A Hymn to the City of Sin

Lying peacefully
in the early gray
as the morning lights
and gentle sounds
of the city below
try to force their way
into my day
through the slight crack
under the thick blinds.  

I breathe deeply
and completely
as if finally free
for the first time.
The screaming demons
thrashing in my throat
          exorcised
beneath the essence
of a new sky;

a blue sky,
clear of hell fire.
I am suddenly free,
unexpectedly,
after a midnight exodus
along the desert road,

escaping the skies,
full of fire and pain
in the valley of saints
            baptised
by the pure heavens
of the city of sin.