These Swings Ain't For Kids

Your mind's a cornmaze for me,

Heathen with a jungle-gym heart.

Your body's been my playground

And church in equal parts.

Running rampant through your halls,

Bouncing from bed to bed;

Fervent consuming in your favour,

Pouring oil over your head.

On weakened knees I worship,

Converting a saint into your sinner.

Left begging atop bed frames,

Tantric teaching for a beginner.

On our backs is beauty noticed;

Home sought in wrinkled sheets.

Whittle away hours toying

Where the church and playground meet.

Heart Strings Bound and Braided

Happiness felt years ago

Reminding me of joys once known

Every moment brings me home

-when you speak I come undone

When you laugh, my blood slows

Hum and my heart keeps its beat

Say "Goodnight" and I do

These are sincerest feelings

As best as I can describe them

- when I hear your laugh, I almost faint

speak and I come un-glued

as you breathe I sink into its melody

And when you say "Sweet dreams" I do

I think only of you as I stare at the moon

Beautiful that you see it too

How I hope to feel you here soon

-laugh and feathers tease my stomach

As you speak I melt into it

you breath, I grin so silly

That when you say "Take care" I do

At night staring at the vacuous ceiling

My mind filling in blanks as I talk to you

I don't know how I've been living till now

Without this joy you bring

You need to know you’re the reason my heart sings

If you never laughed, I think my heart would break

Keep silent, and it would be too much to take

If you died, I surely would too

Say "Goodbye" and I couldn't live without you

Lady of Lost Causes

Eyes like sullen moons, light reflecting empty,

longing spirits and riveting black.

Stripes along your back worn proudly;

Boasting of victories long since passed—

Stirring up the loves you lost along the path.

Inner chords plucked; a playful vibration quivering

pleasure up though riotous core.

Beliefs briefly put on hold; cautiously

approaching slow coursing ecstasy. Soaking

thoughts in heat, setting hearts on a bed of coal.

No tree to tremble under and lay silently weeping,

for love, it’s passed. All’s left is lust;

Filling yet viciously empty-- void of warmth.

Tugging the tender parts, wanton crows

pluck apart what’s left of a beautiful soul.

 

 

Faking It

You’re sewing sequins in your skin,

Washing in watercolors.

You’re beating away breaths of who you’ve been;

The bane of conservative mothers.

You’re painting on plastic expressions,

Masking maddened eyes.

You’re ripping away the shame

That began between your thighs.

Never asked the devil for attention,

But blundered onto his path.

Never teased to taste his tongue

That felt of silken ash.

Never meant to fall into his fever;

A delicious, sordid doom.

Never expected the pain

That welled within your womb.

So in time try to heal the torn bits

But the brokenness only builds.

So purge the poisonous pleasures

That every curving crevice fills.

So trim yourself with tinsel

To hide these hideous flaws.

So maybe you can cope

With losing what's most precious of all.

Gypsy Blood

Love enduring till the heavens rain red

And stars fall from space.

Through all pain and panic,

Despite each fall from grace.

Love still as the earth bleeds light

And the sky cries fire.

As the sun sets on time,

And the angels begin to tire.

Pine needles silhouette starbursts in the sky;

As the rain sings me your latent lullaby.

Darting dragonflies stir up the lost

Memories of happiness and its heavy cost.

Love hot like sun scorched land;

A windstorm to whip away doubt.

Secrets slain in passions name

Lost in what heat is all about.

Thunder couldn’t rattle these reckless bones

Daring dreams born in your eyes

Eager tongues twist in adventure

Love never lived by the wise.

 
 

Dungeons of Jerusalem

Tip your glass again, sons and daughters; you claim another victory

One punctuated by the broken piled at your chapel doors

You’ve fought with olden quotes; used to slay, used to remedy;

Maddening theoretical royalty festering in open sores

Without aide of your Father’s name you’re counted as worthless

Brains caught continuously on a one track circuit

Hypothetical peace taught trembling through razor verses

Humanities blight is the dangerously ignorant zealot

Why proudly persecute the already weary and world-worn?

Preach love to the ones you bloodied; kill with kindness

Poison laced around the sweet words your tongues adorn;

Then return home to lying smiles and your pit of blindness

Hell sports similar barren walls,

More sin occurs in hallowed halls

 

 

Seiken Densetsu III

I arose to purple ozone and alabaster moon

On the darkened jungle floor as I always do

Clutching tightly the soft bit of warmth of my only friend

The one thing that hasn’t been taken from me

Blood against blood I roam uselessly

The towers of God are where I make my home

Carved into earth- sturdy conglomerate stone

Searching out the light of my life adamantly

My brother tricked and stolen away

Royal responsibilities willing me to stay

Sea of sand, a vast desert of glass

A fortress of grey in fields of golden ash

Justice for a friend and truth for my love

Freedom ripped from my hands

Romanticism fueling these futile plans

Maze of ice and a mother made of the same

Eternal spring wearing thin like maternal brain

A quest for pride in clouded, dilated eyes

Lamb to the slaughter escaped just in time

Eyes of violet begging, “Be mine. . . Be. Mine.”

Green highlands dotted with sentries

A grand castle of justice unable to be seized

Honor to be won in light of previous victories

Son comes to face the long-deceased

Rage allowing a fathers spirit to find peace

City of light and fading memories of family

These are the grounds of loss and ancient infamy

The last strands of childhood drifting from her grasp

Loss of all who were ever at an arms-length

Girl grown from weakness of heart into polished strength

Six to fell god-beasts of lore

Six who had no meaning before

Six to give life to Yggdrasil once more

Six to die, six to restore

 

This Venomous Dream

Blinding, blurring bright veiled everything. Every sense, every thought, vanished and replaced by something so much more important, more critical; how could she have been so caught up in things that didn’t matter?








“Just keep moving damn it, just one step at a time . . . we can rest when we’re dead.” I goaded myself as my feet pounded against the dirt of my moon soaked driveway, and with grim realization silently added, “Which may be very soon if we continue to be so unlucky . . .” The normally seamless black of the sky was set on fire by thousands of stars, all burning brilliantly to show me the deeper shadows the dark hid so well. It had been years since the sky was more than a blank canvas devoid of previous life, but it seems The Greater Beings were returning to the heavens; and just in time. Despite my incessantly miserable situation, I couldn’t deny the glimmer of hope I felt when being lead by the bodies of heaven. Maybe they hadn’t completely deserted us to the gods’ messengers.






Coming to a halt, I dropped my elbows to rest on my knees; ragged, gurgling breaths tearing into my lungs as I lifted my suddenly heavy head to survey my home. As the adrenaline faded from my body I began to feel every minute pain I had acquired from my recent escape; my insides felt torn and my skin was slick with blood and sweat. What was worse was the sharp pain of dismay embedded beneath my sternum as I stared at my childhood home shrouded in intense despair, black as midnight regardless of the dazzling orbs above lighting my way. Something sinister and treacherous was at work there.






Between being weary and wary I slowed my pace and walked towards the building. Regardless of the physical agony I was slowly succumbing to, I had to mentally stop myself from charging through my front garden and into my house; I had been running away for so long I needed those walls and more than anything wanted to see that they were secure. Thoughts of my family in jeopardy stung my eyes and stirred up the anxious piece of me that worried I was still being followed by my captors, who were so intent on seeing me dead. My mind refused to allow me to let my guard down because of the familiarity of The Property; I knew full well of the dangers that lurked here. They had obviously been at work since my absence, more openly so since The Veil tore and the Fall-Out between mortals and everything else began.






Just as I was halfway through the front garden, my blundering thoughts were put to a stop by a familiar voice that issued a tornado of emotions within me. “Psst! Shannon!” I turned my head, hoping to see the brothers I had been missing so terribly during my days of captivity; and there they were, blue eyes and fire hair matching my own. Christopher and Patrick were staring at me wide-eyed and breathless; they were just as surprised and relived to see me in one piece as I was to see them. Relief quickly gave way to seriousness in my eldest brother’s eyes; his military training over-riding his affectionate side like it always did. “It’s good you’ve made it back, we’re in a bit of a jam . . .” Patrick’s eyes darted to the unnaturally shaded house and back to me, assessing my condition. “Are you alright? You look like hell.” I felt every inch of it too. I opened my mouth, to say what, I am unsure, but before I could stammer out any reply Chris’ warbling voice silenced everything in me. “We thought you were lost to us . . . we. . .” ducking his face from my sight, I could see by his shaking shoulders he was wrecked with emotion; sobbing as quietly as he could. His tears reflected in my own eyes and I began to run my hobbled broken body over to his side until Patrick held up an authoritative palm. “Please, don’t make any sudden movements. The Elders are just beyond this row of trees, in their usual spot. We can’t attract attention to ourselves. You understand . . .” Patrick trailed off, a sense of  regret in his voice. I did understand that the Elders were dangerous creatures, but I didn’t understand why he didn’t want me close to him. . . I nodded my head numbly, everything about me wanting to rest next to my big brothers but I knew by the polished wooden armor and swords they donned that they had been through too much for my selfish desires to ruin their efforts now.






The Elders were a sort of creature that had always existed on our plane, but had only a fright-effect on us humans. They were what made the moonless nights scary and the woods unnerving; they were the scare that triggered our fear. Now that The Veil had been torn they could take a physical presence in our world, and only the fallen bodies of the forest that contained them before could harm them. The Elders had swarmed our homes when The Great Fall-Out first occurred and we learned quickly what had to be done to destroy and keep them from continuing to kill. They had gone after one of our cats once and Chris being the impulsive, hurting boy he was took a fallen branch to the creepy bastard and literally tore a gaping hole in The Elders chest. Since then we had fashioned make-shift armors and swords from the timber we could get to, but by the looks of Pat and Chris’ refined breastplates and shields; they had vastly improved the concept since I had left to find word of the world outside our little woodland.






Snuffling his nose a bit and running a sweaty palm against his messily curling ginger hair, Chris turned back to me and gave me that goofy lopsided grin he wore so well, even in times of trouble. “You know how those creeps and us have been going at it for ages now; this is the last of ‘em and they think we vacated a while back,” Chris jerked his head towards a spot on the ground nearby where a few empty food cans and MRE’s were strewn about, “we have been hiding out in the thick hedges here for a few days hoping to catch them in one of their silly little rituals and now that the stars came back and everything, we might get our chance to end this!” something glimmered in his eyes; I couldn’t tell if it was excitement or insanity. Hell, maybe it was both. Patrick finally smiled at me and I could see his heart breaking and warming all at once across his face, he was really hoping this could be the end of a long, tedious war for us. I had left awhile back but I knew that even over the short period of time I had battled these fiends, they had been constantly evolving into more intelligent, clever beasts that had even grown quite capable in the black magicks; I knew this was an important night and I was glad to be here for it. Returning with a wolfish grin of my own, I disregarded my bloodied state and reported for sisterly duty, “What should I do?”






Patrick glanced cautiously through the thick line of trees, spotting the circle of Elders congregating in their usual spot of tiger lilies and bleeding hearts. Biting his lip and looking back at me he spoke decisively. “Go around the other side of the front garden; sneak around back as we interrupt the Elders little garden party. We’ll be doing our best out here but you need to get inside; I have no idea what they’ve done to the place and I’m not about to surrender all my memories and possessions to these . . . bastards.” Something venomous and unfamiliar crept into Pats voice as his hard features clenched into one malicious expression. Even though we had been talking for awhile and the Elders appeared to be pretty caught up in themselves, Patrick still kept me at an arm’s length and I couldn’t understand. Unless. . .






I flung my head in his direction, eyes deep blue and searching when I asked, “They did something to you, didn’t they?” His face a neutral mask, I stepped closer, grabbing his wrist, looking him flat in the face. “What did they do to make you cold to me?” I demanded. “No!” Patrick growled as he jerked his hand from my grasp. All three of us stared in horror and confusion as his arm convulsed, his fingers finding their way tightly around my neck. Stars and birds and all sorts of things seemed to explode across my vision as my already greedy lungs begged for more air. I heard hurried whispers, or maybe it was shouting, it was hard to hear when it felt like a freight train was bouncing around in my head and everything was fading to white. . .






I awoke to a skull made of eggshells and a brain like a rock. I couldn’t seem to find enough air anywhere and the stars were blinding my unfocused eyes. I was starting to get really sick of getting my ass kicked. When I finally got up the courage to lift my head, I felt like I was being plunged underwater. Everything was swimming until I set my pupils on the ensuing battle between what looked like two men with manes of fire and three spindly reptiles; Pat and Chris, of course. I weakly rubbed my fingertips across the burning skin of my neck, trying to fight down the painful tears I felt welling in my eyes. Looking closely; I realized that Patrick wasn’t fighting The Elders so much as he was fighting himself and as I saw my fearless, heroic brother flinch against their jagged fangs comprehension hit me. “Venom. “ I whispered scathingly. I understood it now, things had really gotten a whole hell of a lot more complicated since the time I first left; my own brother was turning into the very thing we fought against.






Rage seizing my heart and burning away some of my pain, I got to my feet and ran (run, limp swiftly; no difference to me) down past the little patch of lilies and battle drama and down into the dark, hallow shade engulfing my house. I could feel the difference of atmosphere as soon as I crossed the line where the star shine and moonlight stopped and the congealing darkness began. I had gone in thinking I would brandish one of the crude swords we had stashed away inside against The Elders but once I crossed that line, everything seemed to change. My pains eased away and as I looked back over my shoulder to watch my brothers, the darkness swirled and evolved into a picture perfect day from my childhood. The sun was bright; but not crippling, there were big puffy clouds in the sky and just the perfect autumn breeze. Our front garden was a swath of colors, shapes and heights and the Dogwoods were in full bloom. Everything was perfect; everything was fake, and I just didn’t care.






I knew somewhere in the recesses of my mind that there was something important happening, that I needed to be quick. Someone was after me . . . and there were people in trouble but I just couldn’t remember what; I just felt so damn good. I sauntered lazily into the house; the smell of fresh linen laced over every object, the open windows letting in a nostalgic gale. I walked thoughtfully towards the family pictures on the far back wall of the little living room; my fingers tracing over the faces of my mother, father, brothers and I. Something inside my chest shifted at the sight of us; that uncomfortable urgent feeling beginning to rise up once more. Attempting to quell the nervous quivering inside my spirit, I took a long look down the hallway and everything began to dim. My vision rounded at the corners and everything seemed far away; rasping whispers tickled my hearing as I marched transfixed down the hall. “Vino la mine pierdut unul, vin gustul puterea mea.” A chorus of voices called to me in my head, “Dormi aici in bratele mele, si da-mi sufletul tău să mănînce.” I was drowning in the sound as I began to push open the door at the end of the hall, and as I did a human man screamed what sounded like a death cry and scaly fingers pulled me into the black.

Phantoms of a Childish Mind

Darkness is just one of many unpleasant things you end up getting used to when living down here in the Underplace. Even though there had existed torches and lanterns in the upper quarters of the Underplace, their light was never enough to permeate the darkness that engulfed the lower quarters we called home. This kind of dark was a woven blend of absent light and Their depraved power, like tar matted in our eyes; a whole other darkness that hadn’t yet existed on our Earth till the Grand Fall-Out between the gods messengers and men. Life had been pitch-black for me countless years now, time meandering so indifferently one day was no more singular than the next or last. My eyes couldn’t adjust to the sort of ink that saturated the shadows of The Tunnels but my friends had always made sure I made my way around and really, after awhile, you can just feel the earth around you like some sort of living, pulsating womb, you can just know your way.




My friends, I could never actually see them but I knew they were down here with me. I could hear them, feel them around me and their spirit always lead me to safety when They were closing in on wherever our home was at the time, I just could never find them for myself. They were like an ever present amalgam of characters that only drew breath when they were able to help, never did they let me touch them and they never answered when I spoke; they always did the talking. At first I had been nervous, but Sully, Farah and the others had never led me wrong, so I accept what I must to survive down here, ever away from the healing sunlight of my kind.



Echoing down from one of the upper channels of The Tunnels I heard Sully’s booming baritone call out a warning “We need to go deeper again guys! I think They’ve found the minor channel into The Tunnel Proper! You know what to do.” Sully is wise, if he says They know where we are, than They do. His voice, though large and alarming, was calm, like that of a decisive military leader, or perhaps more accurately, a parent. Regardless of how assured Sully was in times like these, or how very often we had to re-locate, instantly fear gripped me, clutching my heart like a vice.



I wasn’t like anyone else in The Underplace, I hadn’t fled to the major underground networks like most humans did when the earth fell prey to more powerful beings; I got separated from my brothers in all the panic and was lucky enough to join a small group of humans also fleeing underground but unlucky enough to see them get slaughtered by some of the less welcoming beings of the deep earth. The thought of my life above ground, and even my time in the upper crust of the earth made me incredibly sad. I had been in love on the surface, and in love again below but here I was, in the eternal darkness with beings that, though they cared for me, I couldn’t even touch when I just needed a hug so badly. Shaking my head as if to fling the memories of another person’s touch from my mind; I whispered quietly to myself and opened up my hearing. “They’re coming.” I affirmed, I could hear with my newly attuned ears Their large claws scraping against hard earth and hefty gnashing teeth burrowing through tough gems and minerals, hoping to probe our shelter. I tried to silence the storm inside me, forcing down the bile that came with the nervousness and imagines of my once protectors being torn limb by limb and pigishly devoured by Them. I steeled myself, I may be human and just that, but I had wizened old Under-Beings on my side; so we hurried down the nearby connecting channels and smaller tunnels, gathering all of our friends. We may not have lived in the most heart-warming society but we never let one of our kind be lost to Them if we can help it.



I could feel Gust’s and Farah’s presence around me once we began moving, a very familiar weight on my heart and mind forming like it always did when they loaned me some of their inner strength. We all grouped together and raced down the southernmost tunnel, deeper into the oppressive darkness of an even more potent quality. It blinded our other senses and made the air feel heavy, I could feel the imprint of depression Their tracks always leave behind all over the cavern walls; they had been here before, so close to us and we hadn’t even known it. That was enough to bring up thoughts of the horrible things They would do to us, the sickening screams and squelching sounds of organs being torn from our bodies filled my head; I could only find solace in the fact I wouldn’t have to see it this time.



We knew we had to be quick, so we were. Impossibly fast we blurred down the corridors of stone and dirt, our feet easily learning the floor, our bodies falling into the similar motions of fleeing another place we thought so safe. The pressure began building the farther we fled, squeezing, and constricting the very breath in my lungs. . . I couldn’t take it, I was only human. I was glad the others were used to the clutches of the darkness, that even though the human race had always over looked them, they could maybe someday continue on the way they had always done; but I think I had overstayed my welcome as the shade began to take me, I was much too weak. Feeling the frailty crawl up my legs and soak into my bones, I felt another sensation I had for so long thought completely lost to me. “They’ve almost caught up to us! You must keep going, come on.” Gust gripped my arm and hauled me down the next tunnel. The feel of strong fingers locked tight around my forearm brought a wave of tears to my eyes, and even as I swallowed up more of the blackness, I saw light.

Tranquilo fuerza

Silken, ebony tresses twined into rope and cord

Deeps of dark eyes gleaming intelligence, feigning bored

Bronzed coffee colored skin, seamless soft

Swords swung for righteousness sake in hands held aloft

Fingers seasoned and skilled, weaving worlds of graphite

Shy simplicity perfected through pressures powerful might

Succinct serenity burst through knowledge’s bright lips

Joy unabashed seen in unexplained clips

Lithe, lean and shrouded most mysteriously

Life’s gallant goals and games taken quite seriously

True colors unclouded by noble acts of courage

Sweetness spiked with a cynics sarcastic edge

Lyrics from the lungs of loved ones praise

Personal taste poetically raised

Strength of mind and heart alike

Greatness plain to see through any sight

Athair ar chanbhás

Pallid cotton threads of porcelain

Ivory as the burning moon;

Smells of citrus, soap and roses blooming

Veiling the velvet mechanics of a soul.



Mane of inferno manifested

Vermillion as blood and apple skins,

Kissed by crystalline rainclouds

Supple, scented of wet soil

A Windstorm of ruby-

Crowning glory of gratuitous creation.



Glacial stormy night skies,

Glistening under a layer of dust.

Bursting like dying stars; Intangible as cosmic winds

Gates to infinity, both glorious and cold.



Silken bleeding-hearts shaped to consume

Rubicund as the first leaf as autumn returns

Perfect palates igniting intrigue

Flirtation formed to features libidinous.



Feathers murmur affections in ears

Crashing Thunder through sinew,

Bubbling laughter burst inside your deep

Recherché shades of shameful behavior

Lyrics break through the lungs of lovers.



Season breeze caught in smiles

Nostalgia knitted in bones

Seduction and shadows play against teeth

Dragging denizens of devotion to weak knees

Warmth worn playfully.



Oasis in desert heat, springing from hidden fountains

Calefaction found atop gelid mountains

Breath in absent atmosphere

Sanctuary found in the heart of fear

Nothing to compare

To this heavenly canvas.

Citizens of Babylon

Empty husk of insect skin

Dry blood and dead leaves

Thieves house within;

A virus copying house keys

Cheers to the ones that make it

Here’s to those who survive

Close off Heaven to them that rape it

And to Hell with all their lies

Waterfall of fire

Stale sweat and broken glass

Last flight before the mire

The final revenge for your past

A toast to the few who complete him

A boast for those who are good enough

Heaven for the girls that feel him

And Hell on them that lose his touch

Bird feathers flight against the sky

Snowflakes melting coals

Lulls and whispering and Sighs

Children selling their souls

Victory pray you who venture there

Safety we hope the best for you

Nothing’s the same that comes from there

You’ll be something changed and new

The pause between heart-beats

Spoken word and written letter

Heather and pleasant heat

Freedom for a debtor

What sadness we feel in ourselves

Such anger that fills our empty

This love that kills us

Oh the beauty we find in each other!

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I've been busy world, but I promise, I'll get back to you soon enough <3