29 May 2012
Driving on Route 66,
Six piercings in my ear,
Three sixes for the Devil
That's what I always hear.
As if from a mirage,
Near the City of Sin
A house should appear,
Drawing me in.
Candles line the hoof-marked drive
Tall spectres in the dusk
And dust, dirt and lust
Here mingled with musk.
They bade me through the open door
To stay there for the night,
I would soon be poisoned
By this strange new place's blight.
Mirrors all about the place
Show new demons on my back,
Yawning pig's head on a stick
Moans 'Alas! Alack!'
Jokers torment sweat-stained sleep
And Jacks opium-torn day
And Kings and Queens shout murder
As the Aces Blackjack play.
Each evening a Russian Roulette
Who is next to go?
As exotic dancers rob you blind,
Is slumber friend or foe?
Twisting through tempestuous night
As witching hour arrives.
Is this sinner's Heaven or sinner's Hell?
Still I can't decide.
The Dragon's legion on my back
Scratch and slash most times
As sugary pleasure's rubbed like salt
Upon my whip-carved hide.
Flies swarm about the place,
Their Lords tempting court
Where honest men belie themselves
Once only in good sport.
The mistress holds you on a leash
The master on a chain,
Doomed to wallow in their pit
Scratching a release with Cain.
Liquor seeping through the walls,
Stolen cash oozes from the seams,
A hazy place stained with vices,
Bourbon and nicotine.
Clutch you heart in one hand
Your mind in the other in fear
As you bleed water, crucified,
Side split by a spear.
Martyrs pulled down from their posts,
Saints removed, long gone,
Beelzebub exalted, lifted up
Beside the harlot of Babylon.
His brand not just on your right hand
But tattooed all over you skin
Forever a sign, a reminder,
A postcard from where you've been.
And still I cannot shake the place
It's strange, sharp grip relieve.
The gatekeeper safely guards the key
'You can go but you'll never leave.'
The Serpent's Elbow • Opuss № I