The Drunk Drivers

Level 8 and 3/4 (New Level)

As we descended from the fraudulent eighth circle
Downward we traveled to the level
Home to the most treacherous of sinners

We entered into a cave, and were thrown into dishevel
Gasping for air and splashing of swimmers
All around I could feel the spirit of the devil

Said Virgil, as we passed into the inner
Area of the cold dark cave
“Welcome to level 8 ¾ , the home to the sinner

Who have proven to be anything but brave,
Who have ignored the safety of other drivers on the road
And who have allowed their alcoholic crave

To give in to the pressure and all of the goads
Of the people around them, tempting them to pick up a cup
And letting alcoholic toxins to corrode

Their minds and their hearts until it is too late to back up
And stop themselves from starting up their truck
And attempt to conjure up

Some intelligence and quit being a schmuck
In order to prevent there being no survivors
Of an innocent car being struck

Head on by this so called “drunk driver”.
The people who reside here in level 8 and three quarters
Are the very survivors

Of tragedies worse than being shot with a mortar.
They chose their own fun and stupidity
Over the well being of others, as goes the news of the reporters.

There is absolutely no validity
In the actions these human beings took
Which turned them into monsters and caused so much morbidity.”

We turned the corner and I took a look
Down into a ditch that reeked of vodka and beer.
I took a step closer and the whole ground shook.

Bodies down below me splashed around in these sphere
Drowning in the alcohol being poured over their heads.
And experiencing the mere

Miss of their death as all of these brain dead
Human beings are forced to dodge totaled cars
Being thrown at their heads.

The men tread water and gasp for breath reaching up to grab on to a bar
Of the ladder that leads to a jail cell
Where they well live for eternity if they ever make it out of this obstacle of cars

And overflowing alcohol that crashes down with the sound of a bell.
The deceased victims of the drunk driving event
Clinch on to the ankles of these men who fell

Victim to this alcohol and toxic drug that bent
Their judgment-- The victims pull the drunk drivers down
As they struggle to the surface—all their energy is spent.

Of all of the levels Virgil and I had seen, this one takes the crown
For the home to the sinners most disturbing of all.
The entire time down in level 8 ¾ my face held a frown

It is so sad to see them fall,
These men who could have been so great.
As we continued on to level 9, I started to bawl.

Terza Rima:
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Explanatory Paragraph

My original canto is an addition to Dante's Inferno with the introduction of a new level, level 8 and three quarters. This level is home to sinners who have committed the crime of drunk driving. This sin is especially serious in my opinion, much worse than fraud but maybe not quite as serious as the treachery of level 9. Due to the characteristics and seriousness of the sin, I chose to create my own level in accordance with the sin. Additionally, the sin and punishment that I have come up with follows the requirements of "contropasso" in many ways. The beings who had committed the crime of drunk driving during their lives are thrown in to a ditch over flowing with diverse kinds of alcohol. As they drown in the toxins, totaled cars are thrown at them and they must dodge them in order to attempt to reach the surface and gasp for air. The innocent victims of these drunk driving accidents clinch on to the ankles of the criminals and attempt to pull them under in order to achieve retribution for the pain these criminals have caused them. On the surface, if the criminals are to somehow reach it, there sits a jail cell, where these people will sit and rot for eternity. Alcohol was so important to them in their lives that they allowed it to take innocent people's lives. As a result, these people are drenched in alcohol and have an endless supply of it in the after life.

Jen O'Connor, Period 1