A fierce tug awakens me from drunken stupor
My sheets tumble off the edge of the bed
He’s come, once again, for His meal

It is my sworn duty to tend to Him and his arcane needs
a result of purchasing Alveus Manor, my current home
Strangely, it has been many decades since
Yet, I do not age but for my mind

To maintain a sense of control on things, I ponder
Many hours have been spent toiling in reflection
forgotten lovers, forgotten names
They mean precious little now

There is a singular memory that screeches loudest
some deal sealed with incantations and blood
scars adorn my wrists in confirmation
This memory is certainly true

I set the bowl out near the darkest part of my manor
From the floor, a trapdoor creaks upwards
I see the sharp glint of some child’s eyes
They dart around on an elderly face

He snatches the bowl with pale claws and blinks expectantly
It is then that I remember the burning whims of my duty
With a dagger and a prayer, my wrist spurts
Red nutrition cakes into the container

Prize in hand, He scurries back underneath the floor
sounds of primal content slither along the walls
He clambers back up with satisfaction
I am to be rewarded

He holds the bowl as if praising Old Gods across our universe
Elixir jets past teeth that resemble those of an infant
Creamy white substance settles in the bowl
It seems the result of melted moons

I do as I have done since first moving into this cursed place
I drink the ghostly elixir without any extrinsic cause
He flashes blood-stained teeth and hobbles away
Instantly, my eyes brighten and my skin tightens

My name has long been struck from history as well
My purpose remains free of doubt or suspicion
I return to bed in morbid anticipation
Drifting into madness, I fall asleep

A fierce tug awakens me from drunken stupor
My sheets tumble off the edge of the bed
He’s come, once again, for his meal

Our brave new world has turned remarkably cold
There is no place for inefficiency among the looming towers
Religions have been replaced with the worship of screens
Charms have been supplanted by tungsten and lithium

One by one, metropolises fell to “necessary” modernization
I consider a certain member of these abaddons as my unfortunate home
The city’s structures stand like monoliths, without luster or familiar name
A place surely dredged from the deepest hell of mankind’s achievements

Mechanical arachnids skitter across streets on continuous patrol
their silver claws and whirring sensors passively click and scan
We’ve no longer needed any member of sentient life to protect us
Apparently, that was a task more suited for our heartless creations

Any soul residing in the world has become artificial
emotions, dreams, and identities discarded and digitized
Former humans are now composed of more metal than meat
They tread with measured steps and a uniform lack of expression

I breathe the heavy clots of air through my visor and flip a few pages
Long ago, this ancient relic came to my unsuspecting attention
It held secrets of organisms that ran rampantly among landscapes
Old Terra’s fertility sprang out from yellowed paper

There is one creature that I found especially endearing
It endured the harshest of the world's conditions, as I do in mine
It was the deadliest of its kind, as I am among peers
I bestowed my home with the creature’s striking moniker

Now and forever, I live in the city of Taipan

Ashes to Ashes
Dust to dust
Peeling paint
Monuments of rust

Did you know
the average person
spends only five seconds at a piece of art?

A mere glimpse of Albright’s Dorian Gray
his phantasmal and grotesque visage
silently screaming horror

Only a look at Litchenstein’s pulp women
straw-yellow hair and ivory word bubbles abound
their comic book stories told within one panel

A sighting of Breton’s Lark
a dying sun sinking into the horizon behind her
her tired, shadowy eyes awaiting the next one’s arrival

All these fleeting moments betray art
for they do not deserve seconds
they have earned centuries

Mr. Movie

Locked and loaded, ready to go
I can already hear sneakers squeak on the linoleum floors
Everything plays out in slow motion
I guess the movies get some things right

There’s really not much to aiming down sights
nothing too complicated about squeezing a trigger
What I never prepared for is the ease of being a star
Each and every kid or teacher I shoot just sinks down
no dramatic death scenes or stupid monologues
Hell, they don’t say much at all
maybe one or two grunts on the way down

I’ve got to hand it to Arnold
When I missed just to the left of his heart, guy didn’t quit
He looked like one of those soldiers in training montages
Our brave hero crawled under the bodies of students rather than barbed wire
I didn’t expect the show
My appreciation of his ingenuity was a headshot

I make my way around the lower level of the school
A peculiar sight catches my eye
Some ****** appears to be spying on my work
He’s got one nice piece of shining metal clutched in a fist

Who’s this interesting character?


Mr. Minute

It’s finally ******* time!
This morning, I tossed my calendar in the trash
Today’s the day
I circled it in red sharpie

Geometry bored me as usual
I looked to my left and right with a private smile
None of the ******* around me could see the truth
Judgment Day was upon them
While Mccarthy droned on about triangles, my eyes stayed on the clock
Passing period was only five minutes away
That’s when I’d whip out my revolver
That’s when these ***** would know their time was up

Imagine my surprise when I heard gunshots down the hall
I quickly unzipped my backpack, took out the gun, and blasted open Mccarthy’s head
The other kids took a couple of seconds before screaming
I was too busy peering out the door to mind them
How the hell was this possible?!
I planned this out since the idea first popped into my mind
Some ****** was trying to steal my schedule

*Not on my watch

I caught you walking down the street
summer hair and red capris
asked why you did me wrong
Why did you throw me down?

I look up with blurry eyes
to mountains and foamy skies
The tip of my tongues tasting dour
Why’d you toss me off the tower?

You said love was all for fools
hot blood and lusting drool
maybe I’m just a tool
discarded by the Putrid Queen?

This cruel world always reaps
spilling darkness forever seeps
I can’t outrun the flow
Why did you leave me for dead?

The day that dirt becomes Earth’s sky
will be the day that I’ll let my darling cry
She is more tiger than fawn
She is darkest midnight rather than dawn
Her will is forged of cobalt steel
Her daily life is Hell’s highlight reel

Yet, I must treat this tough woman sweet and tender
I mark all inhibitions of love “return to sender”
For she is the graceful calm in my chaotic mind
The one that exalts whichever part of my heart is kind

Gentle is her smile, smooth and mellow
Tuned with majesty is her voice, a bona fide cello
I encase my feelings in poor meter and rhyme
because scarcely does this world hand us the time
to fully sing who we truly value far and near
and how we hold our lovers in our hearth
forever warm and devoid of fear