Ten Minutes

I grab the first bar
the bell chimes the end
to come- it calls me
out, and the next bar
beckons my worn hand
I swing across the
depths of the great cliff
My feet trod nothing
Biceps bulge with strain
And I start my descent into the sand.

Nine Minutes

Something is at me
It claws up to meet
and shoe laces fly
Do I go faster?
Do I kick, frantic?
Now I push forward
One half down, one half
to go- it follows me
I feel the scrape of
The arena's first gatekeepers wanting toll.

Eight Minutes

Toes on the hard ground
They break into speed
A sprint from stand still
A single gate crossed
But more yet to come
I turn the corner
And find a reward
The shiny steel saves
Foul wretches like me
Without breaking stride, Savior-Sword is claimed.

Seven Minutes

Heavy in my hands
Now I'm slowing down
Doubt washes my mind
Growls heard round the bend
My heart pounds- I'm dead
My heart stops- I'm dead
Walls slimy slick drip
With past failures' life
Not the first trial
But also not the boss, it's yet to come

Six Minutes

I peer into cracks
Catching the glimpses
They save my cold hide
A gaping maw shows
a weak spot- one chance
To plunge the Savior
To prick its heart out
I harden my nerves
Spring quickly forward
Run my hardest into the thing itself.

Five Minutes

What? Am I alive?
How did that happen?
Covered in gross goo
and yet, standing up.
They groan together
And cheer when it's known
the Savior is gone.
Rumble from darkness
My cue to leave it
And walk, without defense, into the maze.

Four Minutes

My goal is in sight
Blocked by something bright
God, perhaps? No- Death.
Or is it but both?
Slow, stop, pause, a crunch.
Not the first to pass
To what comes beyond.
Blinding, Beautiful
Must I kill a God
To win a chance at becoming one too?

Three Minutes

It is a child.
To win, I must kill
Something so pure, not
quick, but with bare hands.
Roaring from the seats
Roaring from my mind
It turns to meet me
Opens its small arms
To greet me with joy
Not the hero- no, I'm the last monster

Two Minutes

The clock's ticks count down
Walls spring up around
No going back now
Whim infuses me
I bend to its height
And meet its greeting
Arms strain to lift it
But I hold it close
And say I'm sorry
And drop it behind to reach my way out.

One Minute
 
It slams behind me
I really finished.
No- that is not true
I couldn't defeat
Under my own feet
Under innocence.
Doors are not freedom
They're the cell closing
Behind me, drowning
I'm drowning in my own broken defeat

Midnight