Forever Haunt

my body welcomes
your unholy spirit 
remodel my heart
into a tiny house of horror

explore the library
erected in my spine
vertebrate shelves
overflow with grief

tour the temple 
in my cranium
dedicated to you
my dark deity 

hear my desperate prayers
witness blood sacrifices
breathe the hope 
amongst incense smoke

visit the panic room
that toxic chamber in my gut
where caustic chemicals
dissolve my resolve to quit you

despite the damage
fractured foundation
cholesterol-clogged pipes
wonky wiring

this house of flesh
awaits your haunting
dare to make me
your forever home

Heart Heavy

unbalanced scales make
my empty chest cavity ache
on one side a feather floats
the other holds my too-heavy heart

the organ’s chambers
festering with regret
carry a history of hurt
both given and received

Ammit’s leathery lips shine
with devourer demon drool
yet the monstrous chimera
sends my heart skittering 

any hope that the rejection
means a happy ever afterlife
vanishes as the organ tumbles 
into the lake of fire’s lava

before I can salvage the cinders
my essence becomes unmade
finally lighter than a feather
but too late to pass the test

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Born under the sun sign of Leo, Serena Jayne is naturally a cat person. Her short fiction has appeared in the Arcanist, Space and Time Magazine, Unnerving Magazine, and other publications. She tweets @SJ_Writer.

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