*

extenuating circumstances
have no validity
in this life
this is pure hell

and somewhere
along the path
i recall
blurring
through
the barriers
and so thin
the walls

we hit
that was
our first clue
cristian
and I
driving
road construction
God told us,
we hit the wall
in my car
then on the way
home there
were bricks
in the road
and we hit
and the oil
pan busted
and that
was the first
clue
i knew
i had
indeed
entered
hell

and have
been climbing
and scratching
and clawing
my way
out of this
box
they
keep
sticking
me in

think
outside
the bun

live outside
the box

carry your
own paper bag

they are
coming in
for the kill
with their
angry teeth
bared
lost souls
vacated
somewhere
on a lonely
half mile
road

all the signs
posted
and still,
no holds barred
we couldn't
get back
out without
it all
going into
a huge
mass
downward
where only
a few us
survived
that pass
that black hole
the bermuda triangle

we slipped
hands still
on deck
the life
i knew
awash in the sea
tangled
in weeds
dead.
dead.

no holy
water spread.

just dead.
there is no
resolution
for this type
of grief
because
no matter
what
there
are no terms
that can
reckon with hell.

Somewhere My Love