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A whisper of jade, the night descends,
Upon the eastern sky, it lends
A blush, a stain, a crimson hue,
The moon, a pearl, reborn anew.

Not silver bright, but painted red,
As if the heavens themselves had bled.
A carp leaps high, to touch its face,
And finds within, a lonely space.

Chang'e's cold palace, crystal bright,
Reflects the sanguine, eerie light.
No rabbit grinds the jade elixir there,
But shadows dance, and chilling air.

The willow weeps, a spectral green,
Where once a lovers' tryst was seen.
Now only ghosts, with sighs so deep,
Their mournful vigil softly keep.

The Weaver Girl, her loom unbound,
No longer weaves, on sacred ground.
The Milky Way, a river wide,
Keeps her from her love's embrace, denied.

The Magpies fly, a restless flock,
Their cries unheard, upon the rock
Where once they formed a bridge so grand,
Now scattered far, across the land.

The Dragon King, in slumber deep,
Dreams of the pearls, the oceans keep.
He stirs, and clouds begin to swirl,
A crimson tide, the world to whirl.

The Fox spirit, with eyes so sly,
Watches the moon, as moments fly.
She dreams of power, beauty's grace,
And human hearts, she longs to chase.

The Mountain spirits, old and wise,
Observe the scene, with knowing eyes.
They've seen the moon in shades of white,
And crimson red, in darkest night.

They've seen the rise and fall of kings,
The joys and sorrows, time it brings.
They've seen the love that knows no end,
And broken hearts, that cannot mend.

The Crimson Moon, a silent guide,
Across the heavens, it does ride.
A witness to the tales untold,
Of heroes brave, and spirits bold.

The wind it sighs, a mournful tune,
Beneath the gaze of Crimson Moon.
A lonely beauty, stark and grand,
Across this mystical, ancient land.

The stars they dim, before its might,
Lost in the crimson, eerie light.
A painted scroll, across the sky,
Where legends live, and stories lie.

The moon hangs heavy, low and red,
As if the very heavens bled.
A potent symbol, dark and deep,
While mortals dream, and secrets sleep.

The night grows old, the moon descends,
Its crimson glow, at last, it lends
To dawn's embrace, a fading hue,
Until it rises, once anew.

And in its light, we see again,
The magic, myth, and lore of men.
The Crimson Moon, a timeless tale,
Of love and loss, that will not fail.
I weave you a tale of sorrow and forlorn, of love and loss. across the vast emptiness of the Gobi.  Of Chinese folklore, myth, and legend.
I: your kin: the sinew sin.

My breath,
                          this spark,
your life,  
                          my flame,
ennobled strife,
                          divine ordained.
No great story ever started with darkness?
Do you not know the greatest story ever told started with darkness?


Once upon a time,
Darkness plagued the land—
A great, powerful, grave darkness.
Darker than anything, man knows.
And how could he,
For man never lived in that darkness;
It was before time itself,
For there was no sun,
There was no moon,
And no stars, or plants.
There was only separation
Of the darkness and the Light.
And great was their separation,
As great chasms divide us from one another
So there was between the darkness and the Light,
But at this time darkness was known by a different name,
For it was not but the absence of light
But the absence of all that is good and holy.
It was called chaos,
For apart from the Light,
No good could be found.
And so it was,
And it was good.

Until the angels fell with thunderous rejection
Cast down from the Light,
For their hearts were filled with chaos
And hardened to fit their form.
So their hearts were set against the nature of the Light;
Their chaos was filled with murderous intent,
Hatred of their faithful kin,
And displeasure in the good nature of the Light.
And he who led them had great envy,
Desiring that the light would be his.
Plotting for glory and power
To be placed in his unfit fist,
For once he carried the Light true and pure,
But now his chaos made him unfit,
For it would disgrace the Light
And inflict wrath upon him.
For no chaos could touch the Light
Without severance of chaos,
And bound to body and mind was their chaos.
So the prince of chaos plotted for his own glory
Yet brought wrath upon him and his followers,
Mistaking what he once held to be his.

And it is this darkness that blinds us so.
Making us selfish,
Mistaking what we held, to be our own bit of light,
For only what is holy may hold light.
We, man, are nothing more than the spawn of the Light.
Who, like the accusor and his kin, chose chaos
So that we may do anything our heart desires.
And the Light, being gracious and true
Did not sever us from the light
But granted us audience through the Sacrifice
That we may reflect the Light
As we did on the day of our birth.
Version #3
Let us be as Zeus.
Not as he became, but as he was-

-a hero,
To his brothers and sisters.

-an end,
To tyranny.
so-
A    mb-
        re,
       Sw-
       a-
      n's,
    cu-
    rl-
ing,
ne-                Rarely,
ck. takes, the time, to, longingly,
straighten out. If, it, took, a honking
step, toward; a banal, straight line. Wo-
uld, Lir, hear, his children's; swansong?
Or, pinion feathers, flip, on breezes, as,
              they,
                  flap, about?

© poormansdreams
When I was small I always thought I'd be turned into a swan by my evil stepfather. But, I've warmed to the proud honkers in my old age.
Back in the days of our innocent youth
With Christmas a strict institution
The story was shared as indelible truth
Enough to suppress evolution

Remember the Wise Men who travelled
To witness the birth of the King
But mythology slowly unraveled
Replaced by some bells on a string

Remember the days of the shepherds
When angels and elders conspired
When prophets laid hands on the lepers
But lately so few are inspired

Back in the days of the loaves and the fishes
A rabbi gave sight to the blind
He’s not what we’d label ambitious
But he suffered as he was designed

Back in the times of the Goddess
The giver of life and of grains
We honor the cycles she taught us
Those patterns survive in our brains

Remember there’s seasons for living
To harvest and seasons to sow
For death and for birth and thanksgiving
Just a handful of stages to know
We make believe  about monsters
Cryptids, spirits and demons
To help explain
Away the evil in the world
Make up these stories
To help us cope with
Hard time
Be it as a collective
Or personal
Kian Nov 2024
...or at least, I pray, the strength to bear the knowledge."




A lifetime of hardship
        weighs down on my shoulders,

  I've buried my hate,
                             but it keeps getting colder,

Cry out to the heavens, sky's beauty unfurled-
While I commune, here, with Atlas
           beneath the weight of the world.
I’ve always known the myths were never true,  
that Atlas bears no weight but in my mind,
And yet, after I've watched the sunset's golden hues,
I feel his burden settle into mine
SNair Nov 2024
she was salt
the mariners ally
flew before the mast of every big ship
treading carefully
caressing pennants , the flowing reds and pinks
and sometimes when the skies are blue
and the winds are shifting
carrying the scents of jasmine from a faraway land
that she could never visit ,
She would sit next to the figurehead
viewing the world before ,
the chaos , the love , the dance of disarray , the sad and happy tears
of everyone who ever lived .

She was salt
an escaped soul from the briny bed rocks that clinged to the memories of the deep
she was creation before creation
she was art before art
she was destruction before destruction,
Or so the many fables painted her as ...

And she fell asleep
a sleep so deep ,
neither light nor time reached the depths of the slumber ,
neither music nor poetry pierced the dormant armour ,
A sleep so deep , she forgot how  to breathe , to continue
to remember memories of the past
A rest so profound that creation ceased to exist
until the Night

The Girl was a nuisance
to the townspeople  , to the unsupple ideas that were music to most
She had plain air , unembellished eyes
A salty smell blew everytime she walked across the citadel
"a witch , she could be "
"chanting the unknown"
"preaches the unwanted "
"a curse "
"a wretched sorceress"
The whispers gained favours
found new strength from lands unknown .
"The Girl should Die "
And so it went

One Faithful night
when the air was warm and the moon was bright
Their voices grew strong and their hatred gained might
"The Girl was The Sacrifice
A means to end this Game of mice
Her blood shall Cleanse
Her flesh shall feed
A fated offering to the gods We plead "
the words of the leader rang loud and clear
And the confused soul heeded the Seer
Dressed in White with  Her hair bleeding to the night
The Girl stood , Dried salty tattoos coating her face
Wide eyed and trembling , She stood before the Seas
with the Seer , the sharp knives and the gravel behind her
She walked , hands tied , bloodied
To the seas , Wailing a silent song

THE CRY went pass the waters through time and light
through past and future
through the cries of up and below
Reaching the Deep
Frank Cavalo Nov 2024
Is a boulder wedged
Betwixt thy chest
Bearing weight
Of moving – beyond

Dost thou push against
The peak of unrest
An unmoving
Sought to abscond

Accursed encumberment –
Zeus, come urgent!
Trade distant
For the fond

That feeling lost
To pebble tossed,
Skipped
Across shallow pond

Do you even care for
Did you ever – more –
Stop to think
Or consider at all

What precipitates –
The flood – the rain –
Is the same which
Prompted the roll

For I have no brake
So, to break – my fate –
Is what remains
To break my fall

Now all I hope for
Is coming – war –
To bleed me
Dry and dull

Passion – passed
Regiment – collapsed
Atop sword
Of your own recruit

And yet I stand
Hand in hand
With fallen
Soldiers – resolute

For I am leg-bound,
Surface-drowned,
By pit
Of fruitless pursuit

A victim still
To down-turned hill
And resolution
Most astute

The storm is done
But not the burden
That drums –
A thunderous applause

A wound that heals
Still yet conceals
Heart held
Together by gauze

Bless me – rid
Thine Sisyphus –
Of that stone-still
Chore you bore

Why must I carry
What once was merry
Now bruised,
Shattered and sore?
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