Daylight fades

As it has so many times before

Darkness returns

As if to settle a long running score

Exhaustion and fatigue pursue me

Only a matter of time til I surrender

As the day winds down to completion

I fall deep into the arms of slumber

My mind starts to wander and roam

My thoughts begin to quietly drift

Moving from the land of the awake

Passing through a sleep inducing rift

My sub-conscious takes over control

Of the unpredictable world of my dreams

Enshrouded in a feeling of familiarity

Everything here appears, as it seems

In an instant, I am gripped in a fist of pain

Like a double-edged sword pierced through my chest

Unbearable waves of stabbing daggers

Rack my body, shattering my peace and rest

My heart feels like it has exploded inside

Agony and confusion; this cannot be real

A brutalizing nightmare this must be

Desperate to wake from this land of surreal

Creeping darkness begins to encircle me

Wrapping my body in a blanket of night

Clutched in pain I writhe and scream

An unseen force clenches me tight

Suddenly I feel like Im moving

Being dragged through the blinding black

Trying to resist but to no avail

I fight to awake, but cannot return back

Against my will the speed increases

Faster and faster yet still I cannot see

My destination I do not know

Where is this force taking me?

My motion is suddenly halted

Intense fear replaces the pain inside

Growing beyond unbearable limits

There must be an end to this nightmarish ride

As quickly as my journey ended

The unseen hand of force releases my body

Ghastly noises begin to be heard

From out of the darkness that surrounds me

Faintly at first yet louder it grows

From all around me, above and beneath

The haunting sounds intensify

A hideous wailing and gnashing of teeth

An acrid stench fills my nostrils

A sulphurous odor reeking of death

Scorching down in my throat and lungs

Like drawing in fire with every breath

What kind of dream is this?

I nervously scream out in desperation

Why cant I awake from this madness?

And be free from this world of confusion

Flickering flames appear in the dark around me

Like fireflies intermittently igniting

Illuminating briefly my new surroundings

Allowing glimpses of where I am now standing

The darkness retreats, chased away by the flames

Revealing now where I have been placed

An unforgiving terrain of blazing rock and fire

A vast empty infernal land of waste

The flames grow larger and stronger

Swirling about like a cycle of glowing suns

A tidal wave of heat then sears my skin

Causing horrific blistering lesions

Where am I?

What is this place where Ive been taken?

Memories flood back of conversations past

Warnings about a land of the forsaken

No, it cannot be true

This must just be the wickedest of dreams

A trick of the mind that plays on my body

Convincing me of how real it seems

I know that I have a good life

The light of success has shined on my face

I have everything I need to comfort me

If only I could awake from this place

But the agony I feel is torturous

A hunger and thirst thats beyond belief

Lusts and desires are magnified

I must awake; I must have relief

Images flash quickly through my mind

Moments of time play back in my head

Voices of the past echo in my ears

I hear every word that to me was once said

Words of salvation; words of damnation

Words about a savior who died for me

Who shed his blood for the sin of the world

To save mankinds souls eternally

I remember it all; I remember everything

The grim vivid details of the words that were decreed

I now feel the seriousness of the consequences

Of the constant warnings that I failed to heed

I scream in horror at my realization

As I feel the sting of separation burn inside

I now know what has become my fate

I now know that I must have died

Oh no, please God no

Sobbing loudly, I crumble to the ground

The disembodied wails of torment I hear

Dominate the air as the only sounds around

Why God, why?

I was a decent man always trying to do right

My good deeds were noted by many

Didnt they count for anything in your sight?

I was told many times about Jesus

Of his crucifixion so shocking and gory

Of the suffering he endured on a cross

I did not believe the account of His story

I thought I could do it on my own

That by good works I controlled my destiny

My error has been manifested by a revelation

That my perceived dream is now my reality

Why did I reject what was told to me?

Letting my heart become a cold, callous stone

They told me that God loved me dearly

With a love like no other has ever shown

These truths are now evidently clear

Resounding in me like a loud echoing bell

I will never again see the light of day

I am trapped in the fiery depths of hell

My opportunities to follow Jesus were many

But I thought I had more time til my death

Even now Gods words come to my mind

That no man is guaranteed his next breath

The anxiety I feel is unbearable

Knowing the chances I had, but did not take

The pain in my body coupled now with the regret

Of assuming each time I slept, I would awake

Eternity has erased the segmented years

The confines of time have been shattered

The hands of the clock now stand still

My hopes of escape are torn and tattered

I miss my loved ones, family and friends

If only I could see them once more

To warn them of my new hellish home

And the suffering that I now must endure

I do not know how long Ive been here

It feels like multitudes of eons have gone by

Languishing in this prison without walls

Then suddenly I hear the voice of the Lord cry

Like a deafening, blaring trumpet blast

A shout of power so majestic and sublime

Rings out to shake the foundation of the world

With just three simple words, It is time

A strong hand then takes a hold of me

A figure appears, outlined by a radiant glow

An angel of titanic size and might speaks

You have an appointment with the Lord, we must go

Without hesitation we begin to ascend

Quickly accelerating higher and higher

Leaving behind that tumultuous wasteland

A momentary relief from the heat and the fire

Where are you taking me? I fearfully ask

To see the Lord, your judgement awaits

The angels words fill me with a deep dread

I shiver as the terror in my heart resonates

At last I am placed amongst a great multitude

I see innumerable people dressed in robes of white

Yet I am set apart from them alone and naked

Feeling exposed and ashamed in their sight

With a sound of rushing waters I hear my name called

Turning to see a blinding, brilliant light before me

I cower in fear as I sink to my knees and cry

I begin begging and pleading for mercy

A giant ornate throne sits regally within the light

Upon the throne sits the King of all Kings

Hes the one whom I rejected, Jesus the Christ

In unity, as one, the great multitude sings

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord

Our God of power, might and love

The world is full of your eternal glory

From the earth below to the heavens above

The great sea of people bow down in reverence

Honoring and praising Jesus, the Lord over all

Acknowledging His sacrifice that saved their souls

Redeeming them from the perils of mankinds fall

With authority, Jesus speaks my name once more

Sending trickling shivers through my very being

Overwhelmed by the state of His pure perfection

I am overloaded by all that I am now seeing

Through countless moments during your life

I stretched out my hand of mercy for you to take

At each and every turn you denied my love

Shunning a life of truth for a life that was fake

I suffered the pain and punishment for your sins

Laying down my life, so that paradise I could give

I was whipped, beaten, mocked, then crucified

Nailed to a cross so that you could forever live

Thinking of you as the spikes pierced my hands

How greatly I loved you as the spikes pierced my feet

Yet rejoicing inside as I hung there and died

Yearning to embrace you on the day we would meet

But on this day I must be your sovereign judge

Regretfully rejecting you as you had rejected me

Assigning you a fate that your lifes choices prescribed

A life in woeful solitude, forevermore eternally

There was so much I wanted to share with you

For you were made in my image, a beloved soul

My kingdom of peace and splendor was yours

If only you allowed me to fill your heart's hole"

Then tears of sorrow began to stream down His face

His weeping eyes never wavering from mine

My heart broke under the weight of His gaze

I cower in shame before the epitome of divine

"Please Lord, Please grant me one more chance

Please forgive me for how my life has been led"

"I'm sorry, I cannot break my word that I've spoken

For your last chance expired that night in your bed"

With the heaviest of hearts and a mournful sigh

Jesus does what He knows He must do

"Begone from me ye cursed into everlasting fire

Begone from me ye cursed for I never knew you"

An angel of the Lord then steps forth

Grasping me forcefully, rushing me away

Crippled by the flood of regret that now fills me

There are no more words that I could say

In a blink of an eye, atop a great cliff we now stand

I recoil from the scene of absolute horror before me

Peering down at a tremendous lake of blazing fire

I scream at the impending fate that awaits me

I stare into the chiseled granite face of the angel

His features so powerful, yet void of emotion

A servant of the Lord performing the task at hand

Delivering the lost to their new home of damnation

His iron grip on me loosens, then suddenly I'm falling

Plunging swiftly toward my life's eternal reward

Forever I will burn yet never will I die

For not accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord

The pain, oh the viscous tormenting pain

Unbearable, immeasurable, beyond any form of tolerance

Why did I not believe in the One who died for me?

Why did I not accept His loving hand of deliverance?

I wish this was only my imagination gone awry

Or a dreadful nightmare from which I would awake

But this vivid reality is now my eternity

A blazing, burning soul forever trapped in this fiery lake

- Marc Corliss (marc@bloodboughtrecords.com)