Unforgiven

Unforgiven

“Ashes to ashes,” it’s been said
until there’s nothing left of me.
Beyond this body, which is dead,
remains something no one can see.

Awareness comes. There is no sound,
no light to see, no air remains.
I’m buried deep within the ground,
a captive of my earthly chains.

My spirit cannot find release
though flesh and bones now melt away.
For my past sins, there is no peace,
no amnesty, only decay.

The madness that inflicted me
has melted like the winter snow.
I see my life with clarity;
my conscience no longer fallow.

The hurt, the pain, the suffering,
that I once caused without regret,
surround me now, each hovering,
reminding me of my soul’s debt.

My soul? Is this all that remains
beyond the time we moved about?
Are we no more that tiny grains
of consciousness, of our self-doubt?

Is there redemption for the soul,
forgiveness for our earthly sin
or will we remain less than whole,
mere shells holding our pain within?

My thoughts exist, trapped in this well
of darkness. Unheard is my plea.
No heaven’s light, no flames of hell,
just silence ... for eternity.

An entry for Round 23 (April) of "Invalid Item" 
Prompt: Image (see cover art}
Form: Quatrain  
Line Limit: 60 lines
Line Count: 32