Unanswered Question

I am awake but cannot see
nor am I sure that I can hear.
A silent darkness surrounds me,
I know the meaning now of fear.

It is as if I’m paralysed
I try to move without success.
My deepest fears are realised
I am controlled and powerless.

I am not dead I cannot be
If I were dead I’d be at peace.
I wonder is this purgatory?
What must I do to earn release?

I’m lying on a slab of stone,
there are no shackles binding me.
I am held fast by powers unknown.
I try to think coherently.

Why am I here and where am I.
I cannot hear I cannot see
I cannot move although I try.
Am I condemned eternally?

What grievous sin did I commit?
deserving endless punishment.
I may have sinned I must admit
unknowingly without intent.

I pray to all the Gods I know
to have my harsh sentence repealed.
To set me free just let me go.
Implacable they will not yield,

Refuse to alter their decree.
I may not live; I may not die
I must exist in misery
and never know the reason why.

poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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