The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
The Gargoyle’s Mouth
by Rebecca R. Pierce
Nightly I stared upon its stony visage.
Its mouth was a maw into hell.
I stood, half-frozen, on the slippery bridge
Waiting–for what–I could not tell.
The cathedral stretched against a dark heaven,
And there, perched on high, near the roof
Was the face of a cherub, whose leaden
Gaze was both judgemental and aloof.
Calling me here again this night
Was this demon with the face of a child.
Transfixed, I stood in the churchyard light.
While the stones rumbled, the demon smiled.
Out of the brick and mortar, it emerged
Clawing its way out and sprouting fangs,
It screeched its unholy cry and surged
Towards me–I ran–The church bell rang.
It knocked me down, we tumbled to the ground,
And graveyard dirt smeared against my tongue.
A familiar flapping of wings had drowned
Out my protest when the last bell was rung.
The demon spoke a truth I knew too well:
“Every sinner must die for their sin.”
I was but a vessel! a carrier! a shell!
So I opened my mouth and let him in.
We dusted off when we stood as one,
A demon with the face of a priest.
“So much work we did, so much left undone…
We’re doing God’s will, at least.”
The lantern in our hand swayed like a knell,
And yes, the blade we gripped was sharp.
Tonight, we’ll send another sinner to hell,
Or set an angel on a harp…
Fiction © Copyright Rebecca R. Pierce
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
More from Rebecca R. Pierce:
The Road to Kyoto
Four samurai accompanying four sisters to Kyoto are caught by a sudden snowstorm. They take refuge in what appears to be an abandoned monastery… only it’s not nearly as abandoned as they’d like…
Spreading the Writer's Word 
Loved this poem.
Superb, I loved it.