Gehenna~ By Raechel deMink

Transfixed by terror,
barricaded by
demons,
I can’t stop trying
to weaken the wall
with my head,
with my fists,
with my heart;
I can’t stop trying
to scale the wall
with my palms,
with my nails,
with my mind;
I can’t stop looking
at their cupped
hands, their bunched
fists, their bent
fingers
closing in;
I can’t do this
I can’t
I

?

The throat
of my silence
is raw
from screaming
Into a black
hole

a black
hole
like the one
you pierced,
like the one I
believed,
like the one I make
when I open
my voice
and nothing
leaves.

I shoot pleas
at strangers;
they smile
or avert
and the screams
bloom louder in the field
between my chest
and my throat;
they bloom louder
and louder
until the eruption settles
and a few hearts
know.

I stand
with my hands
around bars,
my eyes
bulging
while I gush
truth
that even I can’t
believe,
and the hearts listen
and furrow
and apologize
and leave.

The land is silent
as the hearts run
home
to lock their
doors
and latch their
windows
and close their
curtains
to get on
with their own lives.

I know I’m not
the only speck
in this dust bowl
but I am lonely
and terrified
and fuming
at the struggle
of surviving this
alone. 



Author Bio:
Raechel is a writer and artist dedicated to reclaiming and using her voice to tell truth without apology. Through her writing and art, Raechel hopes to inspire, encourage, and empower others who've been silenced to take the leap of faith that is speaking up and releasing.