Incarnadine Poem by Cherie Mort

Her dark red gown drapes and flows smoothly down ancient stone stairs
One hand holds a candelabra aloft, the light illuminating her features eerily as she peers into the blackness
She can't see what waits below
Her heart pulsing madly, she slowly descends to what she thinks is the bottom of the stairs
But the staircase spirals ever downwards, and she uneasily continues
That is, until she hears the stone door grating against the floor, stealing out the light and sealing in the darkness
She is alone
Her heart pounding heavily, she can't decide whether to return or go on
If she goes back, she has nothing to return to
If she goes forward, she seeks the peril that lies ahead
She may not even live to see what lies at the end of the staircase
Steadying herself, she takes a step forwards
And trips on her gown
Suddenly she is tumbling faster and faster down the stairs, her bones cracking on the stone, her flesh bruising over and over again, the candles extinguished in a single gust of air
She can't stop her downward spiral; she can only continue helplessly as her body is mangled on an unforgiving, unending, tormenting tumble
In the next instant she is tumbling headfirst through space
Freefalling towards the ground
As she falls, something pulls around her neck
It is a stopwatch on a chain
She curls her fingers around the object; it is big enough to fit in her hand
Around and around the hand on the watch goes, quietly clicking away the seconds
She hits the stop button just as she hits the ground
...
She lies upon the ground, in pain, broken up in pieces
She still holds the watch, but now the hand has stopped moving
Her body trembles, shivering in her torn dress as she lies on a cold floor
With a last twitch of her hand, she starts the watch up again
And she is once again at the top of the stairwell, standing in a doorway full of light, candelabra in hand
Her dress is clean, untorn, all the pain in her body diminished to nothing
She starts, stepping back from the staircase to examine where she is
She now notices a staircase going up which she hadn't seen before
And starts to ascend
Immediately, the light begins to grow, and she notices the steps becoming more uneven
Higher and higher she goes, careful not to trip on her dress, and as she finally reaches the top she is hit with a blazing bright light
She breathes a happy sigh as she starts to dissipate, growing lighter, opaque, no longer tied down to her mortal cage
Once again, she feels something heavy around her neck, and picks up the stopwatch
She once again clicks the stop button, and drops the watch down the hollow of the stairwell
'For someone else, ' she whispers, as she becomes air