Abandon All Hope...

Sliding into the Abyss
Just past the precipice
Straining, reaching but nothing to hold
Screaming as the darkness takes you
all is lost

The cold seeps through your bones
the heart turns to stone
Ration turns to madness
logic burns to ash
Up is down, insanity crushes everything in between

When pain grows strong,
the flames freezing you blood
Death shows it's smile
opening it's arms wide in a welcoming embrace
yet still no escape

As the tourniquet of the grave circles around
you slide further down through the blackness of void
No respite is given, no easy path shown
No failure forgiven, Every mistake shown
Even the final sleep can't hold back the nightmares
As the demons creep through, each tearing out it's pound of flesh right from your heart

Machine gun rattle, rips from the night
Every round on the mark
They burn with icy screams
On and on the slicing pain tears
jagged holes never to mend

To all ye who enter here
Abandon all hope of those things to which you hold
Fear, pain, misery, death...those are the currency found here

Avast...

...and yo ho ho me hearties! I know it has been a while since I have posted anything. I will beg your forgiveness and understanding as I am having much fun with classes this semester. For those of you who know my recent history of classroom experiences, this semester is a veritable pleasure as compared with previous efforts.

Now in an effort to maintain some continuity here, it is my duty to report on the current state of affairs in my life. The short version is the hatches are still battened and the weather decks are cleared. I have been manning all posts continually and thus far the crew has not given less than 110% efforts. The navigation systems are still knocked out leaving us to navigate by sun and stars. The problem however is that the overcast conditions prevent a clear bearing on the sun and only a few limited peeks at the stars, during the few calming moments in the weather, have allowed for bearing fixes but not sufficient to plot a course. I have been attempting to ascertain if the ship is still in a founder or if the trade currents have finally taken hold to move the ship free from this cursed quagmire. Alas, all attempts to correlate the few position fixes that have been obtained have only revealed that the ship is being tossed to a fro with in a confined area of the sea. 
The ship is still provisioned however rationing has been implemented to double the length that the stores will last. With no sign of change in the weather and nary hint of landfall to be spied, these precautions must be taken. As yet the hull remains reasonably water tight, the few leaks remaining at a very manageable induction rate which the bilge pumps are keeping up with.
Moral among the crew has been showing the signs of strain lately. Some deckhands were found to be quarreling about rations and duty rotations. The Quarter-Master puts things aright before events took an unfortunate turn and all parties involved have been placed on restriction with extra duties. I fear that if this cursed becalming does not break soon, the hear of the crew may break in its place.
A plan has been formulated to begin attempting to manually shift the ship and find the trade belts but as yet has been deemed to risky to implement. It may become the only resort left to us if our situation does not change soon.

What if Atlas shrugged...

and the world broke in two? What if the crack that destroyed the world didn't originate in the world but sprang from a crack within Atlas himself? The same crack that caused him to shrug in the first place, what if that same crack destroyed his world. How would he live with himself after the pieces were gathered together and shoved back together? How could he even think of going on? Of trying again to shoulder the world? Would the weight of tragedy, the devastation utterly reduce him beyond restitution and leave him as naught? Less than the dust of the earth upon which he trod. Can there be any hope for help? Is there a way to repair or fill the fault within before it destroys the world? Is there anyone who can help?

Musings from the hall...

Sitting here at the school house in between classes. I am surrounded by other people; students, faculty and just people passing by. Yet with all of these people around me, I feel completely isolated and desperately want to connect with someone. At a table in front of my there are six men, each avidly absorbed in their own personal activities. To my left another student is cruising through wikipedia and typing away with the bits of wisdom he finds.

Through it all, there is nothing to establish a connection with any of these individuals. It is very nearly like being the lonely traveler at an airport far from home. You know that your time there will not be indefinite. You know that there is no reason for any of the others around you to try and impart a few moments of their time. You have questions sometimes if you even speak the language. But still, the burning desire to connect with another human being continues. Why is it that even when we are surrounded by so many others, we can feel so alone?