An Ending Like The Beginning

I. The Beginning

Although I protect myself

I have one thing to keep safe

To fight for with my last dying breath

And I’ll send as many of those god-damned creatures

Straight to that hell above

I’ll keep you here with me

Because heaven has been abandoned

II. Alone

The crunch of cicada husks in my fists

Lead me to wish

I could leave my skin

This disgusting shell of grime and gore

Bandaged and bloodied

I want to be birthed anew

Free from infection and scarring

Scrubbed clean of the stench of death

A new body

Skin smooth and fresh

To molt from my near-corpse

But I know

I am bound to this hell

Full of walking corpses

Sleepless nights

Full of guarding precious things

All that’s left

Suturing

Searching

Stalking

I patch my wounds

Bites and bruises

I wander ghost towns

Looking for food and medicine

I watch the dying undead

Hoards and stragglers

III. Photograph

Although I protect myself

I have one thing to keep safe

To fight for with my last dying breath

And I’ll send as many of those god-damned creatures

Straight to that hell above

I’ll keep you here with me

Because heaven has been abandoned