Skip to main content

7 Days in Hell (Louis Toliver Jr-Swartz, LA)


"7 Days in Hell"

To Hell
Is where I went when I was feeling
Rejected,
Infected,
By the life I never asked for
And the life those who judged me
Said had no place in heaven

The first day
On the road to Hell
Always seems glamorous
But the glamour starts to fade
By the end of the second day
It’s the third day when most are captured
When the hallucinations really take hold

There is only a short window of time 
In which one can travel down the multiple paths
From Hell to Earth
Most never make it back in time
It only takes three days to be stuck in patterns, craziness
Few, like myself, are able to navigate beyond the third day
Between the realms of Earth and Hell

The fourth day in hell
Begins a deep period of paranoia and horror
The fifth day in hell
Is when isolation sets in and the deterioration begins
By the sixth day in hell
The reality of flesh is dying with the mind
It is near a permanent state of misery

Hell is where I went
Determined to find pleasure in loneliness
I kept looking for acceptance from decayed souls
In hell to make friends with
Because I was taught that every soul
Has the potential to be good
But in Hell that isn’t true

By the seventh day
I realized I was lonely among the lonely
If I didn’t leave I’d be stuck forever in patterns, crazinesss
But I was lucky
That everyone and everything in Hell
Reminded me that my inspiring soul didn’t belong there
So I let go of misery and left Hell for sanity

And found the path that was right for me to Heaven

Comments

  1. without a doubt one of my favorite pieces! and incredible, emotional example of one person's spiritual journey

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Louisiana Words Remembers Jorge Arturo

There’s nothing that hurts more than when we lose someone from our Louisiana Words family. But, the beauty of our writing movement is that the words of our loved ones live on with us.   On June 20th, 2023, Louisiana Words Allstar, Jorge Arturo, moved on from this world leaving our hearts broken. He was a charismatic and talented human being. Jorge resided in New Orleans, LA and had been active on Louisiana Words for over a year. To honor Jorge’s life and work, we will be sharing his writing and live performances all Summer 2023. Please help keep his spirit alive by sharing his work. We know that Jorge’s words will connect with our readers and we hope to keep his spirit alive.  Jorge’s first submission: “The Dog Show” debuted on February 6th, 2022 and is his most successful piece to date. In 2022, Jorge spent 10 weeks in the top with “The Dog Show,” “Weavers,”  “They Say Love Kills, This Time It Really Did,” and “If Hell is Real, It Looks Like an Airport.” His last piece was “Fairy Tale

The Man Under the Water (TK Craft - New Orleans, LA)

              Sitting at the edge of the small motorboat, Jordan willed himself to take deep slow breaths. Every time he opened his eyes and looked out at the endless water; panic began to overcome him.  Against the vastness of the ocean his small frame felt like almost nothing, this sense only made his fear grow worse. All he could do was stare out at the still surface for what felt like hours trying to gather the strength to jump into the depths.              When he was fifteen, Jordan almost drowned in the ocean. He hadn’t been particularly frightened of the water till that day. In fact, he had no real emotional connection to it at all. He’d taken swimming lessons every summer so when the riptide carried him further out to sea he didn’t panic. He just reoriented himself to the shore and dove down to begin a swim towards land. That’s when he saw him glistening in the depths.             Jordan was proud of himself for sitting on the edge of the boat as long as he did. He spent the

Ash Wednesday (Brian Falcon - New Orleans, LA)

  It’s forgettable- the number of times I was called a “fucking faggot” as a kid. As a former child of god, I wasn’t expected to know what those words meant. I was taught that repentance was vital to achieving everlasting life. My momma made me go to church every Sunday. I said my prayers as I was told. But I eventually learned that Catholicism was never my sanctuary. Christianity was never my safe-haven. God never stopped the cheap shots. He never once prevented the harassment or pure embarrassment that I felt from the words of my “kin in Christ.” Now, picture me- a helpless faggot, blinded by the incandescent lights of an old catholic church. I was home from college spending Spring Break in my former hellscape. So, naturally, my momma yet again made me go to church. This time, on a Wednesday. It was Ash Wednesday. When I was among the folks from home, I felt out of place. So much that I’d imagine camouflaging myself. Like saber-tooth in hiding. But the difference? I had a far more i