Birthday

Dark prose

Seething cramps tense my abdomen, 
Their chants don’t cease until midnight. 
My rounded belly is deceiving, 
It has only been a fortnight.

How could I now be here, 
Tied to the altar of my demise. 
I hesitantly birth you,
Whatever you are.

Fire and brimstone,
The scent of sulfur engulfs me. 
Sharp claws dig into my innards. 
My intestines seep through my exit,
As you emerge.

I hold you. 
Obsidian claws gouge out my eyes, 
I am blinded by the essence of you.
The child.

The night passed.
Daylight breached the curtains,
Causing everything to scream. 
I awake from my nightmare in an empty room. 
You are not here, mother.

The memory of you,
What I did haunts me. 
To live in this world, 
I dug through your softness,
Leaving a trail of magenta paint.

Your last breath was my first. 
Now, all you are is a nightmare.