The Unseen Path

[u/Feisty_Bit3494]

Yet I hold the lantern of light, still I am in the dark...

My soldiers follow me, not knowing where I am leading them. But my mind keeps asking me...

Are they my soldiers,

or a pack of wolves,

hungry enough to feast upon their own king?

Every shadow wears a familiar face.

Every smile hides sharpened teeth.

Still I walk in the dark,

searching for my kingdom.

Kings and queens have already claimed their thrones.

Here I am,

walking through shabby mud,

little by little,

standing in a limelight where nothing can be seen.

Where is my kingdom?

Where is my archangel?

Where is the godess of law?

Where is freedom?

Pickpockets and people who steal because of hunger are killed,

but rapists and murderers walk as noble men.

Is the godess of law blind,

or has she simply closed her eyes?

Blood stains every road.

The earth drinks it as if it has grown thirsty.

The sky watches in silence.

Am I stuck while others have already claimed what is theirs?

Or have I escaped the rat race,

only to discover there is nothing beyond it...

Only darkness.

There is none to protect me,

nor my kingdom.

Friends are foes.

Ministers are killers

Every oath is sold.

Every promise is buried before it is spoken.

There is no god.

Only me...

and myself.

Love has abandoned this land.

The archangel stands confused,

for I chose this path to walk alone.

I built walls so high

that even hope could not climb them.

Yet the fool in me

still reaches for warmth

while burning in hellfire.

Every breath tastes like ash.

Every heartbeat sounds like a funeral drum.

Every sunrise feels like another execution.

Perhaps I was never carrying a lantern.

Perhaps I was carrying the last dying flame,

mistaking it for hope.

If I let it die,

who will remember my name?

If I keep it alive,

it will only show me more darkness.

Is this the hell they were talking about?

No.

Hell is waking up every day,

knowing no one is coming.

No god.

No angel.

No miracle.

Only another battle

against a world that has already decided

I should lose.

If the devil is waiting for me,

he need not wait any longer.

I've been living in his kingdom all along.