Mirror, mirror
Said the queen
Self-conscious,
Not wanting to be seen

Mirror, mirror
Every day
Urging wrinkles
Not to stay

Mirror, mirror
She was taught
If she was ugly
She was naught

Mirror, mirror
She cannot feel
Emotions ruin
Her appeal

Mirror, mirror
She feels dead
To the husband
In her bed

Mirror, mirror
Her heart is failing
Her lungs are gasping
Her kidneys wailing

Mirror, mirror
The doctor said
She has a growth
In her head

Mirror, mirror
She cannot stand
But she's still the most
Beautiful in the land

Mirror, mirror
But not anymore
Her place taken
By the child of a *****

Mirror, mirror
She needs a heart
The child has one
There's a start

Mirror, mirror
She's in so much pain
She doesn't know
How to be humane

Mirror, mirror
The child is dead
The heart is weak
But she has fed

Mirror, mirror
The heart has failed
There is no other
That ship has sailed

Mirror, mirror
She is desperate to live
She finds a corrupt magicker
And gives all she can give

Mirror, mirror
She feeds on death
Each soul she takes
Lies in every breath

Mirror, mirror
She carves words in her skin
EVIL, VAMPYR
DEMON, SIN

Mirror, mirror
She moans in the night
Her husband sleeps in a separate bed
Yet still quakes in fright

Mirror, mirror
The child is not dead
All the lives she has taken
When she could have taken one instead

Mirror, mirror
Look at her now
Twisted and broken
Macabre magick on her brow

Mirror, mirror
The child must pay
Perhaps her soul will be redeemed
It is the only way

The pirate quartermaster, Maro, saw two galliots
Coming towards the carrack; the first one had ten cannons.
To start the maneuver on the carrack, he asked his pilots.
They were attacked by a volley of fire; maniac in action,



Maro caught up with this army and replied with another
Volley of fire, but he had to retire the carrack.
Then, the army came alongside it and fought in a smother.
This assault was preceded by some flurries of the bullet attacks.



Using the muskets and some small arms designed for superior
Accuracy, the army could leap from ship to ship;
Once the ships had met, the battle had been waged; ulterior,
They used long polearms and swords which were kept on their hips.



The first galliot approached and used the bowsprit,
A protrusion which was angled upward from the bow,
To charge the flank of the carrack; some pirates wanted to quit.
The bowsprit penetrated the breeze upper the low



Waist of the opened deck, in the middle; it could be used
As a connection between the ships; a part of the army
Fiercely attacked the pirates making them be confused.
The ships collided; raw in front of the enemy,



The hidden soldiers started to shoot; they held the fire
At a close range; this ship was narrow for the artillery,
But into saving some honest lives they had to inquire.
These guns were placed on the centerline by the military.



The pirates turned to the opposite direction, but they were
Attacked by the second galliot equipped in the same way.
The bandits could barely put up a resistance; their deaths were near.
The fight had lasted until it was all done in their play.



The first galliot caught the carrack with the help of
The other one; Maro ordered one of his crew to cut
A small hole in the carrack to make this ship sink thereof
And to hurry the soldiers to save the hostages, but



They would need to know if there was a way to swim to the shore.
They abandoned quickly the carrack; the result of the fight
Was the victory of the army, stopping the devil's roar.
They took three pirates captive; three escaped in the waters' night.



The governor had the loyalty of a gentleman
While keeping his word in front of Frederick and while
Dedicating himself to protecting any merchant
And any passenger; they disembarked on that emerald isle.


(Frederick, Pedro, Naimah, Miguel, Cruz, Ivan, Pedra, Chiara, Francesca and the remained crew went to Prinylas. Cruz was injured but still alive. At least, while having tears in his eyes, Frederick embraced his junior who looked exactly like him. The child smiled and touched his father’s face with his little hand. Geraldine embraced Frederick and kissed him while crying.)


The governor had built frigates and galliots to maintain
Safety on the coast and to guard them against the invasions.
Then, he sent them to capture the pirate ships hoping to gain
Peace, wealth and a good fortune for the future generations.
(To be continued…)

Poem by Marieta Maglas

If each and every grain were a
Year,
Than every knock would be an
Episode,
So came the story that is my
Door.

And,

One – was the loudest pound,
“Authority,”
When the P.D.’d nearly warped
Hinge,
So came my first night in the
Clink.

Two, three, and four – Love, only
Love,
And one of two later;
SLAM!
Or one silent escape, fled and
Sundered.

Five – was the knock that never came.

Six – “tap, tap, tap,”
Mom,
It must have been my mom, or rather,
Obligation
And she’d swear to my sisters, “he’s
Ok.”

Seven, eight, and nine – Deliveries,
Disguise,
Pizza, Chinese, pizza and not so
Famished
Anymore; fuel for the guts, guzzle for the
Words.

Ten – came a' “gamechanger,”
Tear-smeared-mascara,
And two hands atop your
Abdomen;
I knew atop the water your freckles,
You’d never need knock again.

So if each and every grain were a
Year,
Than every knock would be an
Episode,
And this would be the story, that’d ever
Be our door.

Ivan thought that the stranger followed him; why should he?
If the stranger had been a Russian one, it would have been
Perfectly obvious for him where the meeting had to be
Placed, but maybe this stranger had accidentally heard them when




They had talked; in this case, the stranger didn't know their secret,
But the surveillance was the only way to find out.
This was why this stranger embarked on their ship; apart,
The real surveillants were chameleons, beyond this doubt.




One of those pirates searching for secrets had a red birthmark
On his face; to follow Fargo, they were walking for some hours.
They started a talk while one of their dogs began to bark
''To identify a tail, look at the footprints, those flowers




Can make the dogs lose the scent trail; '' '' each flower might have
A different scent, telling the dog it has been visited
By some insects; here, their path is divided into two halves.''
''Someone left them, and another one is dead or invalid.''




'' That person returned; look, he moved frequently between crowded
And empty places: this makes him conspicuous, '' '' It's a man.''
''Someone else followed them, '' ''I don’t see well, the sun is clouded, ''
'' I don't trust this lady, Chiara, '' ' I understood her plan.''




''She paid our chief, Quintus, to **** Lucca, '' ''He was lucky
To be hired by two persons to do his job on the same ship.''
''Quintus made his intentions very clear; he is a plucky
Man; '' one of them touched a footprint with his finger tip.




'' Quintus's intention was to loot and to arrive before
Frederick besides Syracuse to wait and hit the carrack.''
''Quintus will **** Marco after trying to find out whether
He's their man or not, '' ''They have fallen under our attack.''




'' Chiara paid Quintus to **** Francesca, '' '' Look at the village! ''
''This must be the messenger's house; it's midnight; let's enter
To find the documents like in the midst of a pillage, ''
'' All are like babies in a deep sleep, '' ''I long for adventure! ''




(They found the documents, but they didn't take them because they needed to hunt the connection person. They exited the house.)




'' Let's tell Quintus that these gold bars came from London to go
To a Russian rich lady living as a nun, '' ''One
Of them used Fargo to be here, but she didn't let him know.''
''Now, he cannot return back to us; his future is done.''




''When one of us leaves our crew, he becomes a stupid man
In the arms of any woman, '' ''Which one do you think is
Involved in the gold's story? '' ''I don't know, but I know the plan.''
''They are four; we'll find soon, '' ''Round in my head, these events whizz.''




(The pirates killed the messenger on the beach, but they did not know where he had lived.
The messenger knew the person who had to give him the gold, and therefore, had no documents on him.
The person bringing the gold traveled while providing maximum security, but secretly he was afraid of the pirates.)




Meanwhile, Quintus did not know where the gold had come from
Nor where the messenger was living, and therefore, he killed
Marco; then, after the returning of his people, he sent them
To tell all the pirates that the onslaught should be stopped.



Erica knew about the village and influenced
Fargo to go in that direction; Ivan had told her
The name of the village and where the messenger's house was placed,
But she didn't know the information that man could confer.




Chiara wanted Lucca to die because he was the sole
Heir of an immense fortune after the death of his parents.
She also wanted Francesca's death, but she lost control
Thinking that she lost the asset in the light of those events.



(..To be continued…)

Poem by Marieta Maglas

I yearn for tea
Amongst the tales of Xinxian.
So came a flood teased
The scent of Maojian.
Puffs, over placid lake, and
Whispered crooked mountains,
Alone, the windswept pine cone,
And amiss, the plateau she wept;

Tears when I remember an uncle,
Old man “Magic,” long gone,
And his story of
Love led suicide; Aggregate,
One lonely island “now.”
So spoke two solid oaks,
The remains, and the hum
Atop tip and tongue,
Locals and love –

For each and every time a
Young man kisses
His fair maiden,
More pale, one chance,
Subtle, the future, in stone,
The frightful things that
Sometimes happen.

I’d watch that saga if I could,
But I can’t;
I’m an active participant
And tomorrow,
I’d be wrapped up in some
Other tale, tumult or tease?
A hero, or villain?
Either way, I’d be happy
And for some time –

I knew the danger in just,
“That,” and perhaps you will too,
When you stumble off the stone,
Or follow your own path,
Wary the map of course,
Where there be dragons,
There be treasures and tragedy,
I promise, and when you do,
I only hope you
Share your story with me.

Hanging turtles and
Netted birds of amenity
Dangle from her
Left hip like jewels ‘neath a,
“Ming,” ear as she traverses
Mountains beholden kitchens
And one more rise come setting splendor.
Supper may be atop the right, pelvis,
But opposite and left,
Rests the flask, bitter in chase of sanity.

I’m sure the scant pebble
Rattling in between
Her stomach and sorrow
Was nothing more than
A desperate thirst opposed the
Blister born benevolence,
Thirst opposed execution
And a coin converted spirit opposed,
“Xie xie,” (thank you), a platitude,
As heads clip pavement,
Blood pales a gutter,
Or soon-to-be feast’s final throes,
A bleeding and breeding for other,
Leading jitter-beholden mice to flee,
For they may be next
So future’s victuals arrive
Unhindered.

All and assumptive, assistance and rendered,
She walks away with only this –
Everyone’s emaciated
And the butcher on the street is still a butcher,
A peddler, a savior, and butcher again;
A source, be it left, right or wrong,
In need of a drink, as we all are,
With only the means, “take me to the sip,”
And by dollar come pocket born you.

Lust, Sin, Pride, Greed,
I'm just your average human disease.
I didn't plan on being what you need.
But now I am, and it ******* scares me.

I'll be a disappointment.
I'll leave you washed up, and spent.
I know I'll disappoint you.
Why won't you quit while you're ahead?

I'm sorry I wasn't it.
Not even close to being a Prince.
I'm sorry I can't be it.
*It hurts less if you just forget.

There are spiritual healers getting in touch with those spirits
To ask them why they are present, ' said Erica. „Usually,
When you call them, they come to tell you some secrets.
Some sad lovers that passed away can't leave this world peacefully.''



„They can be demons, too, ' said Maya. „We must talk with the priest, '
Said Geraldine. „Let’s search in the storage room, ' she continued,
„We’ll find something, and we'll face this truth together, at least.''
''I hear the steps of someone walking away from this window, ''



Said Carla.'' Maybe it's the rain tapping on the sill, ''
Replied Geraldine. Surak opened the window and said,
'It doesn't rain; in the soft wind, I hear only the birds' trill.''
''But I've found some books in a big box for safe keeping instead.''



(Maya and Erica went to buy fresh fish from one of the many fisheries existent in that village.)




Fargo entered the Spianada, the largest square
In the Balkans, which was created by the Venetians.
The sound of the sea waves was like a stir in the air.
The peaks of the Old Fortress looked like swords of the Titans.



He passed the lighthouse tower and entered the underground
Tunnels that linked the Fortress with the main parts of the town.
Then, he entered the New Fortress, and when he looked around,
He saw the gates, the sea shore, and the land that sloped down.



(The port has been an important naval base since the Roman period. Considerably, Corfu was called the Gibraltar of the Adriatic. He bought a galley.)



The Ionian Islands belonged to the Republic
Of Venice; they were slowly conquered, one by one, in time.
Corfu voluntarily became a colony; its public
Gardens made the Islands' governor reside on that sublime




Territory; its economy was based on exporting
Raisins, olive oil and wine, whereas the Venetian lira
Was the currency of the islands; while incorporating
The culture of Venice, these people used a plethora



Of Italian words, because this language was official.
Venice had garrison soldiers, scattered in island forts
With muskets and bayonets made of the iron material.
The impromptu recruits and mercenaries were hired in the ports.



(Fargo started to talk with the infantry captain and with the lowborn ship’s captain.)



'' It's hard to eradicate the piracy from the world.''
''Because of money, the soldiers are recruited as needed.'
''Only with the convoy protection, the sail with the ships is furled.
When it is no longer required, their claims are unheeded.''



''The Muslim pirates attack the Christian ships to enslave.''
''I've heard there are Jewish pirates, too, '' ''Because of Inquisition, ''
''The corsairs are dangerous, '' '' Our ships hardly can face on this wave.''
The Christian navies are weak; don't have enough ammunition.''



''The Muslim opponents are fast; you need a large convoy.
You will be convoyed by us until you enter Italy-
After fighting the pirates.'' ''On our ship, there is an envoy.''
''To let you sail, they wanted some protection money.''



''Europe pays its duty to protect its own action,
But accepts the growth of piracy in Indian waters.''
''The piracy is bad in theory, but usefully practiced-
A cheap way to expand their economic and naval powers.''



''The governments don't want to eradicate the piracy.''
''The anti-pirate campaigns are only documents.''
''These pirates mean business behind the wall of privacy.
In bars and brothels for crews, the money means strong arguments.''



''This eradication needs a revision to the law.''
'' Only in the Spanish colonies, they are executed, ''
''Spain has a court of officers, '' '' This is a Britain law, new.''
''In return for the pardon, these pirates are persuaded.''



(The captain gave Fargo two galliots, each one having 80 oarsmen and 60 soldiers.)

(To be continued...)

Poem by Marieta Maglas