As We Were Told

The hordes are at the gates

Our valorous men stand

Shimmering in glittering armor

We must reject them

Repel this teeming force

Do so as we were told

Over the edge we pour

Boiling tar and noxious brew

We are safe for a day more

But lo

Listen

Below you hear

The cry of mothers

And their children too

What monsters are we made

What cruel villains we’ve formed

And all for lack

Of questioning the orders

Sent high from some trumped up tyrant

.

(Image thematically related)

Our Every Morning

Dawn breaks

Thin shafts piercing dark

My arms are full

But heart is fuller yet

As I awaken

To find you close beside

You sure as well

Eyes open slowly

Deep pools of dark

I would gladly get lost within

Instead I pull you closer

And let forth a growl

Deep and full of lustful intent

You gasp and smile

Kissing my neck

Oh yes this is how it starts

My nails claw at your form

This close, still too far

We both know the only distance

That will finally be enough

Gasps and groans

This heat kills me

Little deaths

And I hope this night

Will end the same

And every day to come

A Ghostly Rendezvous

Aislin spoke soft into the bark

As moon sliced void’s black expanse

Her lover’s heart cradled within

Those ribs of spruce and pine

Rejoiced and jumped in response

To the cradle of her gentle words

“Come here

Come now

My lover dear

Ignore the final bow

Forgo death’s cold

As my words take hold

Return to your love’s embrace.”

The wood cracked

And bent

A jaw split forth

As slowly

And surely

It rose to greet

“My dearest

My only

Aislin, love

I am exultant

To return from death’s embrace

And find you waiting here.”

He smiled a rictus grin

And joy sparked in the space

Where eyes would sit

A hand of root

And mossy loam

Played with a lock of braided hair

“A shame I suppose

At least it seems

That you have all your skin

And none for me.”

The smile did not falter

But something behind it died

And the grip upon the hair tightened

As a lonely wail was sighed

“It is just so cold

So lonely in the depths

The hunger worst of all

Could make you lose your sense.”

Aislin frowned soft and sad

Cradling the facsimile face

Kissed him matronly

And gave a few more words

“Now’s the time for sleep and rest

You must return post haste

Know this is not said in jest

And your visit not a waste

Come the morning sun

And green grasses dappled dew

I’ll have found that you were the one

And I, the happy few…”

The wood shuddered

Slowed

And gave a rattle

As the heart withdrew

Fell upon her palm

And all was still and calm

.

Drawing and original post from Kingdom of Monsters on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nic_calavera/status/1049396740208570369?s=21

“Chance” Meeting

I cup my simple brew

Warm but I imagine

Quietly to myself

Something oh so warmer

And satisfying too…

As I meet your eyes

Is there a spark?

Do we feel the pull

The draw of fate’s strings?

I smile and give a little wave

You smile too returning wave

Though you waited a moment

I am so eager to know you

I’ve been watching for weeks

But I’m so very nervous

And terribly shy

Yes for weeks that’s right

I do hope I haven’t unnerved you

I have tried ever so hard

To go unnoticed

That is

Until now

Now you see me

Now I smile

You smiled too

Hesitantly

I felt that hesitation

A slight against me

So hurtful and minatory

Oh foul temptress

How could you so toy with my heart?

How cruel you are

And awful too!

You will pay

For hurting me so

I was your only chance

For love and life

A shame

You are so pretty

When you sleep at night

For that is where

I will creep within

And with careful hands

Snuff your life

A Watchman’s Duty

I stood before our gates

Pike in hand

And ever vigilant

Breaking the rolling horizon

A figure approached

For nearly an hour

I watched its plodding progress

As it came close enough

I saw what it was

A lone robed wanderer

Their robes a sickly yellow

And twisted yellow mask

Grimace glaring beneath the hood

The eyes were bloodshot

And panicked

Though its pace never varied

I cried out to them

“Halt! State thy business!”

But still it came closer

I readied my pike

Tip gleaming in the noonday heat

But still it came closer

“I said halt!”

Again I shouted

But still it came closer

Its complete silence

Unnerving me most

But still it came closer

I struck out as it came within reach

And they collapsed in a heap

My pike buried in their breast

I leant down and removed their mask

Face sinewy and raw

As though they had been skinned

Their lips worked but no sound issued

I leant closer

Turning my ear

And faintly I heard

“Prepare

For The King is near”

What You Want-

I asked for this

I went searching

I was the one who scoured volumes

I was the one who dove deep

I pushed so far

I fought so hard

I found what they sought to hide

I uncovered all those bloody tomes

I saw the halls steeped in silence

I heard the echo of abandoned homes

And now sitting before the wooden crate

Containing all that was searched for

I find myself hesitating…

Have I made a mistake?

When (do) I Sleep

Eyes so heavy

Sandbag weight

Sandman waits

To sprinkle down

. . .

Then they shut

Fresh hell

Flesh halls

Horror the instant I sleep

. . .

Eyes fly open

Gasping breath

Grasping bed

My whole body trembling

. . .

When am I sleeping

Eyes always open

Lies hallways often

Awaiting my return

Confusion in a Dark Room

Fedora cocked and jacket billowing

Detective unholsters his pistol

Cigarette in lips grimacing

The rain falls unheeded

And he follows after a figure

Disappearing in a crowd

Spilling into a theater

Through the lobby

Seeing the barest hint

Of that dastardly smile

As our villain slips

Into a darkened room

With a sacrilegious curse

Leaving a woman’s mouth gaping

The P.I. navigates the crowd

As he enters the dark room

He sees the cone of a projector light

On screen a man stalks stealthily

Slowly through a dark room

Eyes lit by nothing

But movie magic

Cautiously the gumshoe waits

Before spying the suspect sprinting

Leaping past the screen

Slamming open the exit door

Quickly he follows after

Before someone cries

“Stop where you are!”

Here our hero stands

Lit by projector bulb

Shadow silhouetting silver screen

The audience murmurs as he distracts

A few getting nervous at sight of his gun

“You’ve had this coming…

For a long time Jacky boy.”

Suddenly a gun shot

A flash of light

Then a second

Responds in kind

Screams

The detective holds

His smoking gun

And in the audience

A man clutches his chest

On screen

A man lies bleeding

In a shadowy room

‘A talkie…

It was a fucking talkie…’

The detective thinks

Cursing his luck

And the devil’s own

As the killer walks free

For another night

But no matter the cost

The bodies that pile

The people who are hurt

Our hero

Will never stop

Never rest

Until he has his man

Ends

Justify means

…

Surely