Doorway Into the Valley

A doorway to nowhere hangs upon the edge of existence,

Leading from the venomous

waters below to the

toxic air above.

You push, you escape

through the doorway

taking a deep, halting breath

A dying want for air

countered only by the plagued and

suppurate ridden

stench of death.

It has kept your lungs pink,

yet dyes your heart a cruel jet black.

Hardened and corrupt,

survive or die, trying

only to block out the

howls of man and beast alike,

to wash yourself of the

tarred ink that sinks

deeper than eyes can see.

Doing what you must to live on in the

Valley of the Essence of Death…