Once upon a very old time,
In a perfectly ordinary forest,
Created solely for my words in rhyme,
There lived a very smart tortoise, modest and earnest.

In this same forest of the mind,
There lived a vivacious hare,
She was so stunning, all animals she could spellbind,
And wherever she went, she spread love in the air.

It so happened that the tortoise, our protagonist,
Found himself having an intimate crush
On the hare and if you get my drift,
He wanted to live a life with her, lavish and lush.

So he decided that to her he would propose,
And try to woo her with his intelligence and brains,
To marry her was his ultimate purpose,
He would surely convince her of his pros and gains.

But to his utmost horror, she rejected him downright,
And looked at him in pure disgust,
“no”, she said, “ you can’t win my love’s right,
because it is not for you that I lust.”

But persistent, and smart, he threw a challenge of love,
To her straight to the face,
“will you agree to marry me, my pure white dove,
if ever I beat you in a race?”

The hare agreed readily to the proposition,
Amused to think she could win without a care,
Alas, she didn’t know what the tortoise knew about the situation,
For he had read the story of the tortoise and the hare.

As soon as the race started, away she zipped,
While the tortoise slowly followed behind,
“He’s lost!”, she thought, “ his cream has been whipped!!...”
but the tortoise had something else in mind…

Half way through the race the hare began to tire,
“Oh!” she thought, “for the tortoise I’m still way far ahead…”
so into the hollow of a tree she did retire,
to have a nap in nature’s comfortable bed.

She was still sleeping blissfully when the tortoise reached her,
And saw her asleep in the hollow,
He could have won the race and won his love so dear,
But though he had knowledge, his mind was narrow.

“She’s the girl I love”, he thought,
we should be on equal terms, I shouldn’t get an unfair chance,
and without any fortitude and forethought,
he took a rash decision without a second glance.

“hey! Wake up! The race is still on! Don’t stop!”
his bellowing voice awoke the hare,
she nimbly bounded away, refreshed from the pitstop,
leaving the tortoise to stand and stare.

Obviously, the tortoise lost and well,
What happened after, I know not,
I hear he spent the rest of his life brooding in his shell,
But all this teaches an important lesson about love, does it not???

dust has collected in this once filled room of my mine

it's floated and settled on the last few things left behind

spellbind

windchime

now i can say this empty space is all mine


8 years of pacing this room

8 years of shouting at the moon

8 years of sleeping til noon

just to ignore the fact I meant nothing to you


so much anger has made home in my bones

the way you used to speak about me felt like being casted with stones

I used to try and drown out your tasteless, colorless tone

you type "she's dramatic" in a text on your phone


I expected this feeling of indifference to feel free with no stop lights

yet this empty space

and this empty mind

coincide

with what I've known this whole time


that all too familiar feeling of restlessness has come to an end

and even though there are still memories burned into my head

I don't believe I have anything else left unsaid


I envied your callousness

I despised your self-righteousness

and i ached at your lack of consequence

what caught your eye was never my elegance

but rather my callowness


as the ice in your drink swirls and melts

and you're blaming me besides everyone else

as your anger starts to swell

just remember it was me who wasn't treated well


we can keep our heads down while our eyes meet on the street

while you pretend I don't resemble meadowsweet

and that we never danced in my kitchen with me on your feet

but

to be honest

in the end

we were always offbeat

when you chose to secede

I found you to not be an aesthete

if you could agree

to be without me


this story is begging to no longer be told

so maybe I'll revisit this time of my life when I've seen how my life will unfold

til then my king is fallen on this chess board

my feelings are buried far past the sea's shore

and I've finally

stopped keeping score

“"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown" –HP Lovecraft*

I stood in what I examined to be an ancient and forgotten shrine, to what god or devilish soul, I did not know, but it surrendered a sinister sensation. Its ruined ****** walls lay with some sections long collapsed on the ground, while texts and runes, in dead languages decorated some of the still upright rock. The roof itself was alarming, seen as if it were hanging reluctantly and willing to fall at any moment. A dispiriting, cold wind began blowing upon my face. The air became thick, difficult to breathe, turning every inhalation into a hard fought one and forcing me to continue onwards with this unwanted journey. I slowly crept out of the temple and found myself in complete darkness. There was no sun, moon or stars above, only a great barrier of pitch black nothingness. I studied the veil trying to make sense of this but surrendered and commenced following a wrecked trail carved on the earth.

The scene caused a sudden sorrow to spellbind me. Few trees remained in root, dry and dead, with branches pointed up at the heavens they appeared to be praying for mercy from a god that refused to answer. The ground was littered by branches and the grass was so withered that it was ash more than anything. This dim path that I found myself walking through warned me and all other unfortunate travelers, sending a clear, terrifying message: All hope and joy were gone, completely disappeared in this abduction of the mind. This domain was a plagued one. I heard in the distance howls of suffering and pain, savage and demented laughter; I assumed that these were emanated from whatever tormented and diseased creatures that resided here in this unholy place. These sounds, these horrid songs would’ve made even the strongest adventurers, quiver and cower. Evil permeated the region.

As I walked, a sickening green mist with the presence of death rose from the soot drenched soil surrounding and covering everything ‘neath my knees. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something shift in the dirt; a shadow now lurked hidden. I hoped that it were nothing but a mirage produced by my disturbed and weakened senses. Signs that my state of mind was slowly driving itself into mental insanity, yet lunacy at this point was bettered desired than a confrontation with any beast of cosmic horror that slithered through this wasteland.

Quickly, I discarded such an idea; it terrified me, the presence of a monster did. Gripped and strangled by panic I began to gently ease myself forward when again a shade dashed through the mist, this time, the sound of hooves accompanied it. I staggered back in fright and tripped ******* a branch, falling and hurting. I whimpered, feeling something wet, most likely blood, seeping from my now wounded left leg. “Please! No!” I yelled at the mysterious specter. Pleading to the unknown being, my vision was blurred by the sick fog, my lungs drowned with the stench of otherworldly dread and a fit of coughing possessed me.

The shadow stepped closer becoming distinguishable but not yet fully visible. It was humanoid in form and stood hunched, breathing heavily, on two legs. The fog dispersed for a few seconds. Pale skin, hair black as the ground, malevolent blood red eyes; those dead, revolting eyes glaring! Staring! The most shocking thing I then discovered: The beasts face, ‘twas mine!

I didn't believe
that someone
could take my
heart in a beat
until I saw
a radiant smile
that left me in awe
but there's something
much more charming
than his smile
it's his laugh
I saw how his eyes glimmer
the moment he laughed
that's when I realized
I have never fallen in love
with somebody's laugh

You came to me a morning star
You offered me infinity
I, bedazzled,
took your hand
We revolved around the sun
You ushered me to
an endless sea of possibilities
That was how you called it
That was how you used to tell me

You held me,
playing careful defense
A paladin
A sparrow to her nest
I, affected with great wonder
Mindlessly bathed the silken water
Drowned myself in the soft
bubbles of the crashing waves
Not bedeviled by troubles
nor disturbance, nor distress

You walked ahead of me
As if protecting me
from the swelling crests
or from the cold, or
from the salt that filled my chest
I, spellbind
influenced by your charms
and your incantations
Moved rakishly along
your convivial course

Unto your heavens
Unto your hell
Into your fire
Into your soul
that was what you said
That was how you used to tell me
I believed
I accepted in veracity

And I watched, a sentinel
As you moved in rhythmic steps
and playful gestures
Until I was confounded by
your intricate motion
I, caught in a whirling sensation
Imperiled by a tendency to fall
Was carried into your
nauseous complexity
I, paralyzed by my perplexity

You venerated me, you said
Or that was how you used to tell me
Yet, I was disconnected and
I, an amazed audience,
stood enthralled
Or was I merely standing in stunned silence?
Stupefied
Yet disconnected?

your always on my mind
there is never a time where i find
some absence of you
oh how i wish to unbind
these thoughts to you that are so kind
the happiness id have
if our hands intertwined
you mastermind
do you have me spellbind
i want moments together to be on rewind
around you i act so purblind
to the bad, I'm blind
as long as your on my mind.
i never want you off my mind

You can let your afro flourish
Straighten it to ease the effort
Curl it or cut it
Your hair is the frame that surrounds your beauty
It is the majestic crown you were born with
It allows your beauty to spellbind us
Through it your artistry is recognised
And your personality is advertised