The Insidious Decay

Clambering through the frosted wood
I seek the warmth of hearth and home
Somewhere pure, somewhere good
With family and leather tomes

My feet falter at the village's edge
Yet the cold does not sting my skin
To them, I’d sworn a sacred pledge
I’d return, though laden with sin

Oh, how I long to see their face
Lifted from the frozen ground
I even brought fine sheets and lace
So happy now to be found

I knock upon their wooden door
It opens, and I sense their fear
Their trembling hands drop items to the floor
"Why so frightened, my dear?"  

Silence—then comes a rising scream
I'm standing alone and confused
What nightmare haunts this cruel dream?  
I know I smell and am bruised

But then I see through mirror’s glass
The truth I can no longer deny
Upon my neck, the rope’s cold clasp,
And through my heart, a stake did lie

My mind unravels, I see the clarity
I have risen from an unhallowed grave
But I can mend this my love of rarity
For them, my soul I’ll brave

Their gasps echo, panicked breath
As I smile through rotted dark
Rejoice, for we’ll be one in death
And scorn life cold and stark

Soon, forever we shall dance
Through endless nights and twilight haze
I see them now, lost in trance
Bound to join me in sweet decay