The moon bled, deep red reflections on the water
Yesterday's eve, where madness was only rumors
Maybe two streets down, or the cobbler's son
Before the priests, before the cross came down

Before the fires, which burned cold
Frost clawed from oceans depths, undying rise
Creatures of horrors, and blight
Ripping forth from within, tearing hosts

Something formed then, in my father's pride
It crept out, changing organs flesh to else
Growing within, stretching changing physiology
Ready to burst, I can feel it soon

Creatures lash about the night, creening
Violence against nature, a gift from elder gods
A virus, illness budding out of Bon Homme
Couldn't what be birthed, stay home?

But I could feel it, strengthening
Memories of someone else, mother's child
Flashes of night, gods falling from the sky
Swallowed by the sea, drunken until mad

My toes touched, webbing cool
I drifted, floating my eyes
Clear, studied sky, breath choking
Taste the water, breathe the sea

Back to the sea, back to the sea
A bakers wife, bread no taste for me
Husband slaughtered, black priests to see
Worship the Sea God, turn or die

To me, I found them torn
Protecting mine, I cleaved them all
My husband's eyes, between taloned nails
Drunkened, blood drugged and mad

Oh! But I wasn't alone, chaos ruled the eve
Worshippers in ****** haze, gore filled the streets
Flashing in and out, my mind sane and not
Acts became memory, desire fuel

All those that fled, unpursued
Driven by fear, only half crazed
While we devoured the town, each other
But dawn found me cowering, changed

Now my mind grows, a shadow of my lord
My body turns, gills for my lips reach
Drinking the salty sea, breathing deep
Cleansed and born, anew

Bustling energy of trade, fueled by wind and sea
By the bay, this town lived and died
Hauling stock, beast and trade

Commerce of lives, both benign and mine
Thousands of souls, the lifeblood of a town
Building, crating and shipping

Southward rumors of ancient gods, living in ocean deep
Too fantastic for the mind, first trickled then rain
They said, Cthulhu had walked again

Scoffing, things of myths and madness
Forgotten legends, and salty sailors' threats
But rituals pestered, beneath night and cloak

Attentions turned, as they always must
From fantastic, back to life and living
Until adrift, floating death made fall

Rumors resurfaced, cinders to flame
Dockyards without workers, migrants leave
A strange disease, visited from slave to master

From managed flame to fire, the grotesque grew
Crying of unexplained pain, watching madness spread
Freezing port, travel and even the wind

The bay lay like glass, frozen in August's heat
Neither wind, nor wave bothered the docks
And folk looked now, to the religious for bread

Of those, Christians alike
Busied with new, task at hand
I thought, we might pull through

But newcomers mingled, stole members away
Slowly churches emptied, in a span of days
As even their pantries, emptied and barren

I speak now, last fateful night
More dark than pitch, as quiet as death
A silent fire blew, giving neither heat nor light

Beams cracked, charred to ash
Before my very eyes, unbelieving and true
Foul smoke, oily and slick crept

Tendrils spilled out from the hall, I shuttered back
Those that it touched, almost gently
Fell, shuttering and breaking with plague

Gathering my wits, wife and children
We fled town, witnessing gathering horrors
Mishappen feature is friends, family terrorized our way

They had been broken, white eyes seeing naught
Flesh drained of color, ashen and sometimes crushed
Clawing at faces, a great violence to all near

A couple puking sea water, conjoined at the hip
Another opened his own gut, searching and chanting
Still more hunted, having features more akin to the depths

In the morning, as the ocean birthed the sun
I could just see, what remains of the town
In its unearthly stillness, movement caught my eye

A procession of black, marching in step
Strangely orderly, a contrast to the night
Following a symbol, a banner held high

It was then that I knew, remembered from the past
Prophecy foretold, elements of evil from lore
Stories from grand mere, meant to frighten or more

Fallen gods, cast from the stars
Slumbering, undead and yet alive
Bedded beneath, immortal in the deep

Such creatures, nightmares of another race
Gathering ours, devouring sleep
Now, awake

One by one, individual then group
Faces look up, shine to the sky
Elation rippled, and the town shuttered

A horrible creature, stood once more
Stepping from the sea, building beneath foot
Timber to toothpick, stone ground to sand

It stretched, edge of horizon to edge
Wing tips ripped the sky, lightning crashed
It's eyes, madness dripped from dark orbs

Claws tips fingers, hung on heavy arms
Muscles grew and gathered, ignoring effort
As it dragged tails, seaweeds barnacled and old

It had come to Bon Homme, as legends foretold
Villagers succupiants now, of purest joy; driven mad
Tearing at their hair and flesh, screams announcing its rebirth

It cast its eyes west, as if it's gaze focused on a desire
And it's head turned, toward sea once more
Almost reluctant to leave its womb, cold embrace

It's mouth bellowed, no earthy sound
Tentacled fingers around its mouth, stretching; writhing
That sound, not heard but shattering minds

Eyes began to bleed, then run down
Ichor down faces, ruined with black
Ears drained, sick yellow

One by one, individual then group
As this God strode, once more
Dropped, lifeless bodies shone

My breath caught, frozen in July
Summer's heat, couldn't draw near
Such was the sight, broken before me

Crouching, ******* the earth
The town broken, lay before me
Radiated in charcoal end, smoking embers

Centered around, spoked out
Once standing proud, a church
Only its brass cross now, tombstoned

Precious packaged, I circled
Searching for life, not charred remains
Either eluded me, ash rained

I crept, grey cloaked and hidden
Strange stories, whispered on mens lips
In homes lit brighter, the night seemed darker

Far East, something had risen
Had cast of ill formed shells, shrugged
Minds and bodies, bent strange

My destination, unsurvived
This brimstone eruption, complete
Little but a frame, withered home

Sifting through wreckage, human and debris
The hand was there, stiff and curled
Wearing the ring, but not a ring

Sawn, not touched
The hand, with me
As well, the ring

In its place, less burdened
The package, placed
Payment for, left handed thief

Spending moments, no less
I sought the church, devoid of life
Additional promise, hidden away

It's timber splintered, crushing
Burned from within, cries on the wind
Its doors had been barred, broken in

Protecting souls, blacken, wooden and thin
Strange symbols, golden jeweled, silver skinned
The Hanging God, crucified and crowned

Such as gods may, none were saved
Children, babies and mothers alike
All tortured by flame, fire

Treasure, reburied in hold
Leather bound, and square
And the thief, hand ring

I redonned cloak, boot and stick
Wrapped in grey, clinging to shadow
With twightlite falling, sped foot

Far from this place, burned to soot
Too many human, blooded and torn
But most haste, those dead and unhuman

I watched close the shadowed, deep
Fearing to be followed, more; unsleep
Seeking to deliver unholy, but my soul keep

Her voice was poetic, such a bard may be
From my half drunk haze, I wandered
Looking up, she wasn't much a girl

She was tugging at sleeves, begging a scrap
A tale she spoke, of tears and madness
Bending any ear, that a bit might try

Throughout the night I puzzled, pieces
Of stricken towns, all easterly
Her father sickened, a cousin liken

The story beg curious, draining my enibe
Time wandered, much as patrons do
The little girl was found, by my side

Tossing her gold, she began
But to my sober eyes, she cringed
For her story, more than passing;

(She began)

Of her life, when cornered
I wanted it in whole, not beggary
Heir to dirt, spoken in small words

It was true, witnessed event
Beyond her small mind, driven slightly mad
The story twisted, tangents borne by emotions

It crept through the village, she lived
Affecting old and young, alike
A plague of the mind, before the body

Those slim recovered, as she was one
Say nightmarish creature, devoured the sea
Looming and tentacled, shelled crowned but flesh

Pillaged her mind, linking to others
Voice minds so loud, drowning her screams
Others clawing, burning their ears; carving flesh

Murderous intentions, toward husbands and wives
Children flailing, glimpsing lives to come
Wailing, the chaotic violence of the flesh

Slowly at first, the story was drawn
In her little voice, lost its pan
Confession came, through her tears

Sins not yet committed, a life hers to be
Memories of pain, unbroken fate
Suffrage of life, before ones age

I sipped rough mead, ordered food for her tale
Half listening to story, feeling the looming
A creature seeing us, omniscient from her eyes

She went on for hours, spent
Others draped, across table and chair
Unconscious from sleep, or dark in drink

On and on, the story unfolded
This shadowy entity, closer for sure
It's name unspoken, but knowing me here

The key (she said), it needed a door
It said, spokeless to her mind
And the tale, must be told

In a moment, all had changed
We sat, as many might
For dinner, late

Rolls and peas, plus a bit of meat
Once a week, we fared better than many
It came like a wave, rolling

From the east, if facing east
I know for at my table, I looked north
But felt the change, weary my bones

I saw my wife, her eyes blue
Deeply light blue, almost gray
I saw her ****, eyes changed green

Struggled, she breathed
Then the wave, took one after another
I felt it pass, emotions tumbling at once

She seen something, hidden
Miles away, blocked from sight
From behind stone walls, as we prayed

Then, the ****
She howled, we all whimpered
For the madness, overwhelmed

Contagious, it spread
I heard it first, bringing me back
From neighbors, less distant and west

Snapping me back, to see her
Gnashing, breaking her teeth
Pulling and ripping, hair

She flailed, grasping a fork
Stabbing our children, one to another
Before I could move, inhumanly fast

As they cowered, deep in rising fear
Not of her, but of the emotions rippling
From distant and far, but always east

I struggled, when she came at me
Flinging my arm up, warding her off
My knife came up, involunteerily

Then it dimmed, although
Some great beast, gathered it's rage
In some great birth, then awareness

It pulsed, lower now
Like humming, out of mind
Letting us know, a god now strode

We could feel it, where it looked
It's attention, driven us mad
And now, we live in its shadow

A great bubble rose
Rose, but didn't break
From the depths of the salty sea

I watched it from my sprire
As it had, every day
Rose, but never broke

Like giant fish, or beast
Pushing up from the deep
The water displaced, rose

As spectators stood
Then, daily spread norm, wain
Novelty lost, still it rose

Until all but I, left their ways
Secluded, solitary towered life
Stranded here, I watch it rose

The boats of this town
Sail around the great dome, rose
Set to fish, bring them home

But today, I saw, surprised
A horror, take ship, rose
Splintering rails, plank and souls

A creature from beyond
Nightmarish, tentacled, darkness
The sea, arose

I called for my son,
Bring warning, rose
The town, the town!

But my son, ignored
Too bothered by elderly blood, rose
I shuttered my window,

Lighning broke, blossomed
A cracked sky, rose
As the creature, turned to Bon Homme

Lithe of body, twist and perform
Narrow waisted wasp
Flit your wings
Shimmer like smoke in light

Golden skin cascades
Dancing across muscles, move
Longest dark hair, trailing
movements, round and round

Seductive eyes,
See but never meet
Hips grinding Spanish beat
Toes spin, dance the heat

Hot, humid in the night
The audience sweats
Drops drip, for her
Soaking the wheat

Dance, snake dance
Find meat to eat
Show strength, fuel
Slay witch

Dark stones cage your floor
Keep you where
There, there, and here
Sing, lusting unveiled desire

Fingers bleeding
Decorating, pushing the air
Falling on blind eyes, deaf ears
Only not to see, or hear

The wind plays your music
Drums in the still trees,
Rocks split in the night
Beating rain begins to pour

Thunder pounds to your whip
Lightening from your eyes
Rage shaking, sensual beast
Focus, grinding dance

Light on foot,
Bent at knee
Arms out flung
Weaving hair, she

Around the tempest
Shaping storm
From singular dance
To eat men's hearts

Surrounded by the drone
The constant hum
Electricity vibrating
Making lines of noise

It defines civilization
The ultimate expression
Of fire shackled
Controlled lightening

The dark is held back
Opening the day
Bringing hours of life
Keeping monsters at bay

It's price, like everything else
Weakens and fences
Creating conveniences
The weak, unwilling cry

No longer enabling
It's demanded, a right
An illusion of creature
Comforts the unalive

Forgotten the trials
Broken bones, blood spilled
Fighting the elephant
Circling of the wolves

That first raised stone
Spark of flint, spark of life
Against nature, man
To ****, and live

It surrounds us
Blanketing us, warm
False, from too long
Safe from fire

Lost the deepest fear
Of being burned alive
Caged the cruelest animal
It's lost, roaring, white noise

Efforts are twisted
Any roots are burned
Because that's not the way
It should be

Pulled from books
Off screens
Far away fantasy lands
Imagination, fake

She knows, she says
She knows

Defining moments
Twisted to insult
Venting for hours
Words that solve nothing

Can't change the world
The days drag by
Merging grey into gray
Barely noticing a day

Storms, she says
Rage, she says, inside

She doesn't know fire
Restrained fury, black
What's back, clouded, hidden
Behind eyes she could never read

It's unseen by her
And I'm proud of that
Keep it back, incheck
Because she so bad

She'll never know
Because I love her

So she'll rage, fight and cry
Anger, fists, and tears
Broken upon the stone
Because that's all she's become

In the downward spiral
Digging her own grave
A strain on her mortal soul
Because her world is her own

So remain calm,
In place, bring the storm

Upon a throne, neither high nor low
It sits almost still, tapping a tattoo
Darkly robed, swathed in shadow
A figure, a mockery of man

Bring it tribute, toll in gold
But expecting both rich, and poor
Those that don't, still toil
Empty eyed, and heavy gaze

Look forth, listen hard
No breadth nor, heave of lung
Dealing silence, absorbing darkness
If my beating heart, still beat

Sowing, mining for toll
Neither pain, or break
Carry great weight, for not
Sour passage, the gate

It came for me, bright
End of days, lead in life
Survived war, and glory
Asleep, interrupting dreams

A tip, tapping breeze
Long fingers, it's only motion
It's boney music, tap
Tap, tap, tap

It wasn't me, but it searches
Collecting souls, or spirits
As they pass, traveling
We work, passage denied

I suspect, it waits
Tapping, hollow tone
Fingers, infernal sound
But not, I fear, for me

Softly, they tickle
As they crawl, like fingers
Down caramel cheeks
Flawless, beautifully scalped

Dipped, sliding from both
Along her pores, tiny hairs
From her brown lashed eyes
Shadowed in sorrows

It's her cross, she cries
For pains unmade, left alone
But those tears stains skin
Bringing color to touch

Red, again so deep
Like her lips, pursed
Her tongue darts, tastes
It's the way; her way

She looks and sees
Upraised eyes, first time
All these years, through time
Friends lost, begging and gone

Mascara blood stained tears
Humming soundless tunes
A sorrowful lost small smile
Hunts her lips, painted matching

Her eyes bright
In palest moonlight
Seem to sparkle, nice
Memorizing glances; fight

Longish fingers dipped in red
Look, sensually gesturing
Spellbound graceful trap
Predatory heart

Still blood tears fall
Not for you, not for you
As she reaches, slow
Tears become rivers

Whispering silk unrolls in the wind
For its binding, now undoing
Pulling hard by unseen hands
Fingers tangled in spiders' threads

Tugs, less gentle, throw it higher
Over chimneys, tower ledges below
Ginst, bricklain work, chiseled stone
Brushed now by, dirtied and frought

Spied, by sly old grey crow
Mother brings a gift, sought low
Entwined, knotted and tangled
Holds a nest until the wind goes

Finely knitted, strong long cloth
Keeps sun from cool, inside from cold
Chirps and claws, new norms anew
Life long beyond crows ago

Trees, booked, feathers few
Nest has fallen, silk askew
A child tests it's cloth
Fingers rubbing, so soft

Now to moment's a toy for you
But mommy's nose, sees age and dirt
Not for use, maybe sickness and hurt
Thrown to the refuse, lost once again

Light along its journey
It's toes tip, trip, catch the wind
Pulled from piles, playing breeze
Along town streets and dusty paths

It finds its way, fate's touch wait
Sinuously long, a finger might point
The trail it makes for blue blue skies
A ballot's initiative, beauty and far

It wraps and rolls, billows and blows
Twists and frees, darting amongst trees
Not for thee, not for thee
Back and forth, bright leaves

Far out, closer to the sea
It tastes the salt, like the waves
Breathing, snaps up against shores
Invisibles tangibles unbreakables

Another gust and its a storm to us
Up, it's taken thrown in fuss
Out, its brought, a lack of trust
And deep, it'll dive, buried amust

Darkness holds the silence
The abyss has been staring
Not beckoning; apathy
Such is our worth
Just stardust in the wind

Swirls, a song doesn't sing
Leaves fall with only a breath
Crickets mate, but not chirp
Loose floorboard move
Squicklessly beneath feet

Instruments play furiously
Pages are turned, flipped
Orchastrated harmony
A crowd plays for a crowd
Applauding in silence

An accident in time
Cars flip, moving slow
Horrifyingly in frame
Metal ripping flesh
No one says a word

Clouds hang dark, heavy
Leviathans crisscrossing the sky
Lightning flashes battles between
Expecting thunderous booms
That never come, still landing

One of millions, upon millions
Spinning around stars
Flinging dust here and there
A roller coaster crashing
Giving voice to the noise

Insects on a planet's bowl
The sky, heavens well above
Aren't not listening
They simply are working
Spinning threads from lives

Ants don't worry the clouds
Climbing over themselves
Concerned only with their bits
Digging and building, constantly
Never looking up, nary a sound

Planets collide, building rocks
Striking comets from dust
Gases drift, twinkling bits
Orbits decay and sway
From holes, explode

Just floating in the sea
Maybe my hair drifts
Like my thoughts, or bits
Where the current slides me
Water covers my ears

I watch the bowl of the sky
Laying on, in its marble
As it rolls down a slow drain
In to a ball of burning fire
On the outskirts of silence

Silver coated glass
Painted to see reflections
Of one's self; one's soul
But opposite, reversed

So interesting, set against itself
But so utterly, perfectly backwards
One always sees what they want to see
That perfect reflection on glass

Light goes in and is lost
Not all, or maybe it is
Even light retreats in fear
That little bit lost to the other side

Stapled against the wall
Nothing ever disturbs it
But the evidence of battles
Come with time, months and years

Scars in the silvered back
Where no fingers touch
Show something from otherwhere
Something trying, clawing

That other place, where you live
On the other side, touching the glass
Dreams are real there, cut and tear
Only your face looks back so real

Look real close at your own eyes
There is always a hint of something
Not so real, a sadness reflecting back
The reflection of a reflection

Always looking back, mimicking
Almost perfectly, never perfect
The light is never right
Around the edges, reality is lost

Just out of sight, behind that door
Nightmares lurking, unsafe, breathing
Behind your back, while combing hair
A bit of something is there

Not quite reflected back
Light comes through that glass
Bringing you through
Not letting all back

Such is life, realities
Painted silver on glass
Taking your soul
Tricks on the mind

Feathered in song, sweet in breath
Sing to me, give grace voice
I need not hear the words
Just let me listen to your tune

Are those mocking words
Falling from your chest
Along tongue, among winds
Dancing through leaves and brush

Come hence, my window frame
I beckon, bribed with treats
A quiet audience, enraptured to you
My eyes closed; your voice is all

Imagination and term of phrase
The notes carry here and there
But never so perfect as where I sit
Hands folded in my lap

Let the notes cascade
Through dim interior sights
Brighten corners, hanging webs
Scare the shadowed bits

But my glassless pane only lead
From hence you flew now flown
The songs now ended, bereft
Sightless eyes, lids sewn shut

Spiders spin brighter anew
Shadows darker carousel down
Unseen by my eye, felt on skin
Such is life, so quiet an end

Come closer, closer now, Friend
Let me hear your sing song breath
Smell mint, wintergreen, and flesh
Grasp your hand, kiss your skin

I'll have your voice, dance
See through your eyes, drink
Hold you close, to cold skin
Give your song, love then live

It charged us
Breaking through the enemy's ranks
Scattering men like toothpicks
Theirs, then ours
It was mad, but all war is mad

Some of us stood our ground
As it shook from its furious rage
Shoulder to shoulder, brothers
Hacking the enemy,
Sliding swords deep in to their skins

Until their ranks parted like the sea
And our phalanxes shattered
Whether men stayed, frozen
Or ran, ******* themselves in fear
The enemy now brought brother from fear

I watched from the vanguard
King's Own, Pride of the Empire
Our ranks splintered, trampled
Beneath massive, mad feet
Thrown by this four tucked beast

Solace might be found
Maybe in that both sides lost
This creature gored and pulped
Either with abandon
Whipping it's fury forward; blood blind

Scant twenty paces from me
I stood my ground as soldiers should
Memorized by its horrid beauty
Sword half drawn; paltry effort
To stem the storm, hold an ocean

It's massive head, tossed, twisted
The smallest figure, it's demonic handler
Astride its sinewy thick neck
Holding only a mallet
Riding it to the ground

Skidding, skidding the mass of flesh
A trickle of blood running down
Slipping down a behometh's head
A tear staining its rider's cheek
The creature, lungs heaving, just last

Finally, this nightmarish charge
Ended by its handler's love
A chisel driven deep into its brain
Berserker's stained rage
Stilled for want of war

A single moment's pause
Before I brought my own beast up
Charging up massive flesh
Hooves digging deep for purchase
Stooping deep, cocking arm
Deliver my own stroke
Long blade taking that mans head

I am off, my horse bellows
Lungs like billows, frosted breath
In this morning's war torn cold
My furs, now soiled red
Eyes just as red raged rimmed

Across the war machines back
Legs dancing to bring me next
Closer, nearer; exploit this pause
Turn the tide, bring chaos directed
I know my brothers are at my side

Hacking with strength unthought
No glance unnoticed, I simply know
Every move around me, everyone
My warbeast awakened, alive
Perfectly calm in this wake

I see you, I watch
From the corner of my eye
Watching you play,
Drawing, coloring
Lost in your images

You make me feel warm
In my heart; happy in my mind
Beautiful, hair cascading
Down shoulders and back
You are in your place

I love you
And everyday it grows
Seeing you happy
And by your side
Watching you grow

Haunted houses creep in and out
Giving life to the ghosts
Carving, clawing their way to the present
Leaving you bleeding from the eyes

Kiss them gently to retell their tales
Feel their dark caresses
Drawn forth from your gut
Fingers wrapped around your spine

They feed, oh so deeply
Tooth and fang deep inside
The pain amplifies, rippling
Keeping you immobile and trapped

Anguish sours softly bedded dreams
Their voices, electric, hallowed
Like nails down a chalkboard
Incapacitating your actions

Coiled muscles, anxious to explode
You want to lash out
Scream, drown out the past
Scatter those broken ghosts

But they overwhelm
And you cringe,
In the darkness
Until you see the light

Leaves of ink
Spread my arms
Tattooed on skin
Burning the past
Memories, they turn

With winds, blow
Cool on flesh
Quench not, thirsty
Fire scarred history
A story foretold

Crawling, gasping life
Long hours needled (in)
Feel them slither
Twist and creep
Turned ink, weep

From beginning breath
To endless sleep
Images of me
Once to die
Thence ash, keep

Across oceans, wept
Desert **** the tears, sleep
Eyes close unseeing, gently
Snapping with every thought

Bring purse, clutched desperate
From soul to soul, unworthy carriage
Twist uncomfortably, lessons unlearned
Reliving pasts, tortured survival

Fall, into your place
Leashed, right all alone
Waddle, right; be saddled
Will, creasing great divides

Watching the beach
Wander away
Wishing for more,
Than this silence

Only the waves
One by one
On grains of sand
Erasing everything away

How does the sun?
Horrific in stained sky
Honey canvases dreams
Drifting across skies

Romeo saw the truth
Revenged upon his soul
Rattling cans down stairs
Falling, tumbling down, ever

Indigo, reds, all bruised
Into full sails, storming
Ink stained finger tips
Pushing little ships

A pair of eyes meet
Another and lock
Like the doors
Closing gently

Dice tumble
Rolling across
Heavy green
Thrown, heavy handed

A thread is severed
Woven thick
To keep out the cold
Now unravels

Wages won, lost
A toll of flesh due
Sufferance, weight
The demon's due

Invisible imp
Gambler's bane
Play at lives
Thirsty for pain

The man stood
Frozen, in time
Not bravery
Just surprised

He stared, transfixed
The creature emerged
And he stood
Where others ran

Scooping babies
And young up
Their faces a mess
Tears and fears

He surprised himself
He was flat faced
The feeling was flat
Empty, calm

The arrow was nocked
Maybe he didn't do it
Only his fingers knew
That it was there

It cornered his lip
And their eyes met
Brown, now washed grey
Against its fiery orange

The creature's attention torn
From havok and rage
Directed upon the poacher
It stared, boring down

Neither moved, readying
A second in time, another
Stretching, another heartbeat
Cats, before the pounce

It moved,
So did he
Releasing
Flight

The creature
Almost a howl
Died, just before
It gave voice

Before the poacher
Sweat never broke
It was curious
But an after thought

The Poacher turned
Facing forward
Examined his prey
Contemplating pay

From out of the rain
Like a pinwheels in the wasteland
Water soaking up the sun
Careening, spinning away
Still leaving the unbroken skies

Splintered, inspiring rainbows
Donuts of fragmented lights
Misted drops in motion
Spun, shattered diamonds
Little tricks of stars

A kaleidoscope of mirrors
Each of mystical themes
From sky to barren earth
So short in flight
Hearty in life

That tremendous fall
Of a single drop, from heaven
So far to break, always apart
Explosion of color, to earth
To sing, eventually, again

Simple wheat
Grows in
Spanning far beyond
As the eye sees

Blanketing,
Like a golden snow
Rich in color
A show of life

A reaper works
Swinging scythe
Toils in to view
And cuts deeply

A harsh work
With long days
Bringing death
So life can continue

Feeding bellies
Bringing smiles
To rounded cheeks
So life goes on

Look to blue stained greys
Raise your eyes and see
A teetering balance
Between drops of rain
And clear, happy skies

Look between the clouds
See past reflections
And tricks of light
Beyond our skies
And to the stars

Hold your hand
Ground you close
As fears rise
Thrifting your own
Stifle cries

There are worlds
Beyond what you see
More than you can allow
I can't give you dreams
But show you the way

Lazy days bring casual dreams
Warmth of you, next to me
Stirring slightly, tucking in
Your breath, a gentle snore
Here and there

Sunlight presses in
Bringing the day
And a press, busy later
But right now
You're in my arms

Holding you close
A perfect moment
Follow another
Slowly ticking
Waking comes

Like rain
Gentle tapping
On a soft roof
So sheltered
From the storm

All your stories
Built in days done
Bits and pieces
Of dreams and horrors
Containing fragments
Of tears and joy

To begin and live once more
A harbor of practiced sanctuary
Given dreams that fear
Never come, never mind
The things whichever breathe

Twist in place, be taken in loving arms
Safely knowing here
No clawing past can find you
You are hidden in a future
Never before imagined

This was not where you sought
A place which compromised
Would bring you back
To the past, found again
Although here I'll be

By your side,
To live and protect
Serving as the walls
Bricking back the past
And forever loving you

Bring lights with your voice
A colorful, soft noise
Spoken under breath
Concentrate to hear

Under the sound of the world
Musically inclined
When you think no one is listening
Or maybe you don't even notice
But I hear your voice

From the corner of my eyes
I hear you coloring the world
Bringing color to this drab place
Always inside the lines
Filling pages with a future

With the radio or
the hum of the road
The tires droning on
As the road passes along
And we along it

Feminine to the core
A beauty of flesh
And if I said complex,
I would understate her
To her, that would be a crime

You see her
Comment on her beauty
And do her no justice
Youre only blinded
She is the sun
And you'll only stare
Never suspect her depths

She is more akin
Feeling more as though the sea
Roiling and unsettled
Beautiful from a distance
Upsetting on its surface

She is the oak
An inner strength
Strongly rooted, deeply soiled
And worried that it's not enough
But well rooted for the storm

Thickly bowed
Heavy with fruit and leaf
Straining for the sun
Warmth of day
Living for the nights
Away from pests, and for peace
Seeking solace in the stars

Her eyes show the diamonds
Faceted of light and clear
So many sides, complexity
An observer only drawn
To what they can relate

The diamonds find their strength
Threaded by fractures
But so unlike mineral shapes
Her cracks make her stronger
Building a completeness
That is more whole
Than any other

Her inward sight
Makes those strengths
Invisible to her
So she concentrates
And becomes
So much more
She is special

Rabbit hole, rabbit hole
Where do you lead?

Hop right alongside me
Fall in love, in to the unknown

Bring me to a crazy land
Someplace insane and fun

A dark shadow
Just below the surface

Jabberwockies and Cheshire cats
Sharp claws, Hero of the land

Play your role
The queen of hearts

Or maybe, of mine at least
Love, this adventure

In to this rabbit hole
Falling in love with you

My soft little rabbit
My brilliantly lit hero

Lead us along this road
Through chaos and the unknown

This fantastic place
I'll only walk with you

We spend so much time
Looking for the next
We forget to hold hands
Entwine fingers
Spending moments
Not time

Look in to her eyes
Spend the time
Fall in love
Again and again
Get lost in her mindlight

Feel her breath
On your skin
Her precious touch
Every moment
A momento of life

In the end
What do you bring with you
Not money, maybe not even time
You'll leave a headstone
But, just maybe, you bring the memories

I don't wish upon stars
Too fickle
Already gone

Rather, perhaps
I look to your eyes
See the future, dreams

That's the chance
A better place
Love, more

I can stare forevermore
Across oceans of time
See us, ours

What would be better?
Puny stars
Extinguished before us

Ours, hand and hand
What more, what more
Than to be by your side

This abandoned land
Wounded, broken and seeping evil
Crevices, from which it oozes
Crawling across the land
Seeking a foothold

It's not empty
There is just no power
Nowhere exists to help
The people are alone
No magic to stand the balance

People, live
Ragged, sometimes pitiful things
Trying to live, scrape a living
Building, hoping
Fighting back

Creatures of nightmares
Walking and crawling
Darkening the earth, skies
Massive and small
Even the insects, malice

Earthquakes shake with rage
Gods quiver in amusement
This plight, desperation
Ever seeking heroes
To beat back storms

Mountainous terrain
Fencing, create this world
Horrible stonemen hunt
Adventurous travelers
Feasting on bones

Fearsome creatures
Mind boggling porportions
Patrol the seas
Breaking the timbers
Of the most sturdy ships

Dark swamps, poison the air
Misshapen creatures
Banished from the Living Lands
Finding strength in only numbers
Desiring to render flesh

And yet, men still walk
Determined and strong
Grown hard in this land
Living and sometimes thriving
But only for a brief time

Time shunts life here
Wearing down even the strongest
Such is age, such is life
This land is hungry
And it feasts