When the Corpses Dance
By: Ezekiel Gonzales
The dead have risen from the grave to prance through the streets,
show the living what they’re missing
The six-foot tomb has become a party for the ones that have no time,
let the living join the dead in never ending fun
As they dance, children a-like skip to-and-fro relatives who’ve come from the depths of hell
Making way for the ones who have yet to join, they let the ground shake with their steps
When the ghosts had phased through walls, the living had run from their smiles–
fangs and dark liquid drip, drip, drip
Endless pain turned to laughter and fun,
as they watch the living go about their days in ignorance
“What a beautiful sight!”
They’d say, watching the children spiraling to suffrage and adults counting their days until their final breath
They dance to the tune of those who scream, wail, and die
What a lovely song
As they dance, the ugly things he living share dance with them to create an endless melody of song
Traveling through busy streets bustling with the living,
cars and lights will not stop them, tall skyscrapers wobble while plants burst with life
They take their time with their dance, letting the living join as they travel,
mingling with mold and dust
To forget is bliss in these lively times
With the living failing in life, the stench of death turns their heads to the ones that care not;
with the corpses filling the space they will drown in the emptiness of their minds
As their feet drag them to the ignorant corpses,
they change what they’ve thought to find nirvana within mind and soul
Their bodies find an alluring death
Their will has been crushed with the corpses stomping them down,
and they find themselves following, step-by-step, to their crushing beat
The wedding cards float down from the sky, an invitation to marry the thing they most love
Laughing with joy, the run wild with the dead as the rotten mold sheds from their skin
Making way for something more magnificent
Leaving their jobs and daily life, they will take to a new form and world
The corpses dance with living in tune to the rising of the sun and moon, a time to rejoice
With the pain they had, the leave at their doorsteps for their families to find
A nothingness fills their hearts as the dead hold their hands,
no longer scared but relieved to find their sweet relief
Their breathe freezes in the air, their sights fill empty spaces,
and their body becomes bright with death
Such wonderful feelings they have– ecstasy
With the dead joining hands with the living, hearts are no longer and brains melt in skulls
Moths and maggots fill their spots, letting the living continue their dance
The dead no longer have their maggots nor moths only thin bones,
and silenced prayers to ones upon– falling upon deaf ears it has
With the dead, long forgotten, they wished for a rebirth
This is their opportunity, skipping and jumping through the lives of the pained
Livers wrap 'round throats, kidneys fail drenching in yellow,
the pancreas gives lets the glucose evaporate, lung give the final exhale, hearts skip and they fall
Let the choir screech, let the marchers snap bones, the drummers bash their bodies,
pianists use that wire, trombone suck the body dry, clarinets bust ears,
let hell rain down upon the land, as they fall prey to the grave
To the six-foot home
Tiny devils dressed in red capes and pointy horns dawning their heads,
halo’s long forgotten, tap-tap-tap on shoulders and whisper sweet nothings
They 'round their way back to the grave,
broken tombs and overgrown weeds decorate the cemetery like party favors
Cups of devil water to quench thirst, swirly straws to entice, and the cubes of eyes to flavor
With the leftovers they give to the final living, a party gift, a last farewell
With the dead roaming the streets, the living watching with glee,
children scatter to see the thing that they will be– a true sight for sore eyes
They wave their arms, shake their legs, twist their necks,
pop their hips, and carve their names in to the streets
The living takes their time to twist and boogie for they now not how they do the corpse dance– a dance too lively for them.
The little angels descend from the Holy World to strip the dead of their bones,
drag the shells to their tombs
Their halo’s shine with pure light, raising the veil form the livings eyes, giving sight to life back
A truly, so very, sad corpse dance
Shaking and twisting, their bones snap, pop, grind with resistance
The living will wake with hesitance as they find their will– to accept?
Tiny devils stab their horns in to their minds, intent to spread and control
What they can’t and can see was always up to the living
Bone against bone, the dead mingle with the lives of those upon the surface
showing what they’re missing underneath
Never ending fun, full of something magical it’s almost deafening
To let the flesh melt, expose insides to eat and devour
Look at the little bugs that infest
Look at the way you shake, you twist
Give the ground a chance and you will find the reason to leave it all behind
Find a way to exist with bones and dirt,
a coffin of wood to cover the unsightly shell you’ve discarded
Dance, dance, dance, dance...
Taking the stairs to unfiltered light, they stare in wonder
The ones who dance have found new purpose; let it go and find the dead
Death is merely a stepping stone
Raise a glass to the infected, to the impure, to the ones we’ve forgotten,
to a sequence we can follow blindly against the light
Let’s give our all to the slab of stone, and revel in the muck that covers
Follow the beat of bones
Shed your clothes
Rip your insides apart
Twist, snap, pop, scream, break, dance for all to see
Such a sight to behold
We’ve joined hands in song and body– taking pride in the accomplishment we’ve made
Risking it all for a relief we share, take this moment to glow in the dark
Eyes rolled back, jaw unhinged, crushed head, broken nose,
squished ears, a beautiful masterpiece of art
Dancing nights away to continue with time,
and find yourself dancing with the yard of dead–
let yourself bark and howl
Chase those that continue with living, find them and tear them to shreds
Show what it’s like to be dead
We all move to the beat shovels, crush the hearts of those that watch, dance among the buried
Water ripples
An ever-flowing cycle
Continue to dance, dance, dance, dance...
Smile with glee with the dead you’ve joined, we have become one with dirt
The Holy World cannot reach you here
Follow the drums and take the time to smell the rot growing
If the dance wasn’t enough, the melody will surely caress your soul in to tune
The dead rose from the grave to prance through the streets, and show the living what lacked
The six-foot tomb became a party for the ones that have no time,
letting both join the dead in never ending fun
As they dance, children a-like skip to-and-fro to the sound that came from the depths of hell
Made way for those that joined, the ground rumbled with their steps
A final goodbye
this was inspired by the song: Shikabane no Odori / Dance of the Corpses by Kikuo (i highly recommend listening to them!)
