Dying to Live

When I died inside
The deepest part of me grew cold
The warmth of life fled to the fringes
My core befell a dark tranquility
And I departed for a whisper of eternity
The void thickened with an unknown purpose
The black lump of residual nihility spoiled
Decay spread about my insides like slimy tendrils
And confused buds came into existence
And doom departed for a breath of eternity
Movement brought to pass an ember of hope
Deep within the barren wastelands of my soul
As the rotting of my internal death brought life
The blooming of the buds spread assiduous maggots
And solitude departed for a heartbeat of eternity
Death inspired new life, and a new manner of living
Fungus spread inside and filled everything unoccupied
Mushrooms twisted like tentacles swelling and filling
The fungal insurgents reached the brink of their enthrallment
And their spores departed my body for a blink of eternity
And spread to infect the dead like me, with a new manner of living
© 2021 William Bartlett. All Rights Reserved.

William Bartlett is a regular guy with a full-time life. He is happily married with a son and a daughter who are as nerdy as he is. He works as Assistant Editor for Quill & Crow Publishing House, where he manages and writes for the literary magazine, The Crow’s Quill. He is the author of The House of Blood & Gold and the dark poetry collection, Nameless Here For Evermore. His poetry is featured in Crow Calls Volumes II & III.