As Ever Like the Sun & Moon at War

1- ☼☼ ☼ ☼☼

Our Pilgrim's shov'd to fall into his cell,

and there he's lock'd again to pass the night

in contemplation of the days to come

and those already gone imprison'd here.

The passing days have been so arduous

for Pilgrim trapp'd inside his prison cell

as each of seven pass'd that make the week

brought with it some new horror on his flesh;

the first of seven tortures he was strapp'd

into a chair, his wrists were buckl'd down,                   10

and though did he lament that first his hair

was sever'd from its length, this only was

the start of what would come upon our man.

Now reaching, Torturer withdrew a pair

of pliers from his bag whilst Warden watch'd

him pry our Pilgrim's fingernails out

from soft and rawest flesh that held to them

around their edges whilst the metal jamm'd

itself inside and tore a gap betwixt;

and how our Pilgrim cried at jolts of pain                    20

that surg'd through fingers up his hands and arms

and left his tips as mangled bloody nubs

more sensitive to ev'rything he gripp'd.

And once ten nails had been pried from him

and tears did fall and he was begging for

an end to this, the Torturer remov'd

his boots and stabb'd the end into his toes

and after this the Torturer then stomp'd

upon our Pilgrim's feet and pounded fists

upon his fingers, revelling at each                  30

of th'exclamations at this piercing pain.

The second day the Torturer arriv'd

he walk'd sore-footed Pilgrim to a yard

and tied protagonist to crucifix

with wire that, when tighten'd, sank within

the flesh of wrists and ankles til they bled,

and with him there were sev'ral instruments

of sharpen'd metal and from which he rais'd

a sickle with a shape like crescent moon;

this instrument he press'd to Pilgrim's chest                     40

and dragg'd two points across pectoral flesh

so that they slic'd his nipples vertic'lly,

whereat he turn'd the blade and press'd one end

upon his chest and rock'd it back and forth

to slice them into fourths instead of halves

and leave a horizontal cut across