We are gathered here today
to worship shadows of the night
To draw attention to the living
who will never see the light
For light would surely burn their eyes
and melt their tender skin
Singe their fragile points of view
Expose the lie they’re living in

You may think me quite insane
That’s good for you (don’t give a fuck!)
Sometimes, truth is like a bomb
But more a coin we toss for luck
Into a well of contradictions
Where we argue with our conscience
Keeping up a vain appearance
In our quest for some acceptance

And so, we’re gathered here today
To question everything we say
To let the cards fall where they may
Spilling thoughts like sour cream
There’s not a place for judgment here
No day of wrath, no need to fear
Just lend your eyes and itching ears
To satisfy your dreams

Now, take your seats and free your souls
Let your coiled-up words unfold
Bloodletting like stories told
Of four seasons of winter
It starts with just a little cut
To open wounds that once were shut
A death to self, compared to what?
Some fingernails for splinters

Let’s start with you; your pain will do
As we move right to left
Like time unwinding in reverse
A truth we state in jest…

Hello, my name is Sorrow
I’m an addict; yes, it’s true
I’m helpless to the darkness,
Black mascara, lips of blue
My friends all think me normal
but they clearly are deceived
For they can’t see behind my eyes,
The lost loves that I grieve

Thank you for your honesty,
it takes a train to cry
Let’s clap for Sorrow’s misery,
he surely wouldn’t lie
About the lives he covets,
all the bones inside his closet
The heads inside his freezer
And the blood bank on deposit

And so, we’re gathered here today
To question everything we say
To let the cards fall where they may
Accept our sweet deceit
There’s not a stench of judgment here
No day of wrath, no need to fear
Just lend your eyes and itching ears
To make your sin complete

Hello, my name is Hunger,
please forgive the spell I’m under
I’m heartless, selfish to the core,
so shut the windows, lock the doors
For no one here gets out alive,
It’s sad how words alone survive
To tell the tales how true love fails,
In lines, we pine with grave details

Thank you, Hunger, for your pain
Let’s clap for all his faults
It seems his loss is on refrain
He’s lost his taste for salt
But either way, the things we say
Convict us in the end
We find we’ve married darkness
When we wanted just a friend

The circles getting smaller now
The blood we spill is real
Let’s lend an ear to Hatred now
And hear the way he feels…

Hello, my name is Hatred
Please excuse my self-abuse
My story ends where it begins,
the product of my father’s sins
He told me when I was quite young
to close my eyes and bite my tongue
He said that death’s a state of mind,
a body that we leave behind
In pockets filled with sacred pain,
and clues we bleach in bathroom drains

Well, that’s so precious,
Lovely flow, A purple heart or three for you
Let’s clap for Hatred. Thank you, sir,
although that last line was a blur
Now, who else here would like a turn?
Our words create the pyres we burn
As sacrificial lambs of thought,
We slaughter life with lies we wrought

Hello to all, my name is Fred,
But you can call me Drac
I sleep inside a coffin,
Pierce my skin and dress in black
I used to have a bunch of friends
But they’ve all wound up dead
And now I’m in denial,
Walking graveyards in my head

Well, thank you, Fred, who’s known as Drac,
you’re welcome here, my friend
Although the truth may kill you soon,
while conjuring your end
Let’s put our hands together
for this devil in disguise
And let him take his seat again
before we take his life

And so, we’re gathered here today
To question everything we say
To let the cards fall where they may
And spill our thoughts like blood
There’s not a line of judgment here
No day of wrath, no need to fear
Just lend your eyes and itching ears
Until you’ve had enough

Looks like you are the last one left
Please stand and state your name
Hello, my name is Death
and I’ve just come to stake a claim
Or maybe more if time allows
there’s so much life to lose
We want the things we want
and give no quarter how we choose

But be that as it may
The time has come to say goodbye
The clocks have now completely stopped
So scary how life flies
We live inside a fantasy
And then we’re up in flames
The days reduced to ashes
Until no one knows your name

And so we’ve gathered here, my friends
To bring this story to an end
No going back, once you hit send
But I knew in advance
Your day of judgment has drawn near
The wrath you craved…
the lives you feared
I am your eyes and itching ears
No consequence of chance

TM DiSarro
©2024 TM DiSarro / MindScapes Publishing