Aphelion Issue 292, Volume 28
March 2024
 
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Tortured Soul I & II

by Kenneth Vincent Walker


I

Beneath the darkest stairs
Enslaved by lock and key
This place I dare not share,
This tortured soul in me.

Its walls are lined in lead,
Impervious to frail escape,
With thoughts I aptly dread
Of sorrow, misery and hate.

Lo the deep recesses shine
And glow as dark as death,
This tortured soul of mine
Constricting my own breath.

Beneath the darkest stairs
Of sorrow, misery and hate
Is the heart of this lion's lair
And carnivorous is its trait,

And so in silence lies in wait.

II

Beneath the darkest stairs
Of a mansion cold and gray,
This tortured soul of mine
Has infact finally given way.

Somewhere within this mind
Descending unearthly depths,
This realm, this lawless shape
Hovering from whence it crept.

Beneath the darkest stairs
Far from sanctuary safety
Is the heart of this lion's lair,
Departure need be hastened.

Lo the deep recesses shine
And glow as dark as death.
This tortured soul of mine
Shan't ever leave, and sleep

That deep and restful rest.


© 2021 Kenneth Vincent Walker

Kenneth Vincent Walker is a "New Formalist" poet, spoken word artist, performer and author of Borderline Absurd (An Exercise in Rhyme and Reason), published by Poem Sugar Press/ Community Arts Ink 2015.

Find more by Kenneth Vincent Walker in the Author Index.

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