My ghost opens the gate
And I walk through.
I glance up and smile,
\u201cThat\u2019s very kind of you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He leads me down a hall
Erected in my past;
Dark then eerie light,
We reach the end at last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a thick closed door,
And I jiggle the knob.
\u201cIt\u2019s open!\u201d I start,
And he gives me a nod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I turn it real quick
Like a top on flat stone.
As it creaks wide open
I enter and groan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I see pulsing red
And a gash along the wall.
A thick crimson syrup
Seeps out of it and falls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It pools before me
Like hot, dripping wax
On ready parchment
Before a seal\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I burst with ripe tears. The faint, mournful \u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d I ask, and look up I rush to the remnant I back away in panic I catch myself at first I look at the fluid It moves up my chest, In a drowning cry, I wake in the dark, \u201cIt hurts.\u201d I whisper, January 2021<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My ghost opens the gateAnd I walk through.I glance up and smile,\u201cThat\u2019s very kind of you.\u201d He leads me down a hallErected in my past;Dark then eerie light,We reach the end at last. There\u2019s a thick closed door,And I jiggle the knob.\u201cIt\u2019s open!\u201d I start,And he gives me a nod. I turn it real quickLike…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[293,338,103,247,335,175,334,333,25,337,332,259,336,182,168],"class_list":["post-473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems","tag-abuse","tag-dark","tag-darkness","tag-depression","tag-dreams","tag-emotional-abuse","tag-emotional-pain","tag-ghost","tag-grief","tag-healing","tag-heart","tag-magical-realism","tag-nightmare","tag-poem","tag-spiritual-abuse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=473"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":509,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions\/509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cIt\u2019s hurt!\u201d I shout, then
Outside the walls, an echo
Sounds \u2014 \u201cIt hurts!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tone ends yet resounds,
As the pulse grows fast,
And the syrup pours out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To see the door is gone
And it\u2019s only me \u2014
My ghost has withdrawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of what used to be the door,
And strike against the fleshy wall
Until my wrists are sore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the walls begin to close,
And trip across a vein
That\u2019s bulging on the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With my hands and knees,
But then I can\u2019t move,
And realize I can\u2019t breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rising up my arms,
Pulsing from the gash
Oozing from the walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To my neck, then chin,
Reaching my nose
As the walls cave in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I open my mouth,
Then my ghost appears
As the light goes out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heart pounding within,
Recalling the dream,
My ache, my pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then close my eyes,
And again seek escape
Through unconscious night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n