Echoes of laughter rising and crashing in dim light
The cries thrust toward unforgiving walls
An unending descending staircase, cloaked in solemn decay
Oppressive and absolute darkness
Stains each wall as it rises beyond the scope of the eye

Such a gradual descent it has been
Which has brought me now into this abyss
Where regret seeps up slowly from ravaged soil
And the men lie in wait for a harvest of redemption that shall not come
While the women gaze skyward in defiance of their sentence

Yet somehow here amidst the chaos
Flashes of sight
I can hear the ghost song and rhythm of the convoy
The rough grinding of an elderly mans hands clenched in prayer after 50 years of sweat and toil
Praying now that his reward may come
The stare and soft hum of a soldier taken in combat days before the birth of his son
Praying now that his reward may come
The running of fingers across the face of a murderer
The enactment of his rage flashing randomly, painfully in his mind
He too is praying
For he is here as well

The confluence of emotions which flows from this ever gathering convoy
Has brought me to my knees
It is only in this bloodletting that I gain strength

Behind me
Far in the distance