After Dante’s Inferno, Canto III

At length I find thee, cowering in the dark
Thy vaunted skill subsumed by shudd’ring fear
A mortal soul, possessed of life’s own spark
That by its flick’ring brightness draws me near

‘Art shade or living man?’ thou criest to me
And I, approaching, speak thee of my fate
I take thy hand, and bring thee forth to see
The looming arch, the grim foreboding gate

Above it stands a warning, plain and clear
‘Abandon all hope, ye who enter here’

Copyright © 2018 by Finn McLellan.  All rights reserved.