Don't come
in here, I warn you.
Please don't come inside.
It's
not that you aren't welcome;
I just don't want to be the tour guide.
You want
to get in my head,
Know the feelings stored on the shelf,
But
it's dark and cold and lonely inside.
I don't want to be here myself.
Dark creatures
scurry all around
From cracks and corners and holes,
Constantly
whispering of impending doom
And searching for wayward souls.
Five scrawny
punks are plugged in and turned up,
Singing songs filled with hate and fear.
The
words you can't understand,
The message you can't help but hear.
There's
a foul odor around here;
It's the stench of rotting dreams
And
the soft ripping sound of a future
Coming apart at the seams.
There are
a thousand screaming maniacs
Advocating death and delusion.
They
wield vicious thoughts like axes
And add to the confusion.
A little
girl cries for her mother;
She's lost and terrified.
She
doesn't know how she got into this place
Or how to get back outside.
An angry
young poet sits alone
Crying that he has no choice.
Long
after his death, the walls will echo
The sound of his tear-soaked voice.
There's
a shapeless mass in the shadows.
It has no eyes, no arms, no heart.
It
has only teeth, and it wants my soul
To take it and maul it and rip it apart.
An old woman
creeps by,
Mumbling her madness.
She
was once filled with desire;
All that remains is her sadness.
Memories
hang like cobwebs,
Although I can't quite see them there.
Still
enough of them remains intact
To tangle and ensnare.
A lying
drunk beckons me;
He wants to be my friend.
He'll
show me through this labyrinth,
But he'll kill me at the end.
There is
crying, laughing, moaning,
And loud pounding on one side.
Amidst
the noise and mayhem,
There's no place left to hide.
There's
a very high ledge in the dark,
Deadly, slick, and wet.
I've
slipped and stumbled often,
But I haven't gone over... yet.
There are
thieves and whores and artists,
Beggars and knights of seduction.
They
all run amok and scream for attention,
Create chaos and self destruction.
So don't
come in here, I warn you,
Because madmen run about
And
despair lurks in the shadows,
And will not let you out.
Renee
Ludwig
Copyright
1995
E-mail
me at:
stardust95@subdimension.com