Look Mom, Part 15- Keep Walking

Underworld
January 23, 2021

I step onto seemingly solid ground
and begin to sink, the pull of dark
hands grab my ankles and thighs.
I reach for branch or root or rock,
but nothing.
nothing returns me to the surface.

As I struggle, tentacles encircle,
sucking me closer to the heart of the shadow.
I cry out. My mouth fills with darkness.
There is no air here. I asphyxiate.

My head falls limp, unconscious.
Hands pass me from one to the next.
shadowy figures emerge,
disappear; some menacing,
others, sentinels of mystery.

Tired, gone,
lulled into deepest sleep.
Incubating.