The Procrastinators

While walking through the only the second circle of the forsaken place
(a)
I found my attention to be drawn to a very odd sight.
(b)
I turned to Virgil to ask why there was such an assortment of people in what appeared to be a waiting room.
(c)

He turned to me and shook his head, then pointed to his right.
(b)
Above there was a sign that said "train to heaven" and I asked,"if they were going why they have this doom."
(c)
Virgil looked at me, expecting me to understand. When I didn't his mouth went tight.
(b)

He sighed and said to me that this place is of the procrastinator's tomb.
(c)
"Tomb?" I asked. But the sign says that they are to leave.
(d)
"No," replied my guide, getting increasingly more frustrated, "they are stuck here as a child in the womb."
(c)

As I grew increasing curious, my guide told me that there was no need to grieve.
(d)
In life these people put of to another time so as not to do their work,
(e)
so now in death they are to wait as they have made others, now they sit around while their chest's heave.
(d)

"Are they ever to move on to heaven as the sign says or is their vessel blocked by some odd quirk?"
(e)
"No," answered my guide, again, "there is a delay."
(f)
"These wretches are bound to stay in this room.They only have this area to lurk."
(e)

I was confused and fond nothing that I could say.
(f)
Then I asked were they to sit here and that is all, or is there something for them to do?
(g)
Virgil explained then that these people told others that they would have what the other desired the next day,
(f)

But as time went on they only made excuses, so they now have that to rue.
(g)
Their ship will never come. They destiny is to merely just wait.
(h)
The people periodically looked up at the sign which flashed a word in bright royal blue.
(g)

"DELAYED", and as the souls of the procrastinators saw that the ship was once again late
(h)
they tore at their hair and fists and pounded each head in a fit of rage.
(i)
"This place in Hell," my guide shared with me, "is my least favorite state."
(h)

"There are so many people who are forced to stand like a dog trapped in a cage,
(i)
and if they so desired in life, this punishment would be easy to escape,
(j)
for all one has to do is be on time, respect a deadline, and arrive on time to the stage."
(i)

I thought on this for a time and agreed with the punishment of this shape,
(j)
for it seemed to be reasonable to torture these felons with what torment they had used on others.
(k)
So, I then turned to my companion and we left with the swish from our cape.
(j)

Procrastinating is a sin that I very much detest, but is one that I have found myself to be at fault for. I have always hated when I ask somebody for a favor and they agree to a certain deadline, but then force me to wait for them after they had promised a certain time. So, I put procrastinators in a sort of loading station where they are told they will be allowed to leave Hell, but the ship is procrastinating and taking its time in order to get to the platform. This forces the sinners to experience the exact feelings that they have forced other people to have.

Zack Papianni, Period 6

The Procrastinators

Level 3.5

My canto would be placed in level 3.5 after Gluttony and before Greed. This level houses the Procrastinators, those who wasted their time because of distractions and waited until the last minute to accomplish anything. Much of their life was wasted and many opportunities to become someone were taken for granted. These imprisoned souls are punished every hour of their immortal lives. In this level there is a gate which leads to the outside world where they can get another chance at life and start over. There is a timer on top of the gate which is set to one hour. As the timer gets closer to zero the gate begins to close. The souls are placed a mile from the gate and all they have to do to be free is reach the gate but there is a catch. They are unable to move until the timer reaches the last ten minutes. After that they are free from their invisible chains and they have to rush to the gate before the timer reaches zero. As they get closer to the gate the ground begins to burn their feet and they start to feel heavier. If they are unable to reach the gate in time they are transported back to the start and have to run again.

As we traveled further into the third circle (A)

The procrastinators came into view (B)

All of them extremely tired and with blisters on their feet (C)

I asked Virgil what he knew (B)

About the souls who line up at the mete (C)

He told me they waited for the cue (B)

And it was the timer they had to beat (C)

They are the ones who wasted time (D)

and waited until the last minute to complete (C)

Any task that was prime (D)

As punishment they run towards the gate (E)

burning their feet because of their crime (D)

The timer is set to an hour but they have to wait (E)

until the last ten minutes are left (F)

to run the mile and escape their fate (E)

But as they ran they began to feel heft (F)

and they were soon exhausted before they could reach (G)

while their will to run was also bereft (F)

We watched as they suffered and let out a screech (G)

No one made it and they had to start over (H)

For all eternity to God they will beseech (G)

I realized the souls would never crossover (H)

And soon Virgil told me that we should get going (I)

But a shade called out to me and asked to come over (H)

He told me he had some advice worth knowing (I)

"Do not waste your time and you will not be (J)

like us doomed to reap what we have been sowing" (I)

After our talk i was finally ready (J)

To continue the journey through treacherous Hell (K)

And in the distance i could finally see (J)

The descent down that endless stairwell (K)

As i approached the stairs i felt very sad (L)

Because i knew that the man would never dispel (K)

The terrible fate because he was forbad (L)

From leaving the level of false hope (M)

All because he wasted the life he had (L)

Bryan Mendoza, Period 6

The Animal Killers

We continued on, shaking from the screams of the violent.

Our steps echoed in the eerie darkness,

Until we reached the middle layer before the 8^th ring.

Virgil paused and pointed to a huge cage within the abyss,

With rusted bars that contained shrieking,

Only hell could rightfully warn a soul to feel this hopeless.

The floor was dirty, the dungeon was dusty, the cage wreaking.

I squinted in the shadows, and out of twisted curiosity

I found savage beasts running rampant, and screaming.

Primal and barbaric, their frenzied snarls sounded like a monstrosity.

One million of them were bare,

on all fours, their eyes full of ferocity.

Chains, whips, and guns were found in the lair,

“They are humans”, Virgil revealed.

I dropped my jaw in shock as I continued to stare.

“For their offenses, they are sealed

Within their violent bodies forever

To await torturous pain that only maliciousness can yield.

Stripped of control, they will never

escape Artemis’ contraption and wrath.

For she herself forged the bars to never sever.

Dog fighters, Dove associates, D&G followed their path,

To torture animals for their gain.

Fear, distrust, and anger between animal and man is now the aftermath.

Artemis sent them here for the selfish pain,

They inflicted on innocent creatures for money and fashion.

A goddess of the hunt, she has realized times have changed.

She visits from time to time without compassion,

Whips them, burns them, and chains them all,

Using all of eternity to teach them the same lesson.”

We walked past the cage and watched them maul,

Each other, gnawing at flesh and breaking bone.

As we reached Level 8, the snapping jaws never ceased the brawl.

Explanatory Paragraph

I chose something very near and dear to me, which are animal rights. I’m against the mistreatment/ abuse and manipulation of animals and the act of hunting. The ring I created lies between the 7^th (The Violent) and 8^th (Fraudulent and Malicious) because animal abusers are cruel, malicious, and neglect the fact that they should preserve life instead of destroy it. Artemis, Greek Goddess of the hunt and wild animals, herself made the cage that keeps the sinners inside. The sinners in their previous lives (cosmetic and food companies, dog fighters, fashion designers) are all guilty of mistreating and or killing animals for their own superficial gain. Perfumes, chocolates, deodorants, and make ups are tested on animals, as while animals are murdered for their fur for the sake of the runway. Artemis realizes that people are killing animals now for superficial reasons (not reasons of survival) and is angered by the slaughter of her precious creatures. Millions of the sinners are kept in a huge cage and are stripped of all the humanly control of their bodies. These sinners took advantage of animals because they were “inferior”, so now they are turned into the same “beasts” they killed. They are forced to live in eternity of savagery and constant violence amongst each other. It is one hundred percent primal and wild within the bars of the cage. The sinners fight amongst each other and even kill one another. Artemis visits periodically and tortures the wild humans. The punishment fits the crime because Artemis inflicts the same pain and fear the sinners inflicted on animals in their previous lives.

Renee Curva, Period 6

Shopaholics

Those who spent too much money had

drifted into this level of Hell.

These souls were only concerned with the latest fad.

Nothing seemed well

when these lost shoppers shouted

because they did no like their new perfume's smell.

Their judgements were clouded

by the extreme time spent shopping,

but the tortured souls now pouted.

Their punishments seemed cruel,

but reflected their actions;

selfishness ran rampant on this level.

Virgil bided me: "The gate to this level

is dressed like a Walmart.

The occasion is black as these souls: Black Friday."

I approached the gate and the glass doors slid open.

The door buster signs and sales

littered the walls of this horrid Walmart.

The deceased who used to ignore everything

to line up and wait for sales

were now constantly trampled by an endless

hoard of crazed shopoholics.

The carts rolled over their fingers,

and their faces were mashed into

the linoleum by the feet of angry shoppers.

I said to my guide, "If their intentions were good

too save their families money,

Then why do they suffer

at the hands of what they loved?"

And he to me: "These people were

greedy and did nothing to stop.

They blew off all they knew,

especially for a boutique shop."

As we ventured through the slew

of their blood and dismembered fingers,

I decided it was time to leave and venture through.

---

The sin I chose to depict in my interpretation was obsessive shopping. In this poem, Dante and Virgil find themselves in a new level of Hell: 3.5. This is the appropriate level of Hell for these shopping souls because it is in-between the gluttonous, greedy, and wasteful. The sinners on this level became so involved with bargain hunting and door busters that they shut out everything in their lives, including God. Although their intentions to save money may have been good, they lost the light and blew off their loved ones, leading them on a path straight to Hell. Since obsessive shopping is often associated with Black Friday, these lost souls are eternally stuck in a Walmart on Black Friday, being trampled by angry customers and run over with shopping carts. This reflects the insanity that has occurred on recent Black Fridays, when people have literally been trampled to death because of a sale.

Brendan McGeown, Period 6

Littering

As we journeyed further down into the world
I could only watch in horror as to what I saw.
These people, however, did seem fit for they're pain.

The screams tore through me like a rip-saw.
Even to say what I was witnessing would cause an eye-strain.
These sinners were buried under tons of garbage which somewhat resembled cole slaw.

The smell of the trash left an appalling odor that rattled the brain
Into making oneself regurgitate.
The sinners also got struck with shards of glass that left a maroon bloodstain.

The garbage was flung onto each until it would accumulate
Into a giant pile of trash
Until it was ready to relocate.

The piles were put on a conveyor belt about to be in a mash.
The blood ran thick on the rubber as the sinners
Made their way, no time to dash.

In front they can see a deep pit.
They don't know what's ahead.
They should have thrown out their trash instead.

On the conveyor belt to their doom
A pit full of sinners mixed with the trash
Decaying and rotting with the maggots.

They pile up with the smell rising and burning the eyes.
One by one the mounds fall in.
They stack still never reaching the top.

The maggots eat their skin and suck them dry.
The trash entering their wounds rot them inside.
Skulls and bones lay at the bottom.

Wallowing in filth these sinners get what they deserve.
Should've made sure the trash made it in the can.
The litterers laid there decaying away and no hope to ever get out of the pit.

This canto is about the litterers. They would go in the seventh level of hell, because they are expressing violence towards the environment. They aren't keeping it clean and basically hurting it. For their punishment each of the litterers are put on a conveyor belt buried under tons of trash. In the trash is broken glass which wounds the sinners and makes them bleed leaving a trail on the conveyor belt. They make their way to a pit where the trash keeps piling up but never seems to get to the top. Once in the pit the maggots will feast on the litterers skin and suck the blood out of them, while the trash makes it into the wounds and rots the body from the inside. Some litterers are already completely eaten and their skeletons lay at the bottom of the pile. Since they were hurting mother nature because they didn't properly dispose of their trash, the trash disposes of them.

Shayne Kamat, Period 6

Discrimination

As we stepped off Nessus's boat and onto land,
My eyes cast a glance upon an endless row
Of shacks that sat along the fiery river.

The places were in no better care than were

The many shantytowns that came plenty

After the darkest Tuesday: old wood made me deter

Myself from deciding to enter any

Of these ugly houses. They were together

Packed inward, with the space of just one body

Separating one dwelling from another.

The denizens of this unsightly area

Were cloaked in nothing but simple attires

That once covered their bodies from the neck down.

Now the garments were tattered, torn, singed, soiled,

And any combination of the four looks

Of a wanderer. An unknown action had

Burned the bodies of these helpless wretched souls,

While the brothers of Nessus lashed their backs

With metal hook whips dipped into the river.

A large wave from the molten Phlegethon

Struck one of the homes, setting the shack alight.

The fire spread to the other shacks in the

Instant that a horsefly takes to flap its wings.

The centaurs whipped the souls of the condemned and,

With the lack of water apparent, ordered

Them to destroy their own places so as to

Halt the spread of the fire. The blaze caught

The denizens as they took down their own quarters,

Charring their flesh even as they continued

To take down the scorching embers of old wood

.

“It appears that we have come not at the right

Time, master,” I say. “Everyone seems to be

In a panic regarding this fervent blaze.”

“The fires here are a constant occurrence,”

My guide explained. “More are by the horizon.

This place holds many persons of prominence

Who violently rejects people unlike himself.

It is not wise to linger; the fire will cease

Only at the gate that holds the suicides.”

With that, my great master ushered me to turn,

Towards the forest that grew at the black edge

Of the community that forever burns.

As the poets step off of Nessus’s boat after crossing the Phlegethon, they arrive at a large decrepit village, comprised of wooden shanties. The people here are charred to various degrees, and are whipped with molten hooks. A wave of fire causes a blaze to erupt. With no water available, the souls are ordered to take down their shacks to stop the blaze. Those closest to the fire are burned alive, but are forced to continue to demolish their burning homes.

This is the QUARTERS OF THE DISCRIMINANT, which houses the souls of those who judged people based on their beliefs or skin color. The souls are forced to live in the shacks of slavehouses, with only a simple cloth as their personal belongings. The fire is the rejection that the souls emanated in their lifetime: no matter how much they tried to stop it, they could never put it out completely before it burned them. This is only heightened by the presence of the overseeing centaurs.

Virgil states that the fire will engulf their area soon, so they do not speak to anyone, and walk into the next ring of level seven.

Greg Rycharski, Period 1

Nail Biting

Sorrow dawned on me as I looked at the detail,
a party room filled with sequence
and in it, sad looking souls, never quite looking tip-top.

Nervousness has consequences--
their fingertips bled
on big hands, near to their broken mouths, all adolescences

Deadlines engraved in their heads, unreachable goals only lie ahead.
Worry is what they wasted their life on, living it all wrong.
Never once evaluating what exists rather than what's in their head.

Now they waste their time in hell in the waste they did when they felt they were strong,
by biting their nails forever
a disgusting habit they wished they hadn't done for so long.

"Now we wish our habit would have been severed.
For those whose nervousness was pushed to the brink.
Beautiful nails? Never.

Slowly and slowly they shrink,
until there's nothing more to chew.
they're gone even before you can blink",

I heard one mumble about how there was nothing else to do.
But now a punishment to match,
I guess it's where they belong just like a pair, like a baby and its coo.

The destroyed, once lovely, blond adolescence wanting to catch
me up, by saying aloud, "My nails dwindled away and my mouth suffered greatly.
Hell became alive on Earth something wicked like a witch."

Life was no better than hell is now. They spend their time worrying overwhelmingly
now condemned to worry about worrying, starring
at what once was and will never be, sadly.

The young boys and girls, in the figures they were when stress had taken over, sharing
the same nervous thoughts, the same memory, and the same broken jaws and bleeding
fingers, lurking in a wonderful ballroom, pondering

Why they aren't dancing, instead of dancing, why they aren't singing,
instead of just singing, thinking, instead of doing. This is how they lived
and this is why they died. They could have been loving

Instead of questioning their love and who they loved.
They bit their nails; but that's not their only crime. They wasted their lives a long the way
And now worrying is not their only punishment because they lied,

Lied to themselves that nervous habits will make the stress go away
Now broken and ugly they remain
Hurt and scarred by their own hands, and now they're here to stay.


As Dante enters the third and a half level, paralleled to the level that contained the sins of the Wasteful, he sees a ballroom. In the room young boys and girls linger in their loneliness. This is where the nail bitters are left to stay for eternity, in a hell that appears to be quite nice, initially. However, once Dante is able to fully see those who reside here, his heart aches for them. The sinners look young, but destroyed. Their hands large and noticeable, with nails bitten down to the core and blood dripping down from each finger. Their mouths matched the wounds their fingers developed, chipped teeth, blood tinted tongues, and distorted jaws. They are forced to sit in their thoughts, as if sentenced to a hell they created in their own minds. The nail bitters spent their lives worrying, being inactive, and wasting their time and opportunities on petty thoughts. They share a similar memory of being at a dance they were too nervous to participate in. Now they suffer through that painful memory unable to resist biting their nails, forever- past the point of immense pain and anguish.

Kristina Ripp, Period 1

Procrastination

All stanzas follow terza rima style

Though the torments of the gluttons still haunt, my Guide and I continue our descent.
An odd ticking noise resounds in the distance.
I feel a sense of hastiness, yet an urge to slow down rebounds.

Virgil spoke, "These souls of the damned have a conflicting existence.
They are forced to shift their arms around and around
the face of their clock with much resistance,

For they wasted time when on Earth they were bound.
Now they must be permanently productive
To keep time going with every tick and tock of that sound."

I did not even see the souls at first, for the setting was disruptive.
Blurs of blank white and numbers swirled and enveloped Circle three and a half.
I wanted it all to come to a halt, for I too felt like a captive.

Then, I saw the pitiful procrastinators, as they suffer like a slaughtered calf.
They are trapped in countless clocks that never cease to tick.
Pain courses through them all like an overworked staff.

The once lazy lingerers now twist their arms unnaturally, making me sick.
Their fingers point to numbers one through twelve, the black font seeping into their veins.
The souls tire, but keep going, staying rhythmic.

My Guide directed me to a specific clock, foreshadowing upcoming pain.
As the sinner pointed to three o'clock, the clock's twin bells boomed.
The hands' owner cried as his eardrums bled, and I too, wanted the shrill sound to wane.

After a whole minute, the racket had ceased. Then, the sinner's arms ticked and resumed.
Virgil, then, points out another poor soul, too tired to move on.
He paused when he needed to tick, then suddenly a ray of blue zoomed.

The source was Chronos, the keeper of time and beyond.
As I stared at the newly frozen soul, he explains: "They all wasted my gift of time.
They spare time, but I won't spare them. I freeze all whose energy is gone.

I then encase them in hourglasses for their crime,
Only to thaw in scorching sand, trapped in glass."
Chronos then smiled nefariously as the sinner painfully lost his rime.

I myself got chills as these frightening images were burned into my memory.
Yet, Virgil and I still pursued darker darkness, continuing to travel down far.

After listening to Ciacco's political prophecy, Dante and Virgil descend down to Circle 3 and a half. There's a rushed environment of blurs and numbers of a clock, for no time is wasted here. The souls of the procrastinators also wallow here, for they excessively indulged (Circle 3) in free time and greedily wasted it (Circle 4). They are trapped in clocks, their arms forcefully used as hands of a clock. The procrastinators must now work every second of their afterlives When a clock reaches an hour, twin bells sound loudly and painfully. This constantly reminds them that they can no longer rest, they have to stay alert. When a sinner tires and stops, he or she is blasted frozen by Chronos, the keeper of time. This represents how the sinners acted like they had all the time in the world, as if it was frozen. He then traps the soul in an hourglass of burning sand to defrost them. Each second the sinner wasted on earth comes back to punish him or her as grains of scorching sand. Dante keeps these horrifying images in mind and continues his descent with Virgil to the next Circle.

Leandra Lipat, Period 1

Drug Addicts

In my greed I wrap
The tourniquet around my arm
The syringe filled with venom

Ignoring all that leads to harm
The dose at its maximum
Expecting to do its charm

Believing life at its optimum
Unknowingly taking my last breath
Leading it to its minimum

Now I awake
Reliving the nightmares of my past
Not able to escape

Seeing all who I have hurt
Hearing their cries
Realizing my selfish deeds

Suddenly feeling the guilt
Wishing to repent
But not able to make amends

Each episode was once a blur
But I forever live the reality
Of what I have done

Here I am again
In reach of my crutch
Hoping to ease the pain

But instead finding
That it no longer has its effect
To erase the torturous memories

As the flashbacks become more vivid
And my escape now useless
My thoughts are haunted eternally

My canto is in the point of view of a sinner that has died from an overdose of heroine which lead to her going to the seventh level of hell. I chose level 7 for my canto because people that are addicted to drugs are harming themselves, their relationship with God and everyone around them. The drug can also influence them to commit violent crimes such as robbery, assault and murder. The sinner's punishment is to have to relive each event where they have hurt anyone or done anything harmful. They are also in reach of the specific drug that they crave, but when injected, has no effect on them. This leads to them feeling the guilt and pain of everything they have done for the rest of eternity without any escape.

Larissa Kastorsky, Period 1

Sloth

*All stanzas follow terza rima

I awoke from my, what felt like eternal slumber
Hounded by yet more suffering souls
The torment never seems to encumber

The circle between third and fourth whom Argus is in control
Always watching with his hundred eyes
Over troubled spirits, all in one desert knoll

His skin was grey, his height oversize
His hundred eyes, all black as night
But all are watching, just like spies

With these poor souls, their indolence was trite
Lovers of sleep and neglect
Now they must not be lazy in the slight

Alexandra Desjardins, Period 1

They're forced to work until they're wrecked
Forced to work while the hot sun melts
Their flesh, to stop would be a great disrespect

To Argus, their overseer who whips them with belts
None dare stop to take a breath
For fear of the welts

Of the poor sods sentenced to this cruel eternal death
One unlucky slave fell to the ground
His whole body shook, that poor slave named Heth

He said: "Please help me good sirs!" as Virgil and I surround
We lifted him up, holding steady as he stood
He told us his story, his words seemingly confound:

"In my home, I'd stay for good
I moved not an inch from my bed
Why I stayed in that house, no one including me understood.

Eventually, I began seeing a talking head
I was going crazy! The sloth had made me
Until the town thought I was too crazy and made me drop dead.

And now I'm stuck here, never to be set free
My bones are weak and brittle,
My eyes so full of debris."

Suddenly, the giant slaver whips Heth, always looking for a way to belittle
Forced to work for all eternity
Poor Heth slowly whittling away, little by little

Dante and Virgil have made it to layer 3.5 Hell, the circle between gluttony and greed. This sin is placed there because like greed but unlike gluttony, sloth not only effects the sinner, but also the people around the sinner such as their family and friends. Indolent souls work for all eternity, making up for the labor they could have done while they were alive. The giant, hundred eyed monster, Argus is the slave master, watching over all of his slaves and making sure they are always working. The slaves work in the scorching hot sun that burns the flesh right off their bone, but they can't let that stop them, or they'll be beaten by one of Argus' giant belts. The workers also work on one hill rather than being in their own seperate areas. This makes it so that one soul's laziness effects the rest group as well.

Alexandra Desjardins, Period 1

Abortion

After getting out of the area of bleeding trees
I was brought to an even crueler place
Where the land was hazy, with a freezing breeze

There was no evidence of life in the space
It seemed like everything, even plant life, left for the coming winter
There was nothing but giant egg-like figures made of lace

The eggs looked transparent, slimy and flexible like rubber
They were wrapped vertically by spiderweb-like strings
Which rooted to the ground, making the egg hover

At first I did not know what to make of these strange things
They were almost what I would expect a moth's cocoon to look like
A moth that had wings as big as an angel's wings

I looked with perplexity to my Master childlike
Who simply continued walking towards them
And looked over his shoulder, silently beckoning me

As I neared them my blurry vision became clearer
Suddenly, my quivering heart skipped a beat
Inside one of the cocoon was a beautiful, but ghostly women

He skin was sickly pale
Her long black hair looked dry like tree roots
Her body was exposed, but covered by her arms and legs

She hovered in the cocoon, bent in fiddle position
She looked to be a sleep or unconscious
Like a baby in its mother's womb

Enlightenment stirred me as I looked at the whole picture,
All the cocoons imprisoned women
Old, young, middle aged, and babies

I hurried over to my guide, who had been walking a head of me
Looking at my expression, he said to me,
"These are women who had committed the sin of abortion."

I said to him, "But how is that when some of the cocoons hold babies?"
He did not reply but pointed to a random cocoon
Within it was an old hag that looked like she should have dies a long time ago

She was sickly skinny, like a skeleton that emerged from a grave
I looked in horror, and horror still as she began to scream
Her cries sounded like they were from pain

As she yelled her cocoon was bursting
After a while of witnessing this unpleasant scene
The skeleton dropped to the ground lifeless

Her body began to disintegrate into sand
Before I could say anything, my Guide said,
"Keep watching."

I looked again to see something like a sprout growing
From the same spot the dead body reunited with the ground
Wrapped inside the sprout's bud was a pearl-like oval


This passage of the story takes place in level 7 1/2. Here is where those who committed the sin of abortion are punished. The women sent to this part of Hell must step in the shoes of the babies they killed. All of them start off as embryos in the cocoon, and grow into babies. They are never born, however, as the grow into children, then adults, to old women. They can never be born, just as the babies they killed can never be born. The women age until the moment before they die, and then they must suffer through the pain and anguish of childbirth. Just like abortion, the moment the women finally are born they die. Like the bible verse dust to dust, the women turn to earth and again a cocoon grows with them trapped inside. The circle starts over.

Khaya Ramcharita, Period 2

The Vain

Circle 7- Round 1 1/2

Then, I traveled to this next strange level.
What I saw did not look at all like hell.
The Victoria's Secret Angel models seemed to contradict the devil.

Looking at these gorgeous models was nice, but something began to smell.
There were these poor, ugly women with their eyes pouring out tears.
These tears went out of control once the models began to yell,

"Ugly!" "Gross!" "Fat!" "Smelly!" "You'll be like this for over a million years!!!"
The tears streaming down the womens' faces turned black.
This was because of their dark emotions, having the feelings of sadness, jealousy, and fear.

You could see the agony in their faces, and their emotions were not an act.
They were all hurting on the inside and out while thousands of mirrors stared them in the face.
One of them complained about their horrible nails and the mirrors suddenly cracked.

Shattered glass was everywhere and even landed in an old, dusty make up case.
Virgil finally said "That used to be hers until hell turned her this way."
I looked toward him as he stood on the Angels' runway base.

I asked him to make sure, "So these sinners had to be perfect and look good all day?"
"Of course, but now these conceited, self-absorbed women have to suffer with being eternally ugly, worthless, and gross."
Virgil and I almost felt bad for these sinners and wish there was something that we could say.

Yet again, one of the angels began to boast,
"I'm pretty, gorgeous, and have everything. You all are so nasty looking, it seems as though you'll rot!"
The model that spoke really meant what she said and had the most.

With one of the women, this really seemed to hit an emotional spot.
She began to look uglier and cry and mourn.
I could see this was another punishment, and the women were suffering a lot.

I felt awkward being around these women, who felt ripped apart and torn,
so I asked Virgil, "Is the next level as emotionally painful as this?"
He replied, "Don't worry my dear friend. If you know what's ahead, you will feel worn."

So, we departed as the ex-superficials continued to be dissed.
I even felt bad because I know they will be suffering with emotional pain for eternity.
But they had their chance to change. Too bad it was a chance they missed.


Coming out of round one, Dante seemed to feel bad. But coming to this new semi-level was different. It is very hard to tell how the people here sinned because of the Victoria's Secret Angel Models strutting down the runway. But here the crime of the sinners is being conceited and self-absorbed. Every single one of them lived a life full of glamour where looks were everything and nothing else was important. The sinners also bullied anyone else who didn't dress pretty, wear makeup, or look a certain way

Level Seven consists of many different sins, one of them being blasphemy. The sinners constantly had to look a certain way and cared only about themselves. They were hiding who they were and showed a fake person by wearing loads of makeup and by covering themselves in high-end clothes. Without any of that there would have been a completely different person, but they chose to be frauds.

Now the people on this level have a mirrors in front of their faces at all times. They all have no makeup on, wear dirty, ripped clothing, smell horrendous, have rotten, yellow teeth, matted hair, and smell like a sewer. They are to suffer while staring at their ugly, disgusting selves and looking at what they are not on the sides of them. Here, there are runways where the Victoria's Secret Angels yell cruel, demeaning words in their face. The more they hear these words and look at themselves and the models, the more black tears will stream down their face. When the tears keep coming, they turn uglier, fatter, smellier, and nastier!

There is a constant feeling of sadness, jealousy, and wrath. The second one of them speaks, the mirror in front of them will shatter into a million pieces, symbolizing how broken they feel inside and how ugly they look on the outside. None of them will ever learn that looks are not everything because they were too superficial. Living like this is constant emotional pain is worse than anything physical. This is why they will suffer for eternity, with their inside emotions feeling like their outside appearances.

Jillian McLaughlin, Period 2

Hoarders

Hoarding

Dante and Virgil arrive at circle 3.5 of hell, where the gluttonous are sent. The specific gluttons sent here are hoarders, people who in their lives have hoarded all their belongings and had houses stacked to the ceilings with useless waste. Hoarding is a form of gluttony, in that it is a habitual greed. Because they refused to clean and detach themselves from their trash, they are now forced to clean the offices of hell, as Beelzebub, the demon of gluttony, continuously stacks the rooms with more papers and used or broken office supplies. The flow of trash never ends, meaning the gluttons are sentenced to endlessly clean for all eternity, not stopping if their hands bleed or form blisters. The floors are lined with glue, making it a sticky environment, in which it is very unpleasant to walk. Unlike their houses, which were complete filth, they must keep these offices spotless so Beelzebub can project more litter at them when they’re finished.

*the rhyme is throughout the whole poem

As I set foot into this strange new realm,
I was puzzled. It felt as if I had left hell,
for other than the heat, it appeared as a normal room.

Everything seemed fine and well,
until I saw the hoarders meeting their doom.
How ironic was the fate in which they fell.

Holding nothing but a broom and plastic bags unfurled,
having gluttonously hoarding every item they acquired
in their life, they must sweep the offices of the underworld.

Since any ticket, tissue, or toy for which they were fiends
they passionately refused to detach from,
their homes remained cluttered and never were cleaned.

Beelzebub now commands them to sweep and dust all his scum.
Mercilessly, he’d continue to let it pile.
A man would have to clean as blood flowed from his blistered thumb.

Papers lined with sticky glue, I stepped through the bile
came face to face with a worker himself. He said
to me, “It keeps coming, it never ends,” with a creepy, forced smile.

For over a brand new wreck I had to tread.
When he cleaned up his mess, it automatically appeared.
Above Beelzebub’s throne I read,

“Atone all ye gluttons who enter, for the lives in which austerity ye feared.”
Most of them mainly had papers and documents to sweep,
but the worst of them all was sentenced to clean the demon’s beard.

“Guide,” I said, “how will we scale this trash heap?”
He said, “don’t fret, for we must just sift through.
We can do it, it is not that deep.”

Beelzebub threw more litter at us; the pile grew.
But we crafted a tunnel,
and from this level of hell we withdrew.

Kiril Manchevski, Period 2

The Greedy

We then entered the sixth level of hell
where i saw those who exercised greed
and in their misery forever they will dwell.


From this torment they will never be freed.
Unwillingly they will approach the lord of the dead,
being frozen upon arrival, facing their sinister deed.


While gazing at the souls waiting for punishment I spotted a head,
Bernie Maddoff, the leader of the line and surely the worst
my guide told me "with the devil he will lay in bed."


The sinners suffer and in pain are immersed.
The greedy gag and puke mucus, blood, and coins,
Unable to relieve themselves and forever cursed.


Condemned here for not following what God enjoins.
And now, a whole new group fell into my sight
As with Maddoff this new group, the NBA, rejoins.


Not satisfied with millions, now lost all its might,
greed paved these sinners' way to eternal pain,
their once sunny days, now transformed into infinite night.


These victims frozen upon Hades, receive a horrid rain
consisting of coins and wallets directed at them with force
and their silent suffering and muffled screams all in vain.


Hades shoves money down their throats with no remorse
until they are filled to the point of explosion;
the remains of their bodies is Cerberus' main course.


All this punishment due to their moral fibers' erosion
Cerberus' meal is then digested back to perfect form.
The cycle restarts, continuously punishing their acts of extortion.


And then my guide said, "Now they wish they could reform.
We've seen who belongs here, lets move to the next level of hell."
I'm tired of witnessing this violent storm that will never be transformed.


We have been here too long and I feel trapped as if in a cell
Let us leave Hades and Cerberus to their jobs
and continue down these circles of hell what we will see no one can foretell.


Greed is defined as an intense and selfish desire for something such as wealth, power or food. This sin is more prominent today and it is located in level six of hell. Many people undermine the severity of this sin; however, it is the root of many other immoral actions. For example, the results of greed often times lead to more serious sins suck as murder, fraud, and embezzlement. Although it isn't in the last level of hell it is a terrible sin looked down upon by God. As a result, this sin's fitting punishment must be excruciating. The people who have committed this sin must confront Hades despite their will and once they come upon his reach they are frozen on the spot (not in ice) . Hails of coins and the wallets of those the sinner has stripped are directed with force towards the frozen target. The sinners are constantly gagging and throwing up blood , mucus, and dollar bills but cant even reach up with their own hands to comfort or clean themselves. Amid all of this suffering, Hades is roughly shoving money , rotten food , and spikes down the throat of the sinner while the sinner is simultaneously gagging and throwing up. This process continues until the sinner blows up from being stuffed with money, rotten food , and spikes. The remains are fed to Cerberus who digest them into a perfect body once again to repeat the suffering. This punishment fits the crime because while these sinners were alive they could never get enough of materialistic items, often disregarding the suffering of others. In hell, they excessively get everything they wanted while they were alive. However, this cycle will never stop, similarly to the way the sinners never controlled their greed even though it caused excruciating pain and suffering to the people affected by their actions.

Jonathan Garrido, Period 2

The Leechers

As Dante and Virgil continue towards the River Styx through the fourth circle of the avaricious and prodigal, they come across a repulsive display. Within a pool of swampy mud, are several people. The pit is full of leeches and parasites that feed on the sinners. These people are the leeches of society. They freeload and want everything provided for them. Although able in body to work, they refuse to and lead a selfish life. In their greed, they feed off of the hard work of others while not putting in any effort of their own. These people are separated from the main area of the fourth circle because they aren't hoarding or squandering their own wealth, but the wealth of others. Their greed manifests in their parasitic lives, so their punishment corresponds. Because they chose to sit around in life, they are to wallow in the muddy pit, trapped. As they leeched upon others, leeches and parasites now feast on and violate their bodies while they drown in the pool.

*Terza Rima is used throughout.

As we moved toward the bank,
Across a peculiar pit we came,
A sight so foul and mean.

I can say without shame,
My stomach churned at the scene.
For in my place, you would feel the same.

It was a pool of slimy creatures unclean
And men that writhed in filth and mud.
"What is this that we have seen?"

My guide replied, "These parasites feast on the blood
Of the ones who feasted upon the work of others.
Eternally they are defiled in this malodorous flood."

One stood out among these grimy prisoners.
Though most were buried in the sludge deep,
His arms flailed unlike his submerged brothers.

I called out, "Your situation makes my heart weep.
Tell me, why have you fallen to this punishment?"
Gurgling, the man tried to answer, his breath hard to keep.

"Into wealth I was born, you see. Something I now resent.
My bread, accustomed to having all provided,
I didn't work for; but alas it is too late to repent."

Soon after, his energy subsided
And the wretched pool of parasites consumed him
It was high time to leave, I decided.

"Master I have seen enough of this fate so grim.
Let us continue to the fifth across the River Styx.
No longer do I wish to witness this vile swim."

Looking away, upon the river I fixed my optics.
To escape this nightmarish dimension
I should not let one place transfix.

Chris Coronado, Period 2

The Sex Abusers

As we made our way through the level of the violent (a)
We traveled down into the level of the most careless souls (b)
The sinners who are nothing but sick (c)

Walking into a world of sinners in which dignity they stole (b)
We approached a room and all we heard was "click" (c)
All the sinners sat there in front of a television as a whole (b)

Virgil and I sat down with them and that is when we met Nick (c)
An abuser of the angelic child Grace (d)
Virgil walked up to the screen and it was his time she picked (c)

The screen portrayed the image of the innocent child's face (d)
Abused and slaughtered by this sick man (e)
The sinners were reminded and now saw their loved ones in that place (d)

It was no longer Grace but his daughter Jan (e)
She replaced the victim and Nick had to watch him rape his baby (f)
The tormented sinner screamed "how can I be that man" (e)

All he could see is his young daughter screaming "Help! Save me! (f)
Cringing and trying to close his eyes (g)
They were held open and he could not avoid to see (f)

Nick was in torment as he saw his little miracle die (g)
He killed her with no hesitation (h)
He was sick and all he could do at the end was cry (g)

Grace was gone due to his self gratification (h)
The pleasure of sex was greater then life (i)
She lost her chance to be apart of an older generation (h)

Her life was gone and Nick didn't think twice (i)
These sinners are the sickest of them all (j)
They deserved to pay a torturing price (i)

We seen what we needed and began on our way (j)
It was no longer the time to pity the abuser (k)
Because in the end the victim never had a say (j)

These are the Sex Abusers. Throughout their existence they mutilated and took what was not theirs. They hurt and took the dignity away innocent people. Sex is a gift from God saved for marriage and meant to produce. Instead, these sinners stole their gift and fulfilled their hearts with harm and fear. Here in the 7.5 level they sit and watch the pain they encountered among victims. However, their victims turn into a loved one of theirs to acknowledge the feelings of the victim's hopeless loved ones.

Chasara Morales, Period 2

Annoying People

During a student’s journey from one class to the next (A)
He would most likely encounter various thoughtless peers. (B)
In no rush, they would always find time to send another electronic text. (A)


Complaints and pleas wouldn’t faze them, simply fall on deaf ears. (B)
Some would walk too slow, some too fast, (C)
Others thought intersections were places to gather during the school year. (B)


The considerate ones would have to stop in their tracks, obviously aghast, (C)
When it came time to dodge those who made split second u-turns in the hall. (D)
“Oh, did you forget your textbook in your locker that I just passed?”(C)


“Please, don’t turn around on a dime and crash into me, a six-foot-one wall,” (D)
“Just go around, they won’t mind if you’re late to chemistry concepts class.”(E)
Lacking common sense, these Paladins must have thought they were at the mall, (D)


For they would meet up in large circles to discuss something huge, to me, an impasse.(E)
“Really? You finally passed the driver’s test after five tries? Great! Celebrate over there!”(F)
Their vital conversations would cause others to get caught in traffic jams en masse. (E)


The world did in fact end in 2012, and most of us entered Heaven, greeted by St. Claire, (F)
Except of course for the hallway bandits of every kind, who caused good people trouble. (G)
Known collectively as Annoying People, their souls plummeted to Hell in despair. (F)


The first subdivision, the Hallway Lovers, was damned to a realm full of rubble.(G)
They chose to make-out after every bell, often blocking a walker’s path, (H)
They must now watch “Gigli”, the worst romantic comedy ever, in bubbles.(G)


Never to catch a break, they are doomed to watch it for eternity, what fury Hell hath.(H)
Next, those who walked too slow or scurried too fast, or whose movement confusing,(I)
Became seals in an endless ocean, doomed to evade demon great white sharks, with wrath


That forced them to pick a speed and direction and stick to it, no more problem choosing.(I)
In the final round, the Intersection Talkers, the worst of them all, (J)
Were damned to storm Normandy Beach for all time, just the landing, no refusing. (I)


The rest of the Annoying People, like the U-turners, had to take the SAT til they would fall,
Why? Because Dis thought it would be funny. (K)
Such a curse is anything but small. (J)

My contrapasso is highly satirical in the punishments given out, however the subject is real. The level in which the sinners collectively known as "Annoying People" fall under is 8.5; in other words, they just missed the worst level of Hell. Each subdivision of the "Annoying People" was placed in a different round of Level 8.5. For example, the Hallway Lovers were sent to Round 1 of Level 8.5 while the Intersection Talkers were sent to Round 4 of Level 8.5. The whole concept was based around my experiences in PC when walking through the halls after a class ends and I have to reach my next one, usually very far away. I encounter many inconveniences such as these so I thought it would be perfect to make satirical punishments for their "crimes".

John Velazquez, Period 7

Alcoholics

The ones that passed out at parties (aka The Alcoholics)
Level 4.5 (A new level)

We casually propelled into the cave
Deep into an unknown space.
I hear screams rising from the grave.

At first, I could not find any trace
Of sinners in this ring,
Who rejected God and went against His grace.

The sinner's screams sing
Violent songs for the rest of eternity
Yelling and craving a drink.

I looked into the pit and saw bloody bodies looking up at me.
Clawing at the dirt above,
Wanting to be free.

Drink is what they only love,
So drink is what consumed their lives.
They forgot all about God and the Dove.

In their lives, they beat their wives.
The greedy people were never satisfied.
So, from the sky fell giant knives.

I stood there frozen and horrified,
But Virgil cast a spell
And sent the knives to the other side.

The knives attacked the sinners in their cell
And tore their flesh into cuts so small.
Then gloomy clouds descended from upper hell.

It started raining rubbing alcohol.
Each prisoner experienced the ache
But Virgil and I felt nothing at all.

I decided to leave, because this was a mistake
but, the sinners had to stay submerged
in what was now a lake.


Explanatory Paragraph.

My original canto is in level 4.5 which is in upper hell. This level houses the alcoholics, or the unreasonable drinkers. These are the people that passed out at parties because of too much alcohol. This level of hell is in between the greedy/wasteful and the wrathful. Alcoholics are usually greedy about alcohol. When they start drinking, it is harder for them to stop. All of their money is wasted on alcohol. Alcoholics can also be connected to wrath. When they are drunk, they do some dangerous things: hurting people, breaking things and acting angry to everyone. The punishment for their sin is that first they are hurt with flying knives, beer bottles and broken glass. Then it starts raining rubbing alcohol. It is absorbed into their skin, causing them to scream in pain. The sinners are all in a giant grave/pit. When the alcohol fills up the grave, they all drown in it just as they drowned themselves in drinking too much alcohol when they were on earth. They are left in there until the alcohol evaporates. Then, the process starts again.

Maxsym Khrapko, Period 7

The Obsessive

The Obsessive

A As I descend from the Third Circle
B Off towards the side my guide notices a trail
C filled with shadows chasing after objects aglow

B From afar I can hear the echoes of the spirits wail
C The reason for this sound grief is one I did not know
B My curiosity made me focus on the horrid burning flesh ail

C Virgil then speaks of their sins that cause them woe
D As we walk he says: “The souls here are full of obsession and greed
C unknowingly making themselves their own foe

D Nor do they know that their memory of all except the obsession recedes
E Forced to chase after the main object they solely desire.”
D In a moment I watch his words come true and see a shadow bleed

E While he chases his craving through the path of thorn and fire
F He was able to grasp his desire then let out a piercing cry
E Watching as the thing he held most dearly had a reward that was dire

F Blazes as soon as it was touched the object shows the holder deny
G His hand was engulfed in flames and through his fingers the ashes slowly slip
F The obsessive item then reappears in reach for the sinner to try

G Again I see the downfall of desire causes himself to be whipped
H For he can never get out of the cycle of his blind obsession
G The spirit still bleeds and fades away as he is being physically stripped

H I have seen enough and had my answer of what happens with overly possession
I As we walked through the trail of obsession the same spirit is seen thrice
H Continuously trying to achieve what he can never have; repossession

I Filled with thoughts that are only mentally self enticed
J The shadows chase after a never ending dream that becomes a horrid vision
I Eternally facing the agonizing vice

J As we finally emerge from the Third and a half Circle I made a decision
K Never will I stray from the path that is lit bright
J In the afterlife there are only two choices that are pre-made and the journey to them involves collision


Explanatory Paragraph

The new level of Hell that my Canto would appear in is Three and a half, in between the Third and Fourth Circle. I chose Three and a half because the sin of obsession has characteristics of both Gluttony and Avarice. The sin of obsession is in between the two because it is the half way point that melds parts of being greedy and self-indulgence from the two Circles together to form Circle Three and a half. The nature of the contrapasso reflects how what they desire in life is meaningless if it is solely an obsession over a certain object. The punishment is that the people are forever chasing after their main obsession from their living life through a path full of flames and thorns. Every time they grasp the object they desire within their reach it will be set on fire, burn them, and the object disintegrates into ash. The object will then reappear again in their reach and they will never be able to escape the cycle of chasing after their obsession. The sinner is never allowed to rest which shows how the obsession has taken over their life in Hell as it did in their past human life. The path of flames and thorns represent all of the people involved in their past life that the sinner has pushed aside or hurt because of their obsession. They can never remember anything in their life except the memories of their main obsession.

Samantha Cajilig, Period 7