DEAD AS HELL

a pale roux of dead flesh  
with equal parts dread  
cooked over the fires  
that worry the dead  
when scythe cuts the tethers  
that bind one to light
one meets the terror  
of cold endless night  
 
for the box is laid deep  
and the dirt holds you in  
a damp airless bed  
in a night with no end  
and the coffin is clawed  
'till your fingertips weep  
but the living can't hear you  
 
they say you're asleep  
 
while your girl takes a lover  
your flesh turns to bone  
the veil has descended  
and you are alone  
in a box underground  
with worms eating your head  
still somehow living  
yet still, somehow dead