This is Death

Coup de grace,
Gallows of torment surround my peripheral vision. Slain Adams sing an unrighteous cry for mercy as blackened outstretched arms beckon me close. I gasp, the bitter taste of destruction engulfing my lungs, forcing me to breathe. My ribs collapse with every respiration attempt. Piercing pain shoots throughout my body. I fall to the ground; my cries of anguish mingling with the victimized; we scream together, faces blackened, tongues removed, eyes bulging. Who hears our cries? The sound of my terror is deafening, my temple throbs rendering me blind, black spots dance across my eyes; I feel out of body, as in a dream.

Silence: I’m alone and afraid. I feel naked yet I’m clothed. A television, larger than one I’ve ever seen stands before me. Scenes of fornication, women clad scantily in bikinis flash before me, quickly replaced by images of war, terror, and tears. The screen is blank. I hear dogs meowing, Cats chirping. I bow my head, looking at my darkened palms. I trace the pattern of a rigid lifeline with burning eyes; my finger flickers- I am alive... I just moved my finger... I am thinking all of this right now... This is real...
My neck throbs, pulse visible; suddenly I’m hot.

Blinding light fills the room. I am overwhelmed, yet remain standing. A shooting star stands before me, transfiguring into images of raw beauty. Settling as a magnificent rose, this flower speaks- “You have believed, therefore you must go” Rotting before my eyes, the edges of its petals curl into its center, browning, leaving behind the stench of gasoline.

I am falling. The screams return- I am blindfolded.

All is still. I open my eyes, I see nothing. My lashes brush across my cheek. I am crying.
Calm tigers surround me. I am not afraid. The largest speaks.” Your belief is not in vain” You must leave everything you know. Come, celebrate your birth, your feast awaits. They gather at my feet bowing. My head is heavy. Looking ahead I see a mirror. I see death.
I am naked.
Atop my head is a crown.
This is death-