Hanging

The chair banged down on the wooden floor
And up the stairs I sped
Bursting, breathless, through the door
In fear to find him dead
The feet were twitching a dervish dance
And the fingers beckoned Death
A sudden shout, for one last chance,
For one more life-giving breath
I tried to pull him from the ground
His eyes were bulging wide
His body, swinging round and round
Now swaying side to side
The load too much, a burden born
One that could not be lifted
As dawn bled into the freezing morn
The man’s soul detached and drifted
Into the sky, I watched it fly
Then I looked back at the shell
The empty eyes, frozen with surprise
As his soul settled into Hell