rebels
Will pay the ultimate price.”
The crowd draws a deep breath
The only sound to be heard
Silence lingering in the air
The man with the iron fist turns away.
People mutter and murmur
Around a man who can stand no more
Pushing his way through the crowd
He approaches the floor.
Guards in chain mail rise
As the man comes up the steps
From underneath his cloak
He draws aim with his weapon.
“Sire, look out!”
The shouts overheard
The crowd turns to see
That the man kept his word.
The guards lunge up the steps
As the bow’s line snaps straight
And the arrow flashes by
Towards the iron fisted man.
Who now turns to find
The flying dagger in his chest
Courtesy of the cloaked stranger
Smiling as the bow drops from his hand.
A noble in the East Tower
Eyed the spectacle all the while
Smiled along with the murderer
As two broadswords ran him through.
No doubt he was dead
But the damage was done
The King had been slain
Marking the end of the Dark Era.
No matter who would succeed
All did agree
The man with the iron fist
Was the worst there could ever be.
Unconditional
And you say you don’t need anything
That I can give you
Well that hurts ‘cause I need something
From you
Keep walking that mile, I’ll watch you fade out
Into the horizon
It may take the rest of my life to see
Where the truth lies in
Until then I’ll send postcards
From everywhere I’ve been
It don’t matter that you’ll never write back
But if you can
Just tell me that you’re doin’ alright – got yourself
A decent man
But if he lays a finger on you, I’ll be there
To help you stand
It’s a tired old game
With this ball and chain
Yet there’s a lot of good in it
And I want to win it – with you
Once Upon a Victim
A seed blows in a patch
Where nothing but weeds surround
Infinitesimal chance of survival, they all say
Crowded in the soil
Stolen is the rain
Ripped away from frail fingers desperate to hold on
Crept to narrow gaps
Among ravenous jaws
Capturing lost saviors having slipped through clenched fists
Here it makes do
Lives for some time
Yet unable to develop and expand to maturity
Exists nonetheless
Amid thirsty thieves
Who firmly believe they are the best of the rest
But ignorance does
What knowledge cannot
Hope is lost to the infant should drought strike
Weeds, they are greedy
Headstrong, and non-empathetic
Young babes are mere tools to save their desires
This is the future
For the lonely seed
Reflecting the truths about the world we’ve erected
As the elders die
Opportunities appear
It snatches open territories before any other can
Spurned by necessity
It feeds and grows
Learned from the teachers who mold their gluttony
That is what’s to come
Shrouded in negativity
Evolving as the weeds despite its outer beauty
Once upon a victim
Irony forever is
Though every weed was born of innocence, its society paved the way.
Soul Mates
Be us alive or dead
This is not over
We’ll meet again.
Somewhere here on the earthly plane
Or in the realm of the spirits’ domain
Our paths shall cross
Likely to be unaware of who we truly are
Likely to identify the feeling from afar.
Soul mates? Indeed.
In time this will show
But as of yet
We run aimlessly to and fro.
Until we cross paths again
That unknown feeling pounding deeper within
We fool ourselves while awake
Pretending not to know
Yet inside and in our dreams
A thousand years we have grown.
And in some ethereal way
Our pace continues with the beating
Of nature’s truest dream.
Tens, even hundreds of years may have passed
Still we go on as we were
In the old days, when everything but us came last.
And in this sense we know each other
But in the others we must relearn
Exploring nooks and crannies
Making discoveries along the way.
One more time we’ll soon forget
That on those crossed paths we met.
Soul mates? Indeed.
Another circle is now complete
And another journey starts on its way
For two lost souls who will seize the day.
Reflection
(Part Two)
On the shore sits a man, who knows it’s not right
It’s time now to close open door
Mom’s inside with sister, looking over the pictures
From the time when they were not so poor.
Say good-bye mother, and good-bye sister
The man’s on his way, alone
To find the scavenger of mere cents and dollars
And tell him to come home.
Search is on for father, man recalls the day
His brother sank to the grave
His arms burn from the knife marks he made
The father sees him but won’t wave.
He stands there with the rags on his bones
The boy’s silence meets wizened face
Feels the hand on his shoulder, his son says to him
“Please, father, let’s get out of this place.”
Coming Home
I am coming home
It has been some time
Longer than I wished it would
Yet just as long enough it should
The time needed to reset mind
So I can face that place on my own.
I am coming home.
I’ve put many miles between it and I
Just to keep my thoughts at bay
Not too many, but enough to handle
Finding reality by the light of a candle
Wrote them on paper so I’d not have to say
The words that I’d see through my hurt, blurred eye.
I am coming home.
I question myself, while I’m en route
As to who will win the battle
My fear, or my courage and strength
Rationale bides time, holds debate at length
The engine hums steady, a calm soothing rattle
Miles upon miles compile, weariness claims it all moot.
I am coming home.
At last I’ve arrived, but am not yet there
In a motel I lay awake, though trying to sleep
Rehashing the words I have yet to say
Recite and rehearse the scenes of my play
The single monologue searches depths of the creep
The one who laid waste to the boy in his care.
I am coming home.
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Looking around to see it still seems the same
Save for the word “condemned” on a nailed two by four
Putting my arm through broken pane, unlocking the door
Feeling emotions well up, soon ready to pour
Rolling down the slope of a frost heaved floor
The old man is gone, and I’ve no one to blame.
I came home – and home is no more.
Social Outcast
A gateway, a passage
Open doors lead to the rest
Of whatever it is
From some unknown adage
A place where one is one’s best.
Stuck in a prism
Light bends, revealing beauty
From inside the center
The blind-eyed prison
Keeping it from its duty.
A gateway, a passage
Barred yet again from achieving
Where one is one’s best
Creates a new adage
Don’t get held by those perceiving.
Infinitely Hidden
Boiling heat, deadly cold
Surging mountains replace the old
Oceans drain and fill with new
Forests had burned, from ash again they grew.
All these things happen
At the hand of me
I can change things so fast
Yet you’ll never see.
I made you blind, eyes looking through a screen
Filtering the images, protecting the unseen
Scattered about the rays of light come into one
In the center, where you all are near, offsetting the sun.
Shadows crawl, move, too dark for eyes to size
Invisible to you, leaving their results as your prize
Death and demise, corruption, sadness, greed
Suffering, depression, all thanks to these steeds.
All of this goes on around you
At my nurturing hand that feeds
I tear out all the places
I see fit to plant new seeds.
Signs of hope when demons run the land
Shadows slip into the back, you survivors proudly stand
Learn from experience, the stronger you become
I started with so many, and you’re still here with some.
Babies are born, the future in their tiny palms
The sun shines so bright, and the cool breeze calms
Lovers hold hands at sunset on the beach
Everything is beautiful, the answers seem within reach.
All of these things make your heart warm
At the fragile hand of me
In time I slowly wither
The light and dark will soon be free.
Which side will win, the darkness or light?
Without my control? Without my insight?
Will the contrasts blend together, melding all to gray?
Your eyes will tell you nothing, but you’ll feel what they’ll portray.
However
I’ve done this before, I do it now, and soon I will again
Another cycle, but you’ll never know, this doesn’t ever end
When sky is overcast I am born anew, to bring the sides together
By breaking the silence that divides the two, creating stormy weather.
All of these things happen
At the reincarnate hand of me
Some of you suspect these truths I know
Proven, they will never be.
Say What You Want
You can say what you want
But I’ve been there before
Just a ragged, lone man
Lookin’ for an open door
Most of them were locked
But if