141. here again ?
here I stand
for my sins
at the gates of Hades
along with the other malcontents
walking wounded & living dead –
their death-mask pallor
like so many clammy moonlit
dressing-table mirrors
turning as one
to look over at me
with disinterested dead eyes
and expressionless faces
through the choking sulphurous fug
that passes for air down here,
murderously hot as ever,
– when the unspeakable horror
before me
demands my name
and having been given a seemingly
appropriate response
tells me to take a seat
– the doctor will be with me in a minute.