#Poetry #Death

Award: Silver Key (Scholastic Art and Writing Awards)

Intro: Surrounded by the suffocating cruelty of war, I was compelledto write this piece to mirror the horrors of war. As a visceral response to the unspeakable atrocities of conflict, this work seeks to illuminate the depths of suffering, horror, and brutality wrought by war.

In the realm of shadows, where death fills the air, Inferno engulfs, with Hades’ beckon, a despair. Streets stained with blood, a scene so grim and dire, Hell’s domain emerges, demons dance in fire.

Awakening from slumber, a haunting sight unfolds, A panorama of darkness, where torment enfolds. A river, ebony as the depths of death’s own abyss, Carries me through this realm, beckoned by its somber kiss.

The stifling air suffocates, with charred flesh’s scent, Anguished cries echo, agony on chests imprinted. Not the world’s final breath, For the world has already gone to dust.

Children, cruelly mutilated, their limbs torn apart, Mothers compelled to consume their own bleeding hearts. Tears flow ceaselessly, Niobe’s tears, put to shame. Fathers, driven to slay kin, survival their only gain.

A symphony of anguish, self-loathing fills the air, Kings scrape the ground, desperate crumbs they ensnare. The powerful grovel, seeking mercy’s fleeting grace.

A skeletal figure gazes upon its own decay, Bones protruding, half-devoured flesh in disarray. Rotting, black boils fester, plaguing weary skin, A ghastly metamorphosis, the depths of torment within.