Summer

Summer.
When we’d gently saunter
Across a rough path,
Carved from felled trees.

Watch the steamer
Hiss by
On shrouded blue,
Secrets swimming beneath the sailors.

Ducks and fish
Shall flee the foreign stranger
Dominating their river,
Terror in their eyes
As it carved through the waters.

We watch, you and I,
As the sunset lights the sky.
Ripples shimmer with new vigour.
The world sleeps.

But the warmth, dear.
Oh - the gentle August warmth,
It slowly faded.
And now –
I sit by the ever-flowing waterway.
Alone,
As everything dies around me.

Once in a Red Moon

A hush of voices
Washes free.
Cleanses this brittle stillness,
Of the softly moonlit night.
The sky pulses indigo,
Unnatural hisses cloud
The watery silence,
A breaking veil stretched thin.

Skin membranes tickle,
An itching sensation in my mind.
Hackles rise.

Sweat
On a cold night.
Shivering lightly,
I watch the moon glow,
Large and red.
It smirks down at me,
As I look up, and wonder.

Crooning,
The reapers step forth into
Hollow light,
Shrouded by the lych gate.
A fox touches their shadow – dies.
It joins the dead things
Waltzing on the shaded grass.
Morose puppetry.

With a gentle movement – loving caress,
The reapers meet my eyes.
And slowly – oh, so slowly,
They draw inwards.

9mm Of Thunder

A horrendous roar
Shatters the softly settling silence.
Echoes and rings
Across the skyline,
Pushes the air aside.

Some sick fascination,
As his heart split
And unfolded right
Before my eyes.
Like some sort of flower,
In a parody of spring.

Roses bubbled forth,
Blossoming on his shirt.
A heartstain dripping down.
Shaky legs gave way,
As he curved towards the ground.

Lie in my arms now,
I'll give you an anchor.
A focus.
As the edges of your vision
Blur and liquefy,
Keep your eyes on my stricken face.

I'll be there until it all goes black,
I promise you.

Shadows Dance

Those innocent, waking eyes
Haze over and close.
The dully glistening orbs covered,
And to the world,
Blinded.

The sleeping child
Now dreams,
Her mind free
From the prying whispers.

Silently,
The shadow-creatures slip out
Of their dark, little corners.
Gliding
Through the open window,
And down to the cooling street.

The cloudless moon
Brings sharp contrast
To their silhouette figures,
And they look up,
Starting to play.
Dancing in the bright fountain
Of luminance.

Her Sweet Marionette

The door -
With a soft, gentle click,
Swung shut.
Locking us away.

She slowly turned
Around and danced,
Lurching gently.
Edging
Towards me.
She reached the bed
Where I stood –
The static image
Of silence.
She laid a single digit
On my skin – Brittle white,
And leant in close.
A caress leaving me,
Pushing me down.
As she imprisoned my breath,
I sank under
Her hypnotic seas,
Blissfully drifting with her current...

Oh – my sweet, stringless marionette,
How you possess me.

Across a Sunless Sea

A presence announced.
Before the eyes
Even meet the sound,
A rasping sigh
Whispers
And resonates
Through the night.

Suns glitter
And illuminate.
The pathway glowing dimly,
As a silent twin strides
Beside this walker.

Finally,
The shore is shown.
An abandoned ghost town
Of parasols
And deck chairs.
Memories of the earlier light.

Now it’s empty,
And she sits and
Watches.
White stallions
Pound the shore,
Galloping proudly
Across a sunless sea.

Fearless
In the face of their demise.
Proud and noble,
As the moon
Is smothered.

Dreams of Eden

Whenever I try
(Staring hungrily)
To fight them off ,
They bind me tight
To the cold, stone floor
(Sweet paralysis),
And invade me further
(The lights go out).

Even harder to escape
(Shut away the dreams),
Because there's no chance
Of winning
(Buried in the attic),
When the enemy is myself
(Stuck on scorched earth).

Innocence

I sometimes remember
The days when I was young.
We’d dance in the fields,
Swing from the frames in the playground.
Ice creams from the ice-cream vans.

The sun was gods shining eye,
And every night
He’d lie down and go to sleep,
The stars, the moon would show his dreams.
When he cried,
The rain would fall and soak us.
Those were the days...
We never really knew anything.

Innocence is simple, lovely, beautiful,
But we were naive.
It faded as we grew older.
Our flower began to wilt.
Our clouded gaze began to clear
As saw it all
For what it was.
For some, it was taken by force.

Sometimes...
I’ll dance along the beach,
Hands outstretched -
My dress fluttering in the wind.
Recreating my long lost innocence.
I wish I could take it back.

Only One of Sound

Silk slithers over slender legs,
Hissing as I step forth.
Everything feels frozen,
Yet it’s a warm night.
The earth is soft beneath bare feet,
Collecting between my toes
As I step forth,
Wandering through this living dream-world.

The moonlight filters through the leaves.
Willow, Oak, Yew.
It turns the gentle forest deep
From green into soft blue.
Silence almost reigns over,
Through the mist and downy moss.
I’m the only one of sound here.

It’s odd, because even though
I’ve no bearings –
(Wonderful feeling lost)
It’s all familiar,
This place, to me.

Look Back

As a child, he grew up
Watching the ocean.
Little waves crashed against the beach
At his feet,
He played in their white crests.

Each afternoon his father would leave
In his little anglers boat,
And bring home dinner
Before the clock struck 9.
The rest went to market.

And then he didn’t.
The boat washed up on the beach,
Wet, yet pristine and undamaged.
Poseidon’s cruel mockery
That wood is stronger than blood.
The boy’s father lay still beside it,
Cold to the touch, asleep.
He never woke up.

They pushed the boat out to sea,
The cool marine breeze of dawn
Wafting away the sweat on their neck.
The faithful fisherman
Lay at rest on the deck.
As the little anglers boat faded away,
The boy turned away from the ocean.
He never looked back.

That Illusive Silhouette

My wreckage lies
Cold, battered and bruised,
Forgotten on the forsaken shore.

Storms bring down the wind and rain,
Rough sea churns my brittle little boat,
Inevitably pulled to the rocks.
Crashed and Shattered.
Marooned.

A pebble on this chill beach,
Ground down by the violent ocean.
Into minuscule pieces of dust
That drifts on the wind.
Crushed as we watch the sunset.

Oddly
I’m the only one who watches
For a silhouette
On the horizon.

Distant Lights

Perennial.
Dry and dusty,
fine ashes on a well-trodden road,
deserted
By phantom feet of the past.
The ground is littered with prints
Trudging into oblivion.

The path rests, darkened
wainscoted by evergreens
In thick formation.
Hoary trunks pull away into mystery,
Hiding half-forgotten narratives.

A faint mist
Shrouds this seekers path.
As if the rain
began to ascend
Before it had the chance
to hit the ground.
Elderflower hangs in the fog,
A whispering scent.

Glimmers of distant sunlight
Bring hope to these tired legs.
(Maybe I’ll reach it if I keep going)
A teasing of warmth on cool, bare skin
Brings strength to persevere.
(No thought of stopping)

Moth to flame,
Pushing towards radiance,
At the end of an endless road.

Silence Says More

Soft light shimmers quietly
On the peaks of little waves,
Drawn to the edge of the stony shore.
A rough outline softened by liquid.

Rain falling on our hair
As I stay close to you,
Our heads inclined and touching.
The sea gently laps at our feet.
My eyes are closed
As the ocean breeze moves my hair.
I don’t want to see your tears.

The water and the wind
Are the only sounds–
Whispers of the air and sea.
Words in my head,
Yet none of them spoken.
Silence says more,
As the intimate peace surrounds us.

“I’m ready.” I hear myself say,
And nothing more is heard
As I crumple to the floor.

As The Morning Fades Away

The water pulses
Against the dark shore,
Dampening the nearby grasses
As they dance in the morning wind.
She watches them waltz.

The geese glide
Majestically with the soft breeze,
Brushing the lady
With their shadows,
As she is warmed by the dawning sun.

Dark hair lifts
In the cool rush of air.
Sapphires sparkle,
As they gaze at rolling clouds
In the lilacs of the sky.

She smiles
As a vibrant purple butterfly
Lifts from its flower and flies into the sun.
The lady fades away,
And is forgotten.

Full Moon of Midnight

Darkness illuminated
By a bright little candle,
In the centre
Of a steely blue sky.

Clouds swirl -
Water to plughole,
Sucked away by the tunnelling light.
I wonder what there'll be,
When she sucks the night away.

Trees blink at you,
Staring at your shadow,
Stiff, curling hair flexing
In the wind.
Many limbs tensing.

Everything watches
When you walk
Beneath a full moon sky.
Everything stalks your steps.

Drunk on Lullabies

My head throbs,
Pulsing with soft tunes.
Gentle, hypnotic melodies
Dropping my eyelids.

Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye,
Too much, too much!
Feeling so drunk, so light-headed –
Dizzy from your lullabies.
You try to drift me down to sleep
So gently,
Your downy cashmere words,
Pulling me down.

I fear you may have been
Over-successful.
You pushed me so far down into my mind,
I wonder if I’ll ever wake up.

Wolves Cry

Dark grey strands of fur
Ripple past the trees.
You see them quickly,
Blink and they’ll be gone.
Hard to think, really,
When you meet that flash
Of gold between the ferns.
Fierce grace as they run,
Fiery beauty staring you down.

‘Your choice’ they say,
‘Will make mine.’
A blink, but no more.
Forwards or backwards –
Run or attack.

You’d probably prefer ‘run’.

Later, when the sun has set,
After moonrise.
A high, animalistic call
Shrouds the night,
The wolves cry.

Stray From the Light

Watch me silently.
Drag me down as rain starts to fall,
Wash my fears away.
I don’t care what you do,
I just want to stay here.

As my eyes trail over a nearby streetlamp,
Moths flutter around the comforting glow.
Lunescent rays fall around us,
A feather light haze upon your skin.

How I love to gaze
Upon the comforting stillness of the moon,
And tune everything out.
No system can stifle this feeling.
Let us break free from this tiring façade,
Throw a spanner in the robotic cogs
Of controlling minds.

We are like those moths,
But we strayed from the knowledgeable lights,
We flutter in the darkness,
We find our own way.

Life on the Lilies

The smooth unbroken fabric,
Damp in the morning, dew of the dawn.
It waves gently as a pale hue of orange tints the horizon.
Each drop, a thousand mirrors,
Fading in the new found warmth.
Days spent lazing in the flowers,
My life on the lilies.

Each gust of wind rolling over me,
Brushing my nose with a soft sweetness of breath,
Exhaled from silken petals.

The melody of birdsong wakes me up,
Opening my eyes to the raw sunlight,
While I lie and gaze the length of the day.
Unnoticed by the many creatures
Aimlessly wandering around.

As the sun sets,
The sound of sleepy bees buzzing home,
A low hum at the base of the air.
My own little lullaby,
Sending me to my dreams.

Splitting Branches

An Oak tree in the darkness,
Choices are it's seed.
Outcomes are the fruit, the food
That splits the bark in two.
Point it over here, dear,
And shoot me 'till I'm dead.
The gun will split the world in two
With each explosion or each click.

Silence in the centre,
Bleeding from my core.
So grows the fruit of the oak tree,
That will split the world apart.
Cracks show through the air,
And light shines through the gaps.
Jump to that other branch,
Where I live a second longer.

The bullet still hides in the barrel,
With anticlockwise rotation
Around the copper shell.
I am alive and I am dead,
Even if I don't know.
We'll stay here forever, my love,
One who is shooting,
And one who is shot.
Now we shall never die, in a way,
But remember, don't ever stop.

Dystopolis

The salty taste of tears,
The rain of this living hell.
Smoldering flames distort the sky
Of a city bathed in pain.
Battles rage behind the bars,
Drunken, reasonless fights.
The air is choked with poison,
Suffocating its users lungs,
While they fight a war,
Lost before it began.
Sickness comes with the night,
The sleepers will wake no more.
Cries of pain and dejection
Ring through the ruined streets.
Echoing dimly off the shell
Of the husky Dystopolis.

Pearlescent

Read my heartbeat
As it pulses with the still moonlight,
So close to yours
In the soft rain dusting down from the sky.
I could lie here forever,
Hidden in the oncoming darkness of the night.
In the slowing bursts of stars,
Breaking apart the shadows.
The silent breath of the undying
Spirits wandering in the sallow dusk.

Oracle, tell me my soul,
As it lies concealed beneath the murky water.
Pull apart the vines
As they hold the pearl together.
The gentle shimmering glow,
Muted by the depths of false vitality
Is dying,
Suppressed by the warmth of swirling waters.

Reality, as it seems,
Is a cruel bedfellow,
Holding you by the neck.
On a leash.
However far you run,
It’ll always pull you back.

Síor Thine

A flame that burns forever,
Leaving charred lies within its ashes.
It strips away the acid hate
From those who dare to accept
The painful, wonderful gift.

Branches alight with scorched leaves,
No voice within.
The singing has left its roots,
Wilting the petals in its absence.
The Lily and Violet scent, no longer sweet,
Is overwhelmed by the smell of woodsmoke.
The gentle rustles replaced
By a musical crackling of hot tongues.

An odd thought,
That we might find beauty in danger,
The darker side of life.
How we are awestruck by the orange glow
That lights up the night sky.
The aura of warm vitality,
A life we could never put out.

Serpentine

A searing pain.
A kiss curling around her neck
Burns her skin with effortless grace.
The hand that grips her shoulder
Is cold as a winter morning.
This was only knowledge
Better left untouched...

Ignorant bliss.

A gentle hiss,
From the bearer of venom.
The asp of the apple tree.
Deceivingly gentle whispers
Arouse her curiosity.

Temptation...
Each fruit, each leaf
Allure her senses.
Begging to caress velveteen skin,
To bite into that juicy flesh.
The forbidden fruit of Eden.

Her consciousness drifts
From the ecstasy of truth.
Blood still boiling
With the lies underneath.
Her penance of exile
And the pain of death await.

Final Light

A Raging storm.
Boulders crash through black skies,
after the white hot lightning flash.
Deadly Static.
As the gods weep their anguish upon us.

No life can be found,
but for a single flower.
The Neglected Rose,
All alone in the garden
Of this dying world.

Petals fall away.
A delicate scent sweetens the air,
for just a moment.
As another light cools and dies.

There is no beauty here.
If there was ever a time,
To which we could return.
Where no shadow would reside.
A Utopian Time.
Now a non-existent dream.
Blown away,
Just like the final petal of the rose.

Black Venus

As it rises, high in the night sky,
Everything falls away.
The black star, I saw it pulse,
Shimmering in waves,
And like a fire,
It began to burn.
I felt my heart stop, almost,
As it was overcome by a sickening fear,
Leaving me paralyzed,
Frozen, unable to escape.

If such a thing existed…

My eyes open as I jolt awake,
I look to the window, it is still dark,
But I can still feel it.
The dark star.
The Black Venus.
Like a venomous snake as it stalks its prey.
Waiting.
Poised to strike.

Hidden Valley

At the heart of the valley,
I stand, breathing in the cool air,
As the gentle breeze caresses my face.
A true secret, this place,
This valley, hidden from all other eyes.

Trees whisper words I cannot hear,
As the river sings.
It rushes past, the lifeblood of this greenery
Cuts deep wounds as it goes,
Digging into the earth.

Look up, would you really know?
Would you even guess that anything
Lay past those heathery hills?
Seemingly towering above, into the sky.
Yet all good things must end,
Slowly pulled back into a memory.

Shift your gaze, but follow mine,
To where the river pours into the sea.
The water throws itself upon the rocks,
The deceitful chaos of its violent suicide,
Crashing against the cliffs,
As they slowly crumble away into nothing.

Ceaseless Fear

A surface breaks,
Fluid shards ripple outwards
As my finger presses down
So gently onto the glass.
Noises fill the undertoning background,
Shrieks of anger, pain and fear,
A low sound of laughter,
So far from here
And yet so near.
New ice cracking,
Like my brittle mind.
I jerk violently
In spasm,
A response to the sudden noise.
Above the mess and tangle of sound,
Yes, it’s there,
A ceaseless pulse.
A frantic heartbeat,
So like my own.

Although my mind seems
So full of broken thoughts,
And a spreading numbness,
I feel this beating here.

Le Violoncelle

Drawing a note.
Long, soft and slow,
From the very depths of infinity.
Sung as the strings cross,
Making pathways to the mind.
Anything is possible,
Now gently singing to your emotions.
Drawn from the hidden land,
Known only in dreams.
Where the lost and near forgotten reside,
Waiting to be found,
For another song to start.
Beautiful and intense,
Angry and sad,
A dance from long ago.
Eyes that closed as the song played on,
A lullaby lulled to sleep.
Laments that broke a heart to hear,
And caused those eyes to weep.
Hear now, it continues, after so very long.
It never stopped, always singing,
As those hairs still cantered on.

Only For A Reason

All she wants is a reason,
But I can’t think of what to say.
If I can find her a reason to be,
Then I know she’ll always stay.
Maybe she should know.
How scared I am,
Of losing her.
Whether she cares or not,
It’s always true.
Watching her figure fade way,
Into the blue mist far away.
Too far away for me to see,
Too far for me to reach.
If I can find a reason,
Then none of this need occur.
Come back stronger from the darkest hole,
The memories clear but slightly blurred.

Fine Threads

So distant, so withdrawn,
So retreated deep down within.
Eyes that hide a secret,
Never beginning to tell.
Never to be.
Never to be.
A truth that’s always hidden,
Always running from the light.
Such a beautiful, amazing life,
Dragged down from the sky.
By sadness,
As reality kicks in.
A life once perfect, yet never was,
And never to be, never again.
A day can change so much,
If only they knew, they’d see.
They’d understand the turmoil felt that day,
Shown only by fine threads.

Darkness Owls

When the light of day has passed away,
And the warm sunshine has crept down from the sky,
Hidden behind the hills of blue and green.
The thrushes and the swallows,
Vanish into leafy branches,
Of trees that sway in time.

After twilight.

When the bats have taken flight,
With their high and yet soundless calls,
Revealing in the darkest night.
And moths that whisper in the leaves,
Soon swept up by a passing shadow,
Yet never would they know.

When dark can penetrate no further.

When the world is but asleep,
The owls will take their leave,
From their hidden keep.
Their cries ring out across the sky,
The songs like an eerie sigh,
A melody of the night.

Mountain Rose

The screams, heard in silence,
Seen for but a moment,
Then gone again, like they were never there.
Brought down by the winds,
All sound faded away.

Gone, were the anguished cries,
Of the bonnie mountain rose.

Hidden beneath the empty lies,
But fro the ashes she starts to rise,
Calling out.
No-one sees her, not today, not yet,
But the truth has yet to reveal itself.
The silent screams of the mountain rose,
Will soon come to the light.
Until then she remains in the dark,
Struggling away from the night.

Fragile

One touch.
It would send cracks,
Fine lines making their way across glass.
Or thin ice, melting into a rushing river,
So beautiful.
So fragile.

A tear.
Sparkling like the sun on water,
Falling out of crystal clear eyes.
A sadness like no words can tell.
Drawn into a shaking blindness.

So easy to break,
To shatter into a thousand.
A puzzle to fix once broken,
Yet never quite the same.
Although the cracks still show,
It is stronger than before.
The hardening of a guarded heart,
Waiting to start once more.

Cyanide

The softest voice whispers,
Hardly heard in an endless ocean of sound.
Only her pleading and begging for help,
The wails that no-one hears.
If only someone would find her,
But not a soul will bother to look.

I can’t breathe…

Trying so hard to open her lungs,
And shriek the terrible truth,
That would only hit deaf ears.
If it worked.
It’s too late now,
To turn back time.
No-one can save her.

I can’t see…

Blindly reaching out to light,
And stop the ticking clock.
As it is counting down to blackness,
Bleeding out the time.
Why couldn’t they open their eyes?
To this horribly obvious truth?
And forever silence the screams,
Of her, this dying girl.
Why couldn’t they wake up?

I can’t…

Black Dove

It was carried by wind,
With no need to fly.
Known to those who gave up
On the world. Its melodious cry,
Could bring tears to your eyes.
As you thought of the pain,
That you once knew in your heart.

To see a single dove,
That had feathers of black.
Tribute to a world,
A world that fought back.

A sign of chaos, a sign of war,
The truth of a painful memory.
When blood is dripping to the floor,
Remember what you forgot.
Trying to hide it for so very long,
In the back of your mind.
Where no-one could see,
What was real and what was not.
Remember what you forgot.

Crystal Tears

Secrets, hidden here and there,
That only she can see.
What water flows across the ground,
To leave nothing wet behind?

The crystal tears of angels,
Who were fallen from the sky.
Flowing like a gentle stream,
Yet leaving the ground dry.

Vanished, almost as soon as they appeared,
Fading ‘till they can’t be seen.
The flowing, melted, crystal tears,
With the fragility of dreams.

Un-whispered thoughts, a secret fear,
A mystery that may be real.
Left crying from a fall so sheer,
With nothing left to feel.

The Last Sunset

Its last rays stream through the window,
Dazzling my eyes.
Giving my last sight,
Before night eternal.

I think my last thought,
I draw my last breath.
I am the earth,
I am the wind.
My breath to the air,
My tears to the sea.

As night blacks the last sunset,
I’ll see.

[ps - this was a small tribute to my gran, Eileen, I did it for her funeral]

Tigerlily

A gentle breeze,
A silent cry,
As the Tigerlily,
Moves silently by.
Knowing not of the darkness creeping,
The feelings of the world are sleeping,
Yet still she moves on with ease.
A mist creeps around her ankle,
Welcoming the silent stranger,
Telling of the growing danger,
And asking her to leave.
But she can’t hear the cries of the mist,
Without a sound, she walks on,
An Iris in her hand.
It gives little protection against the onslaught,
That she now has to face.
Then her gentle strolling walk,
Turns violently to a race.
The winds whirls around her hair,
Silently urging her on,
She gives a burst of speed and suddenly,
The Tigerlily is gone.

Broken Wings

All that once was peaceful,
Now lies in chaotic silence.
The war will rage forever,
Yet never make a sound.
The anguished screams are silent,
And all the cries, they go unheard.
The last sound that reached deaf ears,
T’was the dying hiss of a forgotten bird.

Shut Your Eyes and Launch Forth Into the Darkness.

Hello Everyone.
Now - I will be surprised if anyone but people I know will read this,
but to be honest, I don't care.
I just thought I'd start a blog for my already extensive anthology of Poetry.
They total at 102 so far.

But considering that 102 is a helluva lot, I'll only post my best here.
Laters
xx

Veve

[Oh, as a note, credits for the picture in the header go to Angelic Trust and Obsidian Dawn. That's where I got the brushes.]