Inferno

Through the nine circles of hell,
Where each punishment is self-conceived,
Where the damned dwell, driven by their needs.
Paradox of mankind and the law,
I am myself a villain, judge and the one who wields the sword.
Here I tread in the footsteps of ancient poets,
Knowing what is right but unable to uphold it.
Here dwells the lost, plagued by a thirst for a God they do not know.
Not evil but mortal, ash and flesh, unable to walk the bridge of spirits.

Inferno through the gate, Inferno hope no more.
Minus one and falling, deeper in the darkness we spawn.
Hurled about in the storms of passions,
Blind in the darkness of self.
Minus two and falling, towards the abysmal deep.

Inferno purge my soul, Inferno fear no more.
Gluttons like hogs in filthy mud.
Minus three and falling, dropping to the cold.
Greed and anger, they fuel the fires of their pyres.

Heretics burning in open graves they dug and kindled.
Men of violence and evil, boiling the the blood of wrath.
The self-indulgent, the violent and malicious,
Lost in the burning desert, hounds on their trail.
I found myself within a forest dark.
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.
Oh crooked tree, "Not man, man once I was."

Minus four, five, six, and seven,
Falling to the frauds who sell us heaven,
Selling what no man can buy.
Buying what can only be given, deceivers and deceived.
Minus eight and falling to the lowest of the low.
The traitors, those who stab their friends in the back:
Do you betray the master with a kiss?

Minus nine and falling, to my knees.
Falling into the purgatory repentance,
For the truth shall set us free.
The path is over the mountain, Sinai under Golgotha.

Inferno, son of man.
Inferno save my soul.
Inferno, I am yours.
Inferno set me free.