surely hell wastes before our eyes,
and Abaddon punches the clock at 8:59 am.
surely dreams bring us into outer darkness,
and from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am we gnash our teeth and weep.
indeed, my mother told me to wash my face in the morning.
I didn’t realize it was to wipe off the tears.
but blood stains harder than salt and water.
surely I have walked through Sheol,
just as I have walked down fifth and second st
to get my morning coffee.
Belial throws pebbles at my window in the night,
like Romeo calling to Juliet,
the object of his desire.
Gehenna, how I know you!
how the scent of your burning fills my mind
as I wrestle in the night.
Jacob wrestled with God,
and I wrestle with Hades.
Michael was busy,
Gabriel slumbered in other corners of the universe.
I was left alone.
stairway, O stairway,
where are thou?
where art thy angels,
ascending and descending?
hast the limit of thy reach been cut off?
is the belly of Leviathan too far for thee?
will the dead in the sea fail to climb thy steps?
tell me, creature and elder,
cherubim and seraphim,
hast my cry breached the firmament
into the courts of thy Master’s glory?
is he still angry with us,
for the sins of our fathers?
or might he descend and bring to us his Son,
the one they call Yeshua?
does the Morning Star see earth,
sitting in dust and ashes,
lamenting for lack of bread,
thirsting for a drink of water?
the unworthy wanderer 