Anatomy of Hell

I have traveled the crimson path—
Around the bend toward the valley of despair.
Large gelatinous arteries
Edge the curves and point the way
To the epicenter.

Hell masked as a heart.

Here lies the valley of regret,
Encapsulated in fiery veins, screaming with electricity.
You try to cover your ears,
But the sound of hate rings like eternal tinnitus.

Electricity masked as rage.

Follow the blood path to the left ventricle—
Where betrayal pools, warm and thick.
Here is the valley of abandonment.
You may sit upon its beating rock
Or drown beneath its rhythm,
Suffocated by its pulse of longing.

Loneliness masked as memory.

There is no fire or brimstone here––
Only the burn of things never said
Or the burn of things said too much
Only the scald of truths unbreathed
The ache of abandoned destiny

Despair masked as enlightenment.

The devil never needed fire and brimstone––
Only a human heart,
And time.