Blackness and dread have come over me,
I know not for how much longer I can resist.
Something unnatural here has staked claim to my soul;
Amongst these damp, dark, mossy castle walls
Light of day does little to diminish my fear.
I can feel it’s presence whilst awake and in slumber,
It speaks to me, taunting me to do unspeakable evil.
I am not the monster this darkness wishes me to be
Tho’ I fear I must be going mad!
I have called on God for strength, but to no avail
He has left me to my own voice.
My wife of O’ these many years fears me,
I am not the man I was,
I have paled, the purple beneath my eyes ages me.
Venturing into the night with nary a word nor explanation
I remember this not, tho’ my clothing doth bear evidence.
I wake to incessant scoffing yet am utterly alone outside of my bed,
Is my mind playing tricks on me,
What have I done, where have I gone?
My shirt dotted in crimson, bloody knife sheathed at my waist,
My hands painted scarlet speak of some unconscious evil.
I have never…could never hurt a living soul,
Yet this throbbing in my skull,
These incessant nightmares claim otherwise.
What I see in my minds eye disgusts me, tho’ I am horrifyingly intrigued.
Screams, shrill and bloodcurdling haunt me.
I can see the faces of females I have never known
Yet they lay at my feet, faces contorted in terror.
I am looking down upon myself and my bloodied hands
These women have been disemboweled,
Steam rising from their flayed vessels in the cold night air,
I laugh heartily at their horrific demise.
These are just dreams!
Nay! They are but nightmares, figments of an active imagination!
They must be!
But my hands bear witness to my dreams.
They are but one and the same, though I know not how.
What have I done, why must I be tormented?
Clearly God has forsaken me!
I dare not show my face beyond these castle walls,
I dare not reveal what I have truly become to my wife and children;
I have become a pariah to my family and this world,
I am ashamed!
Voices chortle saying, “You know what you must do!”,
“Join us! Join us!”.
This pain hath become unbearable,
Pounding, pounding, unceasing, these voices.
Hand drawn to the knife handle I contemplate my end.
The hammer continues to beat upon my temple
As the beat of a drum, constant and rhythmic.
Drawing blade from sheath I tremble, I know what I must do,
Whilst the voices drone on in their monotone “Join us!”.
Lips quivering, eyes tearing, I long for my prior life,
My family, my mind void of this Satan, but it is not to be.
To the hilt, I drive the blood caked knife through my throbbing temple.
Black…Nothing but blackness,
Still there is pain,
The pounding,
The hammering,
Forever tormented even in death,
Surely I must be cursed to hell.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 
I love this! Very gothic – very Victorian horror … reminds me of Jack the Ripper … a nice mix of Poe and Anne Rice … very delicious writing …. this type of ‘shadow’ poetry is something I’d love to see more of from you dear friend!
Thank you very much. I love writing in this style and have a couple more pieces in the works and will post them soon. I’m so glad that you liked this piece as I’m never really sure how they will be received.
I’m glad you wrote it, it was such a treat — I think that as writers when we have doubts or insecurities about how people will receive our pieces, that is the tell-tale sign that we need to write it and share it… be brave and it pays off!
Thank you so much for that, I really appreciate the encouragement, this means I am at least on the right track.
Very dark indeed, poor tormented man.
Thank you…are you talking about me or him? LOL :)
Really great poem, Dom! Sometimes it’s good to let the darkness out.
Thank you very much, this happens to be my favorite type of poem as I am such a big Poe fan and have been since I was very young.
Another Poe fan! You can relate to my brother Shane then, he loves Poe!
I most certainly can, even Poe’s love poems were dark, what a master of the genre. :)
So dark and sad. I modern-day Inferno.
Thank you very much. :)
What happen to you? Are you alright?
Absolutely, I am fine, I just happen to love dark poetry. I have been a huge fan of Poe since before my teen years. This is not the first dark piece that I’ve written and likely won’t be the last. Just a change of pace. I realize that this type of work is not for everyone. Thank you for asking. :)
Welcome. I almost thought something happen to you, Dom :-)
Thank you, I do appreciate the concern. I know it was quite the change of pace. :)
:-) Yeah
Thank you. :)
Welcome :-)
I do believe you have found your hidden artists.
Thank you very much, I have a few other pieces in the works in this genre, hopefully they turn out well.
Wow!
In the grip of darkness –
though I think we can *all* relate to being horrified by something (real or unreal) yet being intrigued.
Thank you Jen, I just really love this genre so much. :)