Into the Storm

Moss covered beams, moisture, mold
Rusty chains, creaking planks on the rat-infested deck
The unbearable stench, the heat
Labor amidst the excrements
Of man and beast alike
Festering gashes, screams of insanity
Untold sorrow, our blood - washing away

A sudden jolt sends bodies flying
New blood from gaping wounds
Shattered bones, a cracking tooth
A mighty rumble injecting terror
Into our weakened hearts
Beseeching death, our only guard

The ensuing chaos, another piece of hell
Another face of torture, shackles to the flesh
Inside the floating prison, there is no place to run
Agony the only constant, suffering in secrecy
Not a soul
Into the Storm
A deafening absence of screams
And the crucible returns
As if driven by a merciless machine
All loose matter continues to churn
Too much motion for the decimated mind
Giving in, with unseeing eyes
Begging for nothingness
Silence in the black, oh what bliss
But none is to be had
To succeed is to be
Dead!