A Dante's Inferno Triptych
Cold Openings
Walking across the universe
I have found many middles
Where the paths became obscure
Reopening doors long tightened
Fear stares through each window
The pen hovered over the words
Where that hostile darkness waited
The steps towards these reflections
Became brighter upon revision
Every thought, every question
And all the answers that transpired-
The chronicle of these, and other things…
~~
From the Centre of My Universe
Unsure of the path that led here
As if on a sleepwalk, semi-conscious
That this was happening to me
Fear lived at the end of a road
On the edge of a cliff, far away
At the checkpoint of another country
How did I know to wake up
With the sun obscured every day
And make the decision to step away?
Calmed by a choice having been made
Momentarily unafraid of death
My distress dissipates in motion
As the future unfurls in a pattern
That shines a beacon
Beyond the dark woods of the past
And for all the miseries they hold
I find myself taking another look back
Realising no one gets out of here alive
~~
Discovery
After years of idleness and slumber
I gathered the proverbial reins
Making incursions out of the woods
First, discovering a clearing to settle in
Where a leopard gave me comfort
Wrapped in her beautiful furry skin
Warned of further dangers along this path
Curiosity won out, setting in motion
Events that returned me to the dark
Undeterred, I found another way
Led by a lioness with a magnificent mane
My hunger insatiable for her wisdom
That bright burn faded again
Falling yet further down the mountain
All undone, by my own hand
Determined to shine a light to see
Various she-wolves presented their paws
As skinny and wretched as myself
Discovering the terrain, mapping my mind
I was able to find sunshine under the clouds
Pick myself up and start all over again
Amongst the bustling of everyone’s business?
I found her bared teeth, shining alone
in a sea of beauties from far away
Her first words shattered my misery
She became my guide to the peak’s delight
To learn our origin and find our joy
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