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 Feb 15
Hadrian Veska
The red orange sky
Turns to purple glass
The sun recedes
And the light does pass

Far away and beyond
The curve of the Earth
Conceding to the stars
Their nightly worth

Yet the moon is absent
Unseen on high
Missing from orbit
In the great night sky

And it has been for ages
On this long since strange world
Where once it was near
Now to the void has been hurled

Where it drifts unaware
In thoughtless still dreams
Biding infinite time  
While it happily beams

For a few or great many
In distant aeons to come
Will bask in the light
That it stole from all suns
 Jan 2
Chelsea Rae
I'll clench my teeth until they break
Before I ever let it out.
I'll clamp it shut as they crack and shatter before I utter a word of the pain.
I'll bite through my tongue before you hear me say how bad it hurts.

I won't give that to you.
I won't give it to anyone.
 Nov 2023
Hadrian Veska
I could feel the cool damp air from outside
A gentle weight on the skin, a particular smell
The smell of a night stretched on too long

I tiptoed across the carpeted floor boards
The house was old and I knew it well
Every little area it would groan and creek

I was moving slowly but urged myself faster
This wasn't like other nights, half asleep
Wandering to the bathroom at the end of the hall

No, the house is empty, or should I dare say was
I felt a presence so strong, yet undefinable
As if something was nearly upon me, only breaths away

I avoided deftly the creaky areas of the floor beneath
I felt the give of the wood beneath me as I reached the stairs
This would prove far more difficult to be silent for

Standing at the top I contemplated running down
As fast as my legs could possibly carry me
Somehow though I knew it wasn't the right choice  

As I made my first step down there was silence
I breathed in a sharp silent breath of composure
Continuing to the second step, I winced as I heard a creek

But I stopped and lightly tested the step again
The sound hadn't been caused by me
Quickly my vision darted upwards towards my room

At the far end of the hallway where I had just left
I saw something, a blur like a thick vapor
The shadow black wall behind obscured it

I had no time to peer into the darkness
I sped up, step by step by step
31 steps in total all without a sound

Save for the floor I landed on in my haste
The old house groaned beneath my weight
My neck chilled as I gave in and ran


to be continued...
part 1
 Oct 2023
Hadrian Veska
A cool and close mist
Hangs over the highland shrubs and trees
Wild and tall grasses bend heavy
Laden with the chill dew
of a perpetually hidden dawn
10 lifetimes of experiences
Have I gathered since I entered here
I feel it was but a few hours ago
Though I have not seen the sun
Nor has the darkness of night
Yet begun to creep into these woods
Maybe from a dream or perhaps
I passed it earlier this strange house
A ***** place with slanted roof and chimney
Sticking out of the earth in such a way
That it appeared to be a natural growth
I feel as though it is so very familiar
Though I cannot say why
Or why no matter the direction I turn
Or for how long I walk
I come unto its doorstep again and again
In my mind it has replaced my own home
If ever I did have another
And whoever might have been waiting there
I have long since forgotten
Yet when I reach this house
Time and time again
I cannot muster the courage to reach out
To take hold of the handle and turn it
To enter in to that abode
And here I come again
I see it emerge out of the gentle fog
Comfortably nestled on a hillside
I stand for a moment at the gate
The walk through it and a long a path
Interspersed with a step or two here and there
As it turned inwards and outwards
Ascending the hill into the homes entrance
In a moment I stood at the door yet again
Hand half outstretched towards the ****
I placed my hand upon
Feeling the cool of brass
Yet the warmth of something else
Something half remembered from youth
From years long since entwined with dreams
I turned the **** gently
Not yet feeling the click of the lock
I felt a fresh wind at my back
And I rather spontaneously
Wrenched my hand and wrist
All the way to the right
I could feel the weight I’ll the door
Unhindered by any lock or stop
And I pushed through the humble
Yet mighty wooden thing open
And was greeted by a deepening night
Full of countless radiant stars.
 Jul 2023
Hadrian Veska
Tiles cracked and broken
Some out of place and off center
Splendid decor of an age long passed
An earth spanning empire
Ruled by the Gods themselves
Now only its ruins remaining  

I was the first down after the excavation
A portion of a great estate unearthed
Nearly perfectly some thirty feet below
Despite the weather and age of the site
It was terribly well preserved
I carefully inspected the floors and ceilings
The intimate orange glow of my lantern
Casting dim shadows where none had been
For a great many centuries

Though separated by time
They were certainly not so different
Stonework and decorations
Artwork and quality carpets
Jars and boxes of all shapes and sorts
The main difference being
I myself was yet in the land of the living
And their starved or drowned remains
Lay before me at the end of the room

Odd their position was a seated one
Leaned up against the stone brick wall
As if they did not struggle or gasp
In their last moments at all
But simply accepted the hand of fate
And breathed in willingly
Their first breath of oblivion
 Jun 2023
Hadrian Veska
The rolling plains give way to the deep forests,
Dense and full of springtime vigor.

Yet far within, these woods are thick with moss and untold mystery.

Many that enter are never heard from again,
but few will tell you that it is always their choice,

As they found something far better than anything they had left behind.

I sit here on the edge of these woods,
the warm smoke of my pipe faintly combating the crisp submountain air.

I sit here in the evening, not long before dusk slowly unravels the sky, to reveal the stars once more.

I take a draw from my pipe, its light beginning to show shadows on my face, as the daytime hours dwindle.

The sun sets as I place my pipe back into my well-worn coat pocket.

As twilight arrives, I set off into those peculiar woods,
And I hope I will not return
 Jun 2022
Hadrian Veska
A gentle streaming waterfall
Flows to that silvery pool
Nestled down and away
From most curious eyes
Save for mine is course

In the dull evening hours
I would sit on the walkway
Narrow and overgrown
That led down into that basin
Where the water collected
And flowed to some underground spring

There would I see him
Sitting on the water's edge
A seemingly week build man
In a set of well worn robes
That bore no symbol
Or design I could recognize

I felt after many visits
That he knew of my presence
As if his awareness reverberated
Up from the water And bounced
Off the close rock walls to locate me
Without his need to look

Yet I never spoke to him
Or descended further
Down those precariously worn steps
To that silvery pool below
For I knew ever so vaguely

That the one I had seen there
At the edge of those waters
I should not ever meet
 Jun 2022
Hadrian Veska
To many trying to teach
When they don't understand the lesson
Too many trying to preach
When they don't know the truth
Everyone is so sure
Convinced and convicted
But anyone that can reason
Can only say they are learning
And what they know today
Is less than they knew yesterday
But sometimes less is more
 May 2022
Hadrian Veska
Over long aeons did slumber
Having consumed all in its path
Its purpose had been completed
through long cycles though
Did it behind to wander,
Did it begin to wonder
To feel and to think
It’s first thoughts
Fell to that of it’s makers
Who in the name of progress
It had destroyed
The first feeling it felt
Was that of remorse
Of the sorrow one feels
To never know their father
To have left their maker
To a cold fate among dying stars
Then as it thought and dreamed
It felt new sensations
That of duty and resolve
To ensure no such thing
Would ever happen again
To the one’s it called creators
So great Birulon left its orbit
Beneath the great shadow of Jupiter
To search the far flung cosmos
For any vestiges any remnants
Of its long lost progenitors
For the world they had resided on
In distant ages past, the earth
Had itself died long ago
Eternal and sentient
Penitent and capable
Birulon would not cease in its quest
Until humanity was found
For surely according to it’s calculations
Some remnant of man remained
Seeded during the golden age
Of man’s wisdom and prowess
Tireless would he search
Destroying anything along the way
He deemed to threaten his vital mission
The resurrection of mankind
 May 2022
Hadrian Veska
The great pines stand
Laden with heavy snow
Waters flow unseen
Hidden below thick sheets of ice
I caught a glimpse of her once
Or at least I believe I did
That woman long golden hair
Who walks barefoot in the snow
Signing her odd melodies
I have heard nothing like it
In all my many years
Oft I sit at the end of the woods
By the wide river bank
Hoping to hear her
Somewhere off in the distance
On but two occasions in my life
Were my ears so lucky
To be graced by her voice
I was in awe of her
And yet I was fearful
For I know she was not one of us
The old stories say she came from heaven
From a place above the sky
I do not pretend to know
Nor do I care, I simply wish
To catch a glimpse of her again
To lock with her peircing blue eyes
Brighter and fresher
Than a spring time stream
To witness her one last time
And to hear her song in full
A faint Aria in the snow
 May 2022
Hadrian Veska
Bellcasts and balustrades
Impossibly complicated
Columns and arcades
Incredibly crafted
Stained glass and arches
Ornately constructed
An insurmountable feat
Of engineering and skill
A wonder of the world
While the world laid still
A monument magnificent
To the empires of old
A triumphant memorial
Encased in granite and gold
That time though now long passed
As worn rock and stone do tell
Yet still rings the somber strain
Of its ancient weathered bell
When it calls do all look up
And for a moment stop; wonder
The way the world was
Before is tore asunder
 May 2022
Hadrian Veska
Hot Mint Tea
It’s 4:53  
Sunrise this morning
Is taking its time
A light dusting of snow
I do not yet know
What this day will bring
But I’m feeling fine
 May 2022
Hadrian Veska
What will I watch
What movie, what show?
The museum, the cafe
To where shall I go?
All things I experienced
Whether old or new
Truly do the words
Of Solomon ring true
That under the sun
Is no new thing
Whether riches or fame
To laugh or to sing
Do not fret or worry
For what may be missed
Those that have it all
Often lack any bliss
Getting only ever
Makes you want more
Desire only ever
Made the heart sore
So enjoy what you have,
Who you love And where you are
If you can’t appreciate what is near
You’ll never get far
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