Countenance

“You cannot see my face
For no one may see me and live.”
(Exodus 33:20)

Filthy hands; rats in the walls
Fetid flesh walks about in the dark
I sweat through the coldest nights
Alone, with their hair in my eyes

The candle flame wavered
As in the winds of a mountain
But the air had long gone stale
With mildew, musk, and hate

Frost lightning struck
The wall obeyed
The parting clouds of a storm
And I saw the face of God
And I saw his eyes were rotting

I've been in this basement for a year
My skin is piled on the stairs