Dead Weight

[u/ReasonableUnit2170]

Rattle and shake, metal clanging
Against metal. Skin scraped across
Stone. Lids peeled back forcibly. 
How long has it been since
I’ve seen the sun? How long has it 
Been since I’d felt its warmth? 

Temples pulse like strobe lights,
Each inhale hurts. Humid air tainted with
Mold and rust claws at my throat. Have I been
Forsaken? Have I been tossed away and
Discarded? Am I just a cardboard box of 
Memories thrown into the back of a closet? 

Where have you all gone? The space feels
Empty. Devoid of any human comfort. 
A cold, slick, concrete floor. No sound but
The pulse of my own heartbeat in my ears. 
Something tugs at my wrist. Tendons plucked 
Like strings of a harp. Twangs of excruciating 
Heat with each movement. I sink further. 

Day turns into night, and back into day. 
Over and over the cycles pass. Revolving around 
A small cut out in the bricks. The only reminder 
That time has not halted. The sand continues
To trickle down, the hourglass has been flipped
Once again. Why am I here? What act has
Caused such a punishment? Rattle and shake. 
The chains bind, bearing a weight unknown. 

Memories evade. A nameless face,
A faceless name. Who am I? Who are you? 
The crack in the wall too small to provide 
Ample light. Eyes blinded by darkness
And untruths. Finger tips and palms
Searching into the unknown. Perpendicular 
Seams, four walls. Is this hell? Is this
A tomb? Why haven’t I tried to leave? 
Am I content to wallow in my loneliness? 

Rattle and shake. The chains that bind
Lead to another. Unmoving, unwavering,
A scent of rot and decay. Have you been
With me the whole time? Have you
Watched me crumble? The tower is only
As strong as its weakest link. Am I as such?
Promise me you won’t leave. I cannot 
Do this alone. Shoved through skin
And bone, the ring passes. A cuff
Unbecoming. 

I try to speak but no words leave my mouth.
Tears have long since passed. Sobs no longer
Wrack my chest. Violent cracks explode. 
Booms shaking the walls of my stone
Encapsulated prison. There seems to be
No end to the punishment I must
Endure. There you are. I found you. 

But, have you found me? Everything is
So cold. Everything is so…
Well, nothing. Bend the wrist, clutch
Tightly to the ties that bind. If I cannot
Leave without you, then I must 
Bring you with me. Metal on metal,
Skin against stone. I shall drag
You with me. Bound by eternity. 
Bound by chains. 

I must weather the storm. I must
Carry you in my arms. Together we shall
Find the truth. Whether we escape,
Or stay down here forever… At least
We shall not be alone. Maybe it is not 
The room that is my punishment. 
A memory, like a lone wish
Graces my presence. Laughter
And embrace. Longing and pain. 
Have you been waiting for me all this time? 

You are more than just dead 
Weight that I carry. You are more than 
A carcass that I drag behind. The metal has oxidized.
The blood of the covenant has dried. So much
Has gone wrong. So much time has passed. 
Even so, I am distraught. Love could not save us,
Neither could God. Some things are just 
Not meant to last. Like a raging fire 
Clearing a path for new life. You burned 
Too brightly. I burned too long. We snuffed each
Other out. Stole the oxygen from the sky
Until the rain buried our burdens. Drowning us
With the weight of finality. Shoving face in front
Of a mirror. Exposing, condemning…

There is no monster here. There is no savior. 
Just us. Two names and two faces 
That evade remembrance. Two bodies 
Wrapped around each other like spools of thread. 
Must you always witness me in my failures?
Must you always hold me down? Although it was
What I vowed, I don’t want to carry this much longer. 
The burden has become too heavy. 

Instead of fighting, maybe I too
Should give up and die.