Orpheus
I look to my left;
there’s nothing there but
a stretch of sand, like snow -
pristine,
unbroken
in the dead light – it glistens
like powdered bone with the
iridescent hue of sightless,
sliced eyes.
I turn to my right;
there’s nothing there but
a steep embankment leading down
into a silent river,
and though it seems frozen
with its surface unearthly still,
I know just below,
it’s filled to the brim with
fire and souls.
The one direction that tugs my heart is
the one direction I must not face,
and that direction is
behind.
I dare not heed my heart for
the Queen in her mercy
gave but
one
direction:
"Look not behind you;
look back and lose her."
This I know,
but how can I hold my gaze forward
when behind me she cries?
Upon his barge and
just ahead, the boatman waits –
the song he hums without
breaking the silence the
toll I paid. He poles us
steady
across the fire-cold boundary
between the realms of
life and death, unperturbed by
the journey – he has made it many
times before.
We,
three,
reach the opposite shore
of mundane dirt, strangled
by its indifference,
and I can see the ghosts of light pass
the final bend in the tunnel – but
there is a splash behind me and
I hear her scream my name.
I turn back and look
and all I see
is her corpse
which turns to
dust
and Echo mocks me.
---
The first posted version under the spoiler.
Spoiler! :
---
And just for a fun comparison, the first draft under the spoiler.
Spoiler! :
Gender:
Points: 72525
Reviews: 1220