A Psalm of the Pit and the Pendulum

“I was sick unto death with that long agony”
said the somber eyed poet.
Thou hast put me in the lowest depths, in darkness
in deep dungeons of reoccurring trials.

I remember the trials, the judges, the accusations.
I remember the sentence.

Will your wonders show if I fail?
Will you be glorified if I fall?
Do the dead rise to face the blade again and again?

From my youth I’ve struggled
with these foes, faced these enemies
and I’ve begun to despair.

But I cry out, hoping for the
sudden arrival of your army
to invade this, my personal Toledo.

(based on E.A.Poe and Psalm 88)