The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Innocent and the Blessed
by Alex Grehy

At the end of days, the dead will rise
as angels, beating their righteous
wings in search of justice.
There is no mercy.

At the orphanage, the graveyard’s
hallowed ground erupts;
while in the woods, small graves stir.
Thin blankets of leaves shiver,
never warming the bones of those
who lie shallow beneath them.

The blessed – ordained guardians of this place,
who granted each other forgiveness,
whose sins were redeemed but never regretted,
rise, their knife-edged wings gleaming with
desire, lust unsated by death. 

The abused and murdered children
need no forgiveness.
They rise, lamenting their cruel fate.
Their ember-edged wings smoulder with
simple desires – to be named, to be loved. 

Heaven and Hell stand open to
receive the newly-risen dead.
The blessed and the innocent
plead for their ascension.

The blessed sinners pray
for absolution,
their pure words
excusing dark deeds.

The unshriven innocent
extend weak hands,
their cupped palms offering
their suffering, their unwilling sacrifice.
Soft zephyrs of compassion
fan their wings into flame,
as Seraphim they soar.

.All around, the flawless light
of judgement day illuminates
deceptions and
dissembling mitigations.

Rejects them.

In Pandemonium, the devil waits patient,
All guilty souls will fall, at the end of days.

Fiction © Copyright Alex Grehy
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from author Alex Grehy:

After a lifetime of writing technical non-fiction, Alex Grey is fulfilling her dream of writing poems and stories that engage the reader’s emotions. Her work has been featured by a wide range of publications including Siren’s Call, Raconteur, Bookends Review, and Toasted Cheese. One of her comic poems is also available via a worldwide network of public fiction dispensers managed by French publisher, Short Edition. Her ingredients for contentment are narrow boating, greyhounds, singing and chocolate. It is a sweet life, yet Alex’ original view of the world has led to her best friend to say ‘For someone so lovely, you’re very twisted!

Please click here to discover more!