Nearly To Hell

Through eldritch streets I walked alone With shadows on my track, Full jellied was my every bone, I thought my mind would crack. Through mist and morbid mire I went To revel where gargoyles dwell, A guest whose soul was spent, To meet the host - the King of Hell! Through caverns dark I made my way, The squelch of shoe, the crack of bone, Chittering squeaks from shadowy grays, Would never leave me alone. At last I reached the caverned maw, Ceiling glint with stalactites, And of course its bretheren I saw, The saber-toothed stalagmites. And on the high-domed hellish lair Hung a grinning crystal skull, It threw a ghoulish, greening glare Which made my senses dull. All around there was a damp, A noxious putrid smell, And slightly a-centre on a ramp, Stood grinning the Lord of Hell. His feet were hooved, his head was horned, He flashed his fang-like teeth. His eyes were huge and darkly burned; Heart stopped, I could hardly breathe! "Welcome", boomed my infernal host, And flashed a rotting smile, "A welcome drink, a one-time toast, Before you join my rank and file!" Something clammy seized my mind, My clothes turned very wet, I screamed and woke myself to find I wasn't dead as yet. But close to it I surely was, My narco-ed mind amid I had lain, At hell's door without a fuss, When with maddened mind I'd cut my vein!