Cruciatus

Shadows of light, shadows of dark,

Shadows coiling around my heart.

Agony burning, tendrils of fire

Curling around me--a funeral pyre.

A reprise, a breath, a small mocking rest;

But no--new pain slams into my chest.

Torturous contortions--my body soon breaks;

My mind slips away, no longer awake.

I stir, limbs still trembling,

All thoughts disassembling…

The shadows have fled;

Perhaps I am dead?

An indistinct face appears at my side:

It's them--they've returned--I struggle to hide.

Calm voices this time, asking my name;

I do not remember: I crumple in shame.

The shadows have claimed me, I know this is true:

They've taken my mind, as they've also from you.

Our fate has been sealed, this darkness our lives;

For now it's enough that we have survived.

Our spirits are broken, our bodies as well;

Doomed now forever to lingering hell…

And yet hope remains, though a shadowy one:

Hope for the future: hope for our son.