Rocky Lagou

Because Light Seemed Darker Than Hell

When Cerberus wept into the soil

Of the reddish relics of the deceased,

We visualized each passerby who arrived at this point of Hell.

 

We were travelers,

From the Seventh World,

Only,

 

We knew not the gravity of the reality.

We were blinded by

The myths they’d pass down from generation on forth.

 

Like a long chain

Flowing through rosy endless course.

When our loved ones bade their farewells,

 

They placed an obol inside each of our mouths

To ensure our fare,

And not 100 years of wading through darkness.

 

And so it happened,

Our souls, after being crammed and compressed into an old box,

Was met by Hermes, who was an enchanting sight -

 

We wanted to cling onto the wing spurs as tightly as we could,

Knowing our fates.

But we were eventually greeted by Charon.

 

The ferryman was actually nicer than they’d depict,

But by nicer, I mean he didn’t say a word.

It was awfully eerie,

 

To row through the soft, subtle, spiritless waves

Of the Styx.

It was so silent,

 

Too silent.

With every passing ripple

A strange scrape was heard,

 

It was a high screech which pierced

The ears.

But it would only come

 

After every wrinkle of water would roll by.

So, it must’ve been an hour of bobbing like that,

The wooden boat swayed so effortlessly, so desolately –

 

Until we reached the gates – of the Underworld.

The three-headed Beast would whimper lowly as we approached,

But it kept its eyes fixed on me and my Companion.

 

The cloaked man finally spoke,

“Out!”

He pronounced, with his slender finger pointing towards the hound –

 

We stepped out of the wooden vessel,

And we were lead by Cerberus unto Tartarus –

Which is the underground court of the Three Judges.

 

On the way there,

The voices were resonant, and awareness had broken through,

The scrapes weren’t scrapes at all – they were the tortured.

 

The smells and emanations from the burnt

And the slashed and – the furnaced –

Was a putrid and revolting vile stench.

 

But we were forced to continue forward,

And follow the guide,

The horrible hide – which enveloped this dog – was black as day.

 

Until we turned a corner,

Of dim blazes, which lit the grand room –

Of black and red and little infernos strewn throughout the sin –

 

“Nor him, nor him!”

Declared Sir Minos –

Aeacus backed him too –

 

However, be it the grace of the divine,

Or be it luck,

The third opted in our favor –

 

The two opposing judges on their golden thrones –

Which seemed to melt near the bottom of the heat –

Gave us a look of indifference –

 

“So seems we have a majority”

Asserted Sir Minos –

Our luck was running thin –

 

But the judge in our favor spoke,

“The sin, the sin” –

“Free these helpless captives – or else send them to Elysian Fields”

 

But Aeacus wasn’t having it –

“Listen here Justice, these men have committed thievery,

Manslaughter, arson.”

 

But the judge in our favor spoke,

“The sin, the sin” –

“Let not these men suffer for the troubles they’ve gotten in.”

 

So King Minos negated him –

“These are acts of aggression,

voluntary aggression”

 

But the judge in our favor spoke –

“The sin, the sin” –

“Manslaughter is incidental when fighting with the world,

 

I’m sure there wasn’t any malice in their hearts – within.”

After back-and-forth dispute –

The case was finally settled,

 

“On behalf of the human nature, the two of you will win”

Announced the judge in our favor –

“But let it be the final straw, because the darkness is grim”

 

Our hearts were so content –

Of the mercy that was showed –

The World and I hopped back on the boat -

 

The sway had made its way –

To a place where hostility wouldn’t be tolerated –

We had to go through Hell – to realize our wrongs, and to truly change

 

Within.

 

Receiving kisses, By Cherubim –

Bound To Paradise –

The World and I overcame – “The sin, the sin.”