La Tristesse Durera Toujours (the sadness will last forever)

Lost in the swirls of a starry night
Blurring the edges of olive groves and cypresses
The yellow moon hangs like a condemned criminal
Spirit lamp illuminating this virgin canvas

Pipe smoke clouds in the air
Foul smelling liquid poured over sugar cubes and through silver spoons
Paint smears these tired hands
Dear Theo, I’m afraid it is getting worse…

Stumble out into the field
Revolver clutched tight in pallid hand
Pull the hammer back and raise to hollow chest
A new portrait done in blood spatter

This bed is where a last breath will be sighed
Sheets stained and pulled over this lifeless face
Hand feels warm and vague
Brother, let me speak these last fatal words

Benjamin Blake was born in the July of 1985, and leads a relatively reclusive life in the New Zealand countryside. His fiction and poetry has been published online, and in print in Australia, the UK, and the States. He is a contributor to the 2012 Horror Zine anthology – A Feast of Frights (introduced by Ramsey Campbell). You can read more of his work (and view his photography) at www.benjaminblake.com