Hands push me through the veil and into sight

Is this footlight

just a little too bright?

No? You say just a light?

Then surely my dress is a little too tight?

There is no white knight

to save me from my plight tonight

or to protect me with his holy smite

The many eyes stare, waiting for a fight

or a fiery smite to set me alight

Maybe they will at the stroke of midnight

Can I argue legal right?

Infringement of copyright?

Perhaps ready to indict tonight?

Is my plight too trite

for protection from the might

of the light?

A mind that can't focus

words just out of reach

Beauty outside my window

floating so close yet so far

I try to grasp it but my fingers

brush ghostly fragments

Colors leak into a canvas

of monochrome madness

Sleep becomes fitful

waking is a nightmare

Phantom hands tighten

my eyes fly wide open

Cries go unheard through

a voice rendered mute

Panic fades with the rising sun

but its touch lingers on

Drifting on the heaviness

of my softly sinking mind

Through my eyes,

I see darkness.

The feeling in my feet,

I'm walking pain.

In my grave,

I sleep part-less.

And looking down are my remains.

In the pool's reflection, I glimpse despair,

A glimpse into a realm of torment and snare.

Submerged in darkness, devoid of air to breathe,

My soul submerged; in agony I seethe.

Filth and torment, like vile rivers flow,

Through lungs and veins, relentless woe.

Limbs rendered powerless, numbness takes hold,

As searing pain pierces, tales of suffering unfold.

Restless slumber offers no reprieve,

Visions plagued by desires unachieved.

I metamorphose into what I abhor,

In infernal depths, my anguish soars.

Bathed in sulfur's flames, my being defaced,

Weightless ascent burdened, devoid of grace.

Upon the scorching floor, feet touch in vain,

Hands ablaze, instant healing, yet pain remains.

In this realm of human suffering, I dwell,

Where agony and torment weave their spell.

A paradoxical dance, darkness intertwined,

A soul consumed, in hell's embrace confined.

Bouncing along a path paved of unknown substances,

Feet insulated, comfortable.

Faces all around, walking by sans notable countenance,

Barely audible pleasantries exchanged. 

Air vibrations hum in a low, soothing existence.

A cell phone vibration,

A curious time.

Curt conversation; yes, no, No!

Trees in the distance race at me,

Coming closer, but getting further away, concomitantly.

A meteor shower rains down,

Air becomes saturated - silt, carbon;

I can't breathe.

Conversations in whispers around me pierce my ears, yet no one addresses me.

Sun shines all around, except on my head.

Sidewalk of razors, 

Every painful inch

Leads me to a glass elevator.

Express ride to the bottom

With no end in sight.

Falling, cables wailing.

Level upon level of normal people

Don't notice my descent, but they're looking right at me!

I scream,  pounding on the walls,

Let me out! Help. Me.

Total darkness,

Just for a moment.

Humming.

Unrecognizable words.

Unrecognizable mistaken for disbelief.

Doors open slowly. 

Moisture ascends - toes to ankles to knees to ocular cavities.

Nerve endings fire,

But no feeling.

Numbness.  Tears.

Back on the surface.

Craters the only clue,

Cue my senses about reality.

Ghosts around me continue their day,

Unaware of this personal hell.

Why don't they feel this?  

Can't they see?

Hello?

I'm the only one.

Alone.