Walking, your gait memorizes
Not when you know it
That doesn't count
Because that's different
When you don't know

That's special
A moment removed from
History, unremembered
And is all mine, no one else's
It's not a bounce, or a walk
Almost a combination of both
When every foot touches the ground

Your eyes glisten, uncried tears
And I hope you never cry again
I've been paying more attention
Just lately, and they're so animated
All around back and forth,
But with a sort of tunnel vision
Focused, but in the past

Hands move every word
Flying across the room
Around and around,
Blood tipped nails, work words
Crafted by the sharpest rapier tongue
Building, emphasizing every thought
A crazy, flurry of words, fingers and hands

It's with every breathe you take
Every action, you flow, glow
Fingers to toes
Eyes to heels
Absolutely

And always, yes, I do

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

No gypsy whispers to me
Not secrets of the night
The sound of bangles are silent
Bandanas are folded alway
Her magic was broken
More trick than treat
Too easily fooled
The ball is not cloudy
It's hollow and clear
A mirror under the table
Modern projectors so small
Bright lights make marks trust magic
Confuse logic and sense
A basic trick, keep them off balance
Offer correction, a touch
Then the magic in words
So nice, lovely, impressed
Maybe a favor, a lady's delight
Never too much, nothing too big
Just a small favor, not too much
A smile and a compliment
Make them give action to words
Create loyalty, but test waters
Just to be sure
The game's afoot, a hand now in hand
So well you do, the gypsy exclaims
For sure the best, not just here but there
Establish authority, decide who's to role
Let words become actions
But at a role that's controlled
Ever the magician, the magi
The sorceress, wizard and role
The victim is willing
To believe the unknown
Worse if they know
The truth of the words
Building that trust
To the deceiver, the bold
The gypsy is slick, the gypsy is bold
A hand in the pocket, distractions all told
You came for surprise, entertainment
The reaction is slow, days and months go by
Piece by piece you are taken
Often willing to be broken
Standing in line, smiling
But inside you're crying
Asking, pleading to stop
Can't even say the words
Don't want to be rude
It's just the gypsy, you know
Nothing mean, vile or dread
Just a trick in your head

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

Her weight is like a feather
The perils of her life
Weigh her down
Let me help
You are not alone

The heaviness of the past
The crushing experiences
Don't need to be shouldered
It's chains need not bite
The cold of steel
Or the strength of your walls
Let me stand by your side

We can look together
At future depths
Tackle the chains
Break that which binds
Besiege those castle's towers

I want to be by your aide
To shoulder your weights
To build new wings for your heart
To knock down the walls
Holding your hand
Fighting at your side
Facing our demons

You were alone for so long
It's hard hearted necessity
Repelling all help that doesn't last
For you nothing stayed
Trusting none

Keeping demons at bay
Clawing outside, screaming
Wretched, oozing creatures
Bemoaning loss, misery
Cutting deep, razoring flesh
Locked away, a mind's eye
Thicker and higher; safety's cage

Locking you in, a path not your own
Borrow my compass, my map
Let me carry my sword, your cause
Work my guns, my life for yours
Never feel alone, possess my bones

No matter the weight
Regarding the stones
My shoulders for strength
It'll be easier carry
Changing from I, me, my
For ours, us, and we
Two is better when one

Together, we'll step
On the unstepped road
Hand in hand, side by side
Aid in hardship, share
Making lights in the dark

We set everything on flame
Nearly burned our home
We've come through together
Quenched in passions
Furious dragon's fire
This journey together
A quest, heart's desire

We've beaconed lights
Set up the stage
This path has lights
Stories untamed
Lighting our way

My love for you
Lightens all that weighs
Maps our journey
A compass together
To a future, to us

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 the distance, there is a cliff
I go there sometimes
To hang my toes off the edge
Maybe my legs; eat some lunch
Look out at everything

There's an old oak there
Half off the edge
It's roots are dug in pretty well
But that's only half
Others seem to keep growing
Seeking down, looking for soil
You can tell its alive

You can tell its strong
It seems to have this perspective
Probably from the view
But most of the cliff is gone
And it's still here

So I'll sit in its shade
Eat my lunch, take a nap
A gentle breeze tousles my hair
Like a lover's hand, finger's touch
But it's just a branch
The old oak's touch
Just the wind

The finger of the shade curled
Not so much a beckon
As a warning, unsafe path

From the trees a wildcat screams
A woman's wail, shrieking
Unintentional ambiance
A deeper black to the night

The fade sees, hollow eyes plead
It's mouth works, a soundless scream
The shade chokes, tries to breath
Forgot it's dead, it remembers death
Insubstantial hands grab my chest

Snow falls, the land in fog
A tree falls, unseen far off
A giant's step, shakes the earth
The shade reaches in, grips

My heartbeat, rushing thudding
Stops, fear's fingers tighten
Clench, stilling the drum

Parched Earth, dry;
******* the very moisture from the air
Cactus wither, their prickly screams
Silent as a night without even the stars
Above, no longer hanging; fallen
Angels have turned their eyes
Downcast, thirsty

Not a grain of sand moves
There might have been a sign
But that would have shown
Life at one time
Or another

This is a land that is without
No footprints mar the beauty
The little mouse is far
No desert fox to fight
A winning or losing battle here
No presence of either life or death
Even a trace

Life here has made no hold
Never breeched this abyss
Never crept in either by
Evolution or design
Here there is no god

Don't share a wasted tear
I've told you before
Even the thought
Of water here is
****** away

On the gentle not-quite-wind
You can hear, softly
What might be a violin
Off tune; Or maybe it's the sands
Cursing; Settling in for another
Millennium, getting comfortable
Or piano, it doesn't matter

A desert's song, like that of the moon
When night falls, stealing even
Tans, browns, no greens or color
My life has been shown grey
Then black with even subtle
Shades of white blanched
Even from the grey of the moon

This is the liberal world
All hard work, given a way
Others will provide
All my work wasted
Broken down and taxed too far

My children have starved
To feed those less deserving
Because the rich have left
Run away, another planet
Another star, left only the poor
So now there are the entitled
Left to deal with us wolves

Notches, lines, and curves
Leaving holes, missing parts
Looking for pieces, in places
People, to fill gaps
Persons to flip, perhaps

Find one, almost a match
Let them be this,
Force them to fit
Oh, don't fit?
Get a hammer

Pull your hair
Gnash your teeth
Tear your nails
Stub your toes
Bust you funny bone

Look all over
For that perfect piece
All look the same
Maybe, a bit different
I have to admit

Eventually, a simple plan
Systematically, try them all
Eventually, you have two piles
The ones you tried
And the ones you don't

Then, out of the blue
The piece is in your hand
Maybe you had to turn it
Or maybe it was just right
In either case, there it is

When you have it
There is no reason
Try the rest, the untested
Should be forgotten
They're not worth your time

That one piece, special
Completed the puzzle
And it meant the most
Because she was
The hardest to get

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 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

It falls, more of a drip
Flowing, warmth, and slick
It tastes so sweet, teasing
Smooth, lubricating, and wet
I can make it rain
Taste it's anytime I like
Only have to rub the bottle
Polish it's parts, glean it's magic
Insert a quarter and pay my due
It's a candy machine
I open my mouth below
Let it all pour down
Gulp and swallow
Like a big child
Happiness smeared all over my mouth
Such a big mess, laughing
Go wash your face!
But I don't listen
Always rebel
Go after more
That sweet candy
Eat it well

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

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

As far as the eye can see
It might have been perfectly white
A beach stretching, hugging the sea
Crystal clear and blue
Palm trees dot up and down along the way

Hot sun between the toes
Burns the memory in between
Here, everything is naked
There are no reasons for clothes
All desires, primal hence untold
Eat, run, *** and fun
Addiction, anxiety, and scary fears

Scoop the sand look at it close
Each grain a memory, stored
Histories unfold, sliding between fingers
As they fall, colors come out
Spreading across the sands

For a moment, you think
A tie-dyed wonderland
But the blues, like peacocks stand
Are pain, brilliantly trimmed in golds
Walled in blacks, more blues and grays
Reds are fears, soaking blood and reds
Dipping between colors, blending to blacks

Yellows, bright, happy thoughts
Always associated, keeping turquoise
Greens, silvers and peaches and oranges bold
It's an island's life, kept secluded to stay nice
Footprints here and there maybe chasing monster tracks
Sometimes to, sometimes back
Sometimes footprints go away

But the tie-dyed beauty of the landscape stays
In the dusk or morning's stay
Along the sands you can see
A brilliance catches the eye
Something different, something fine

That among the broken
Mountains and stones
That made this beach eons ago
Diamonds glitter,
Sparkling golds
And the silver lines
All that was broken, made you shine

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

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

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

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

It's not my fault
I want you so hard
There is always a reason
Always a touch
Gentle and warm

Maybe in the morning
Before long days
You'll scrunch up
Tight against me
Asleep, I doubt you know
But it sets me off

I'll drift from sleep
Embracing your body
Not too sure, but
Angel, I hold
Your hip, thigh
Up and down
So, so soft

Maybe I slide
Between your thighs
My hands, fingers
Crease your lips
Murmur in your ear
Bite on your neck
Taste your night

Start to quiver
Wet, fingers trace
Heartbeats on low lips
Maybe you wake
A hand on my hip
Encouraging a ride
Or fingertips' glide

Guide me, press back
Arch, your breath catches my stride
In to a volcano, throat divide
Warped around, entwined
Guiding your hands

Turn your head, kiss so fine
Hot, checkered breathing
Interrupting, moans, low
A 'yes,' trancing eyes
Push me down, out; not dry
Suckle, circle dance of tongue
Perfect *******, mounds smooth and fine

Dark areole, ******* *****;
Nibble; mouth
My hands explore designs
Perfect muscular, beautiful lines
Tracing curves of stomach, hip and thigh

Then down your lat
Fingers, grasp
Your smell, sensual, smile
Pecks along, just inside
Smooth, soft, tasting drips
Desert, candy, rain and
Your hands press, ******

A bend of knees, hips rise
Gripping biscuits, I dine
Pressing me closer,
I encourage with murmurs
Yours, hard grind

You take my hands
Crushing nails to my palms
Tattooing ******* half moon designs
Hot juices, quicken; reach out
Reach. Grip, pull at the sheets
Swelled, throbbing clip
My tongue dances a rhyme

Again and again
Toes curls, force, pin
For leverage, twisted arms
Hands along inside thighs
Press, open you hard

Bring you with me
Surf your waves
Bring your conclusion
Once again, squirming
Liquid, bodies, meshing

You push me down
I turn, pull you over
Open wide, arching back
Teasing in, empale yourself
Deeply, feel you open within
Wet, dripping, rivers of warmth
Your muscles hard, you grip

And grind, *** and grind

Biting, fingers dig deep
Shoulders, chest, nails drag
Wrap you tightly, press you close
Your ******* so hard, grip my head
Hands wrapped in your hair
Twisted, gently, hard tip arching
Taking that deep ache

Perfect in warmth, soft
Desperate in movement
Action, low cries
You nip with a tongue
Again, you ***

Harder you press
Undeniable, deep thrusting
A millstone crushing it fine
Faster, hands slide on thighs
Locking your feet, pinning me down
Entering wide, you want it deeper
Taking my explosion inside

Inside, you hug my size
Up *******, then down
Draining, reserve, devoured in time
Folding and melting
Against me

Collapsing, molding
Aloft , floating, drifting
Our heartbeats in sync
Fingers, we relax
Bodies, we close
Together, we fall
Back to sleep

After the birth of morning
The maturity of the sun
Driving the leaves to grow
Grasses, deep and green
Reaching for the warmth

After noon's heavy heat
Siesta's come and gone
Shadow's time begins
At first, a gradual pace
Deceivingly slow

They lay in wait, watching
The sun's retreat across the sky
Falling to the Earth, coming down
Loosing its power, darkness creeping
The day trying to stretch itself long

Say your prayers on heavy breath
But not for night's stare or embrace
Head for home, bar your door
Children and wives, in pantry's store
Men behind doors, cower, the storm

Rift in time, a seam in the between
Night and day, that which comes
Slips through now, gasping for air
Creatures not of the dark or of day
Only hungry for anything, scared

Twilight creatures, neither human
Nor bear, not wolf, either some
Or both, something between
Feathered, some; tufts of fur
Defying demons, angels both

The run, fearing the heavy night
Here, not for long, just to feast
Catch stray cattle, chicken or child
A raptor from the skies
Or beast jaws wide

The heat of light, retreating
Draws them forth, eyes glinting
Small, beady and cunning
Intelligent malice minded
Chittery cries before night

Tendency to violence, panic
Sometimes sheltered, closeted
Built for speed, cornered and fright
Desperate in their time
A brief interlude, nothing right

Lust for the fresh death
A ****, they'll come together
Feast, and eat in lust
Flurry of feathers, disgust
Hair and fur, they demand

Clenched knuckles, white
On stick and stone, any weapon
A man might hold, protect the home
Thicken oaken doors, seem thin
Windows boarded, watch sun demise

Gaunt cheeks show shadowed, sunken eyes
From too many hard days near end
Always hungry, fearful work, never enough time for work and sleep
Some, drunk, heavy on spices, deep drink
Seeking solace in cups, not protection in men

This village is ******, think old women
Gathered children to hem
Little enough cloth, even for them
Living rags, less human than men
Desperate eyes, from fires and then

A blow from wind, maybe spirit or sin
Hushes hearth fires, extinguishes light
Light scratches at windows, claw
Cloying smells of dirt, **** and death
Seeps through cracks to tight to caulk

A thud on the roof, steps too heavy
Shaking the dust from the ceilings
Drifting like morning fog
A silence, the moments hang
Dread, deep seated to bone

Then the frightened scurry
Talon and claws, scramble
The whoosh and flap of wing
Heavy footed bodies rush in
With the dark, something comes

The little creatures of twilight
Flitter, chittering back to whence
Leaving small tracks, slightly
Bigger than man, maybe
One carried through, kicking

Away they go, but not all
Competing with the powers
That drew forth the deep dark
Hunted like little creatures they are
They rush back, to the seam, the cold

Men, women and children
Still away they hold, another scare
Another night, breathing silent
In fear, tears fall, like horrors
Stalking the seam, in the night

Long touches, I hope to relax
Maybe sensual, I wish for a sign
But I'm happy with massaging
Your legs, perfectly shaped
Strong thighs, wonderful calves
Your feet, high arched and even
Between your toes

Warm towel, heated and laid
Against your perfect skin
Working a heat in
Pulling the knots out
Up and down your back

Taking shoulders
In my hands, kneeling
Needing, this rich touch
And pulling you up
Arms around you

Maybe I hold you too long
Too tight, I miss you dearly
But I feel your heart
I'll hold you; it's clear
I need it

But it's for you
This embrace
Calms your heart
Soften your eyes
Quenches your anger

Watching you sleep
Barely heard snores
All desperation lost
I'll protect your sleep
Hold your watch

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

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

Whispering night
Your arousal is apparent
Dripping breaths upon
Children's dreams
And fearful crones

Your coming to is deceitful
On heels of sunset's demise
A leg's length, slowly falling
Against a navel background
Sparkling drowning diamonds

Listen now, to its rictus grin
Great full lips, stained dark red
Wrapped around dinners, snacks
Long fingers pick, pluck and snap
Feral jaws work, bone and sinew

Hair tussled but not undone
Not out of place, habitually hungry
Disguising true shape, lies to men
Ravenous eye shine through
Sparkling lights out of place

Not strange to be prey
To this creature, daughter of night
We've grown accustomed, lost
Finding safety in artificial light
Ever she is, on its edge

Patient and less leery,
It's not fires, our path to light
It doesn't burn, indeed it seems
She has seen, watching Children
Touch bedside lights, just off

From between floors, walls
She hides, touching, running
Long nails along the wood
Or cheeks, daring us to hide
In to the shadows, she flies

Never retreats, she is simple
Predator, there just for a bite
Distracted by another,
Potential supper, either
Staff or divide, devours

Stealing breath, stealing lovers
The cold, warm body of night
Slithers under covers, darkness
Rides bringing uncomfortable
Mornings, marks and lies

We tell ourselves bogeymen
Maybe a lover, think it was them
Long nails down backs or thighs
Asleep and dreaming, don't think
It's not possible another, last night

Her embrace took both, too many
Thinking one was another
Maybe rough, a carnival of thighs
Flesh, firm, budding and lithe
Drawing even blood in need

This is night, a creature
Between the physical states
Almost one, or another
Like between our bodies
Wrapped, each in sleep

And then, as eyelids close
That little sound, stirs
Tell yourself, no
It's nothing, just...
Anything else

"God made man, but Samuel Colt made them equal"*

I don't know who said that, nor,
I suppose, do I care.

Looking out across a crowd
Protesting something, I start to care

Sheep, protesting their own rights
Me and John Browning laugh

They'll come for my guns
Ol' Sam Colt will be at my side

I have my friends, those trusted men
Who have built this country

Those who bleed, bled, designed
Died, sacrificed and cried for it

So you occupy, you whine about fair
Ok, but you're not the three percent

Go on and complain
Say it's all privilege

But to take the guns, steal my rights
You'll call the guys with guns

And in the end, to attain your goals
You'll be calling people like me

The smallest touch sets me off,
I know you don't like it all the time
Or even, now, most of the time
But, I see you, I see you
How can anyone not fall in love?

Wish to embrace the most intimate of activity?
To feel your breath on my skin,
Hands caress and swim
To look you in the eyes
Feel your body, buck
Muscles contract, fingers claw
Dig in and tear at sheets

Or just to close with you,
Hold gently, rhythmic and deep
Entwined of fingers and legs
Head thrown back, lost in steep
Chest to back, as can be

Maybe not like movies
Definitely not your books
Where everything is perfect,
Beings perfect bring fake reality
Expectations that prove to disappoint
The act of love isn't that,
Its moment making

Between two, desperate hearts
Two lonely souls, two holey minds
Imperfect truths, incomplete lives
Which always practice and seek
Attempting to mold as one

Everyday
No matter the fight
However the mood
I tell you so much
Power is lost from the words

A romantic, sometimes
Broken hearted
But always, falling
To bloodied knees
Touching your face
A kiss, my love
To your lips, my Love

Dreams of your smile
Your softest touch
Just holding your hand
Touching your side
And pulling you close

I love you
Like the ocean
Can't control the dam
Like the highest mountains
Stretching for the skies
Like the moon and the stars
No heaven without you

Beats of my heart
A dance of the soul
Moon song's mournful cries
I want you in my arms
Need you close to my touch

I believe in you
Bright eyes when I first asked you
To be exclusively mine
To let me be just and only yours
I held you in my arms
And held you too long
Held you too tight

I remember when I asked you again
Surprise on your face
Tear in your eye
I asked you to love me
In a field, far from the lights

There was a starry night to witness
What better honor to love
Than twinkling lights
Ask you to marry me
Vow to preserve
Promise to love
Protect and help

Sometimes we fight
Brutal passions erupt
I split and desire
To take you
And hold

Wipe away your tears
Give you comfort
Devour your fears
I am not perfect
Sometimes I fail
But together
We strive

I love you like water
Overcoming and blind
You are my heart's song
My every tide
Every desire

The audience waits, watching
Spectators, filled with guilt
Inner thoughts, selfish, obvious
Sometimes, they clap, complain
They are addicted to themselves

They're chemically unbalanced
Sorry for living, too dramatically
Involved with others, themselves
Seeing only themselves in the show
The chemical addition of the mind

Time creeps by, the audience fickle
Sexually active, but too immature
Indirectly not living their lives
*******, covered from head to toe
Ten up and ten down, going wild

The show becomes the crowd
Strong vibes blanket, caught in a mob
Interesting only from a distance
Scholarly pursuits, a hidden interest
Their intelligence, their walls

There are no glass mirrors here
Shards all broken, taken down
Internal debates, lost to internal desires
Scandalous hearts, one and all
Their interests only on themselves

Together they all, looking they fall
Seeking enlightenment, reflecting
In joy, looking only at themselves
Sought, entertainment found,
This circular logic too personally bound

Then, a surprise, embarrassing
Sound, a not from the crowd
I see you, exclaims the actor, now
Sickened, the audience pound
Thumping feet, fists threaten

The people bring down, violent
Seating, throwing chairs, erupting
In the stands, the audience mobs
Spectators outraged to be seen
Truly, for how they are

This, ranging of emotion
Swinging from extreme to other
Intrinsically addicted to themselves
Seen stripped and naked
Tortured, arrogant in pride

Thinking it's personal
Something their own
Individually, the same as the rest
Seen not independent
They are the mob

When you look to the pretty lights in the sky
You'll see all the reds, oranges, yellows, and blues
Galaxies spread out, floating
A spinning waltz, coordinated, gravitational
Nonlinear on strings, time infinite

Wish upon all those stars
Colors I can't even see
Let them have their partners
Relationships into themselves
Numbers stretch patterned lines

See much further than the naked eye
Colors don't matter, neither their cries
Epic majestic, eternal blending
Shifting skies, beaches, oceans
On alien planets, in our skies
Count the stars and their parts
Every particle, piece, elemental tie

Look much further, with your ears
A musical hum, RF bending tie
Circling waves, scattering dashes
Invisible stories, forever
Building rhythm, spicing the waltz

Taste true love, sweetest
Thirst, hunger, and peace
Encompass emotion
Eclipsed release
Hold back the awe
Utilitarian focus, belief
See time complete

This is
I love you,
three worlds
Incompletely
But neat

Raven haired gives shadow
Returning no light
Dark eyes bleed fire
Glimmering light
Sharp tongue desire

A faceted soul,
More than sides to a coin
Mirrored Gemini, teeth bite
The long other side
From murderous delight
Love's deepest desire
Longing, welling, romantic

Like a diamond you shine
Uncut, raw passion
A jeweler's bind
Pieces of lapis
Vein fractured soul

Beautiful and broken
Delicate, strong to behold
Like a feathered breeze
You want to take flight
To love you is to hold you,
Give you touch, but
Forever you cringe

The lessons you learned
Affection is not told
History is family
Totally unknown
Approval denied

Fairy desire
Princess' hero a lie
Nothing to live for
Everything must die
Cruel reality's lie

My heart breaks, always cries
To hear you defeated
I listen to your whys
Let me help heal your hope
Build a future, so fine
Build dreams together
Please, Babe, try
I love you, Honey

Ringed of stone
Dark rocks from another time
Broken, shattered, replaced
By not by gnarled hands
Hands, uncalloused,
Delicate fingers, dragging
Unholy stones, upturned
Graves of creatures
Not meant to
Draw breath

Concentric rings, reinforced rituals
Blood, dried and fresh, decorate
Form intricate scrolls,
Forgotten languages
Of Masters, dead and still walking
Hailing dark forces, uncontrolled
Like forcing the seas from the beach
Standing at lowest tide
And bringing creatures
From it's depths
Caught now
In pools

Far from the oceans
Inland and unknown to those
Others, they bend and crawl
Broken of sanity and mind
Tentacled things, fanged
With inhuman strength
A disjointed symphony
From throats, forgotten
Words, gurgling
Choking on no language
For the era of man

Chained by the geometrical
Patterns they don't understand
They cringe and prostrate
In lies to which should
They but lunge, lashing out
Powers which slash through
Minds, bringing insanities
Destroying any that they touch

But rituals, forgotten even by them
Elders, Masters worship, Star Gods
Brought, mindless, from the Beyond
Shipwrecked in our oceans of Earth
Slumbering, shambling Others
Slaved to their wills, games
Bringing to bended knee
Captured to barest glimpse
Minds broken, eternal youth
Women as vessels to hybrid life

Birthed children, monstrosities each
Chained, insane, locked to those
Dark rocks, their shards show
Surrounding prisons ages, old
Centuries untold, legends, mythical
Undulating naked bodies, show
Dancing, sexually unbound
Oiled, aflame though unburnt
Soaking, basking in their power
As their scream break, carry the night
Quaking the Earth, shattering clouds
They seek return, the stars, the seas
To feast, again, on salted flesh
To worship their kraken
Father of them all

Look in to the mirror
Only a little light is lost
But that light isn't lost

It's caged, imprisoned
Sandwiched between
The silver and glass
It claws out, etching
Long black scratches
On a mirror walled
Never moved, hanging

In the dark, late at night
A thump, dark noises
Under the bed, the closet
Behind the closed door
It's not all in your mind

It's that bit of light
Turned insane, trapped
So long in the abyss

That, I see as I gaze
That not light staring
Back at me
A pool of not darkness
Ethereal flesh, claws
Of light, scratching
Like a chalkboard
But on glass

That noise in the night
Reaching from the glass
Out, against the wall

It makes sense, of a sort
To reach out, break the glass
But the wall, it stops
Leaving only a scratch
Only, of course,
During the day

Dust of a hundred mirrors
Not reflecting night
Bumps and thumps
Slamming shut
And jumping
You from bed

But the light is trapped
Imprisoned, locked in
To a flesh not its own
Testing, flexing it's taloned hands
Grasping, lingering
On a silvered surface
Screams caught
Etched on the surface
Of our minds

Animals know the sanguine moon
The prey remain burrowed
Under thick brush, a heavy toll
Thickets, filled with skittish deer
Big brown eyes scan, fear filled holes

Predators, ending the circle of life
But not tonight; tonight they'll wait
They glance, repeatedly to the sky
Not directly, but nervous for dawn
Tomorrow's quite a better day to dine

None of that loudness
No insect noise, or chirping birds
Almost a eerie silence like
When the forest forgets
An invader expects fight

Hanging loom, red cast rays
Piercing through thick clouds
Bringing dark shadows to life
Twisting trees to creatures
Forming creaks to growls

Nothing but imagination to frown
Distractions, bridging minds, all
This deep red moon, really calls
Something from the corner of the mind
A creature of thoughts, manifested

It reaches out with lightest touch
Mind to mind, fostering fears
Linking nightmares, making light of sin
Turning brother against brother
Friend to fight best friend

Even the forest creature's fears
Manifest in to human minds
From the nervous predator
To the skittish, cowering prey
People propelled, a loss of mind

It hangs high, that red demon
Strong for feeding time
But the moon wanes
Red brings to fade
All have their time

Crooked tree, misshapen thing
A hundred years old, if a day
Tall, but not a branch straight
It's bark at least two inches thick
But it's bite was the cloying sound

No birds hung among its leaves
If one might wrap its little feet
Too often the bird was there
Maybe it's little, tiny feet wrapped
Then it wasn't, a motion too fast to see

Bees would him around the orchard
Spring would ring the sound of blossoms
So many insects would sing along
But on the edge of the field
Would sit the tree alone, without

If there was a tree that might
Look out and see the world
And horribly seek to darken it
Even it's leaves, grown, were black
Dead before they dropped

The tree lived, broken, and older still
Birds learned to avoid it,
And insects, they never did
Creatures, feeding it's hunger
Disappeared with quickness

Then a day came, the orchard mowed
Trees trimmed, five by twelve
Blossoms sparkled across the trees
And eventually, the tenders came
To the orchard's final tree

It peered back at them, ringed
Looking at bones, a predatory cave
Even the grass didn't grow
And the tree felt at them with need
It was thick and sure it could take one

But moments went and they were far
Just beyond reach and just too many
They looked, unsure of life
The tree with an ancient cunning
Made a frightening sight

Toward it's top
Just out of reach
What might have been
Ruby, red flowered
But, ******, not ruby, spread

Before their eyes
The blossom went
From flower sent
To apple of ****** spent
First, one; then two, and three

Enough for all, should they reach
One, first stepped, a hand stopped
Pointing and excitement gripped
Gesturing at small bones, evidence
The tree, made apples blazing red

Words were spoke and those, left
The tree, still crumpled and bent
Night fell and the tree felt
Leaving apples up, so so red
A worthy tempt

And right before dawn
One did come, temptation won out
The man, climbed; the tree stood
Held its ire, back it's threat
Waited until, the man out stretched

Snapping him up, quick, quick
Swallowing him whole, spitting out bone
It was such a meal, that the tree just grew
Another inch, or maybe two
Up, and out, roots reached another

The tree spread and spread
Turning green apples deep red
Less slowly it went,
One lonely man a day
Until it made two

And now, the tree leans
Never green, overgrown hollow
Infected, bringing red to green
And might thoroughly explain
Why wild apples all, are sour

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

There are some
Who wear make up
To hide behind
Like a mask
Or to be someone their not

Some have worn it
For so very long
That they have become their mask
Or maybe the mask becomes them
Like a ritual, some pagan act
Antiqued and traditional
Some feel naked without it

But I saw you
Eyes stripped of all
No highlights, outlines or lashes
For all intents, completely naked
And behind the mask

And you were beautiful
Softest, smoothest lines
Untouched, raw and unmolested
Purest clean and untainted
And I loved you, that much more

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