Prophecies of the Ancient’s decree,
Dark Pariah shall face the dragon,
In the Universal arena, heart’s quail,
Worlds tremble as giant forces clash.

Cloying Darkness is stirring, awakening,
Shadows shifting within Darker shadows,
Snake-like tendrils slithering, pulsing,
A menace daring to reveal true purpose.

Brandishers of Light must stand and fight,
Resisting all temptation of offered power,
Battling against foul corruption: death,
Halting the slide into dank, filthy, pits.

Monsters stalking the innocent; feeding,
Drenched in blood of pain and suffering,
Spawn of Dreadnoughts bring carnage,
Will any stand against the slaughter?

The fabled sword twisted in torment,
Calling, calling; seeking a champion,
Searching out those who would dare,
Questing for the brave of the Light.

Light heeds the need, offers strength,
Dragon heart’s beat, Champions arise,
Drums of war, thunderous, deafening,
As the Clysm screams to be birthed.

©Paul M Chafer 2014

I. Tune Out The Traffic, Just Listen to the Crickets

Throw your phones into the sea
  walk away into the night
  fall asleep beneath a tree
  burn a candle for your light

Don't pretend to be in love
  only say it, if it's true
  pray to nothing up above
  the only person to trust is you

The manifesto wasn't long
  the words were not obtuse
  it rhymed just like a song
  but in the end it was refused

II. There Is No Metaphor Here, So Please Stop Looking

Big 'ole spider on the wall
To where is it that you crawl?
I'm sure today you've seen it all
A dog without a ball
and humans walking tall
The leaves of pretty whorl
and a lonesome bathroom stall
Oh
Big 'ole spider on the wall
Do you have someone to call
When this stranger has the gall
              to crush you

III. Algae on the Riverbank

They dragged a corpse from the river
it was bloated and decaying
They pulled a body from a burning car
it was charred and still smoking
They took a foetus from its mother's arms
it was slimy and cooling
They shoveled a person from the sidewalk
it was shapeless and splattered

Everybody dies,
but every body mattered

IV. The Untruths of Poeticism

Tear pages from your books of poetry
and throw them to the winds
They become falling leaves in summertime breeze
- fills the sky with pretty rhymes
Butterflies flutter by
look away from the shutter sky
The stutter lies
and so do I

I woke up this morning next to a mountain of once-warm laundry
Piled there last night in the hopes that the space beside me wouldn't feel so lonely

But my arm still curled desperately around the emptiness where you should've been

And I don't know if you did the same
All I know is that I used to hate sleeping alone because my sadness felt too big for the bed
But now I can't stand how small I feel between the sheets
The mattress an endless desert and visions of you nothing but an empty mirage in the heat

i’ve never had feelings for anyone who could be good for me. i’ve never been interested in someone where a good, healthy relationship could’ve resulted, and maybe that’s why i’m so jaded, because everyone i’ve ever liked has just been a distraction or a house on fire— someone i know i shouldn’t be involved with, but i’ll give myself just a few more days to run around frantically with my hands over my eyes, peaking through the cracks between my fingers, searching for things i know i don’t really need, and then i’ll dash out and run down the driveway and the smog will linger for a little while, and the neighbors will complain, and i’ll sit on the curb with my forehead on my knees, holding nothing but intangible regret. next, i’ll either get over it, or obsessively think about him and the ashes smudged on the inside of my eyelids for longer than my sanity. i’ve never really liked someone and been able to daydream about the real possibility of us turning into something greater; of tire swings and painted mailboxes and overgrown, green lawns. it’s always been pretending and fake hope and melodramatic doom. i think it’s messed up my perception of having feelings for someone, because i can never take it seriously— either i know he’s not right for me, or i know the circumstances prohibit the possibility of us. it makes me never want to give anyone a chance (i can’t even see anyone worth chance-giving) because i know how it ends. i don’t like having this closed off heart so early on; i’m too young to be this bitter.

A pretty way of saying;
"The dead are stil alive,"
A gorgeous show of tolerance
The facade never dies.
It's okay to scream
When nothing is alright
It's okay to cower in fear,
To want to end your life.
The regret isn't yours,
We do what we will
Labeled as mental
If we just can't sit still.
Throw up the lies
That hide in your stomach;
We're not skinny in our minds',
And the pain is redundant.
But take a deep breathe, sweetie,
You'll be fine.
Just remember, my darling,
Everything dies.

I remember the first night we kissed
The feeling of fireworks
Erupting on my lips
Of electricity pulsing through your fingertips
Tracing down my hips
To the curves of my spine
The standstill of time
As your eyes looked deeply into mine
And you drew the words i love you with your hot breath
And stamped them
Beneath my rib cage.

You're reaching the brink, the breaking point. But you quite like the sound, of broken plates and you greet with haste, the familiar taste of self destruction.

Sometimes your heart needs to be broken
So you can see what's underneath,
To the flicker and flame of your soul
That you've always been destined to meet.

Sometimes your spirit shines brighter
Through the glimmering light of your tears,
And when you arrive at the end of it all
Love will outshine the darkest of years