoring lovers
a job well-done.

Afar
off from the eye
what once was a constant light.

The what-next
unraveling
in the gradual

ingestion.