Poetry

Orpheus In Reverse
By Anthony Adrian Acker

A dream within a dream within a dream.

A cityscape shifting and changing.
Soulless bodies, forever young, eyes cold, thoughts that are old.

Lucidly, I awake,
slumped over on a tile floor.

Seed of lead blooming in my spine,
life leaking out in pools of red.

I close my eyes,
and wake beside you, drenched in sweat.

Black steel in hand, you pose the question:
"Would you be mad if I held you hostage to save myself?"

"If you ever point that thing at me
you better pull the trigger."

Standing in the doorway of a cheap motel,
I face a future left behind.

I feel the fire in your heart,
but I never look back.

Without regret, I step into silence.

I awaken, not knowing what is real.

Darkness

by Anthony Adrian Acker

"Having testified to the shadow's embrace,

I forswear to descend back into darkness.

Within the breach of the moonlit night, I am wretched."