For I Was Lost

Crawled over stone

Laden with moss

Surely they were looking

…

Thank the gods

For the lack of frost

I had no shelter

…

Then over a river

I carefully crossed

Never before had I seen it

…

Bugs of biting varieties

Then began to accost

No time to rest

…

To return to them

Nothing too great a cost

I’d forge on heedless

…

My feet did bleed

My will then was exhaust

I thought I could not continue

…

A twig then snapped

My eyes then glossed

Before me loomed my death

…

If you want to read more fantastic poetry from this collection go check out Amberley’s poem for today right here, and then make sure to read the rest of them in our collections After the End and under the hashtag AfterTheEnd

Asha

I pull the plank over the entrance

Sealing out those howling winds

And turned to my family

My husband, Gerald lay beside Asha

Our malamute, gentle giant

I grabbed a fur and laid down

Laying it over all three of us

Warm bundle cuddled tight

No snow could find its way

Not here in our lovely warmth

Gerald grabbed the wooden bowl

Laden with powdery snow

And dumped it on the small fire

Crackling beside him

Soon sizzling flickered and died

I closed my eyes slowly

Face full of wooly fur

An arm stretched out

Hugging both Asha and me

Darkness enveloped lovingly

Dream haze came quietly

Heedless of those rumbling winds

My babe lay in my arms

Breath gone but body warm

The moment she left us

Asha

Then the next day

Asha returned

Black ball of cloud

Crested snowy dune

Howling to us

Reborn from a wintery grave

To watch us once more

From tragedy sprung

Such wonderful life

I was suddenly cold

So very cold

Shivering

My eyes flew open as sound cascaded

Crashing down as our plank had

In the entrance crouched two figures

Eight paws

Two maws

And low growls full of death

Wolves

Asha already guarding me

My husband holding a dagger of bone

He slowly, carefully, hands me one

I grip it tightly, eyes transfixed

Then one lunged

Asha ducked low teeth twisting up

Burying in the wolf’s soft throat

A cry and yelp of pain

The other wolf launched over its companion

Tackling Asha to the ground

Our babe cried out for us

A roar bestial and full of fury

Issues from my throat

As dagger dug deep in its throat

Warm blood spurting my eyes

I blinked away the viscous blood

But all was still pink and crimson

The other wolf had no chance

My husband already was cutting away

Slicing sinew and tendon

Breaking bone and separating head

From neck

I panted heavily

My heart in my ears

Then the sound cut through

A shuddering whimper

Asha

I turned her over

Whale eyes pleading

Life flowed from her

Gouges cut in neck

“No please

Not again

I can’t do this again

No please Asha”

I held her close to my chest

Her whimpering gasps shuddering us both

My husband was holding us both

Arms held what couldn’t be saved

What wouldn’t be stopped

Blood

So much

Asha coughed

Sighed

And was still

I screamed

I screamed so hard

So bitterly

My throat felt torn

That I would tear the sky

Damn the gods and all their thrones

Damn nature itself

If it would bring her back

But she was gone

I had lost Asha

I had lost life

I had lost hope

Again

If you enjoyed this make sure to check out Amberley’s poem for today right here! If you’d like to read the rest of them check out our collections “After the End” and the hashtag AfterTheEnd

“God’s Children”

A church stood amidst the tents and trees

If you stood atop its roof

Their tarps stretched in all directions

The wood was a patchwork, reclaimed

Windows without glass

Within, the congregation stood shoulder to shoulder

Arms held high above

Rapturous

At the front stood a man dressed in black

Wide brimmed black leather hat

And collar a white stained straw weave

Their good book lay before him

Aged to yellow, and barely holding

The pastor gently lifted a page and turned

“Today we recognize the need

To stand with and by and for God!”

With a capital G

“Ephesians 6:11 says

Put on the full armor of God

So that you can take your stand

Against the devil’s servants

God will protect you

My flock

From those

Our enemies

Those heathen hordes

Beyond our beautiful valley!”

The congregation cried out in agreement

“Their godless ways shall crumble

And we shall lay claim to their spoils!

This is Gods will!”

He claimed through blackened teeth

“We Kilkenny’s stand united

By our devotion to a great and terrible God

And we shall be the hammer which strikes

With mighty vengeance

Upon those cowering blasphemers!”

If you enjoyed this make sure to read Amberley’s poem for today! Go check it out!!! To read all of the poems from After the End check out the collections on our accounts OR the hashtag!

Remembering The Fall

“I heard it was a nuclear attack”

Stumbled a bit on nuclear

“That’s what great grandpa said

Near the end of his life!”

One of the boys said

Before tossing his stone

Skimming slightly over the lake

Sharp rings singing out in response

“Nah

If it was nukes

Do you think things would still look this nice?”

Another chided

Still searching for a flat stone

“Well I mean it was so long ago

Maybe things just grew back”

The first grumbled

“I heard it was living corpses!”

Another hollered from behind a fallen tree

Getting some privacy for refuse disposal

“Started somewhere in Asia!”

The others all laughed

“Don’t be stupid!”

“Yeah that’s ridiculous!”

The oldest boy cleared his throat

“I heard it was just a big war

No big bombs needed

Just enough fighting

Enough death

And it all just…

fell apart”

The children were silent

Even the birds held their breath

Then a little girl

Maybe eight

Spoke up

“Well my dad talked to Elder Rose

She said it was a bunch of

Scary sea things!

Huge with wings like bats!”

The other kids nodded gravely

“Seems right to me”

One concurred

A fantastic sequel to one of her earlier poems in After the End just went live! Go check it out!!! If you want to read more from this world check out the collections for them on our blogs, or check out our hashtag #AfterTheEnd

Plans Passed ‘Round a Table

“We have ta decide!”

Michael belched

Liquor

Ill prepared and vaporous

On his breath

“Well it’s gotta be one ‘a the,”

Hastor’s hand waved a moment

“Well spoken folks…

The…

Loquacious!”

She snapped her fingers as the word came to her

I smiled

Canine’s flashing as I sat forward

“I’d presume you mean to say

I should run for the position

Is that a fair assessment?”

They nodded

Slicking my hair back with a hand

I nodded also

“I think I would most definitely

Be a benefit to our company

However there is the matter

Of a certain Zeke

And his merry band of morons.”

I smirked

“If Zeke can be removed

Extricated

Maybe I’d have a real shot at it

With the way Gabriel’s head exploded

Most of the caravan is ready for war

But we know that’s bullshit,

Right?”

They nodded vigorously

“Gabriel was a mean

Sunovabitch

And his cruel ways just caught up

That man on the ridge

Didn’t work for anyone

He was out there on personal business”

I punctuated personal business

With two taps on the table

Hastor cut in

“Yeah but Zeke has everyone riled

His whole platform is

‘Protectin’ what’s ours!’

N’ all that shit”

I chuckled

“Yeah put the fear of a faceless enemy

Into the populace

And they’ll do damn near anything you want.”

Michael tapped the rim of his liquor bottle

“So… we’re gonna do what then?”

I lifted a bottle of my own onto the table

Small and full of a light brown powder

“Some nutmeg

Donated generously by the border farmers

I will be slipping this into his cocaine

Which is cut with so much filler

He won’t think twice about the color change

He’ll get sick pretty shortly

However

A few hours later

The hallucinations should kick in

On its own it would be unpleasant

But mixed with cocaine

I’d expect him to go a bit…”

Michael cut in

“-nutso?”

I sighed a nodded

“Not the verbiage I’d chose

But yes

Nutso…

I’m hoping this could undermine

All the support he’s mustered

And instead I could slip in

As the level headed

And brilliant leader…”

This is a sequel to Desert Rose Blooms. Make sure to check it out and the other poems in our hashtag AfterTheEnd, and read IamAmberley’s poem for this Tuesday too!

Start of a Feud

I hear tell these mountains were dangerous before The Fall

They had a weird name that we didn’t write down

Books are just dead weight and dead words

Sounds like Apple Asians

Told you it was a weird name

Anyway, I know their dangers

The cougars

The lions

The wolves

Lots of predators now

Because cages of them were opened just after The Fall

Humans too of course

We live at the foot

The door to these mountains

But today I venture inward

To hunt for our village

Anything will do

But I hope I find deer

Slinging longbow and a pack of arrows

Water too in a doe skin jug

Enough for a few days

I say goodbye to my wife

A gentle kiss and little words

The forest swallows me almost immediately

Every inch of this place looks the same

To the untrained eye

But I know it

The curves

The drops

The switchbacks

I see paths were only underbrush looks back

A day of travel passes

Only a footnote in my mind

A brief blur of leaves and bark

The next day I find myself on a rocky outcrop

Overlooking a valley

Smoke drifts up lazily between the trees

Fire means people

I choose to avoid them

Heading down into the valley

But angling southward to steer clear

A few hours later I am perched in a tree

My garb blending me in

All vine and leaf

I am nothing

As I wait I take a sip from the jug

Tang of the hide mingling within

Better than trusting the streams out this way

Then a snap

I freeze and slowly lower the jug to my hip

Eyes scanning for movement

Slightest disturbance

Then I spot it

A stag

Antlers brazen and bold

I smile softly as I ease the bow up

Notching an arrow

Slowing my breath

The bow creaks softly as I pull back

Waiting for the moment

The exact right instant

Then a shot rings out

The stag shudders and drops in an instant

Eye obliterated

“Gottem!”

A cry to my north

I ease the arrow back

Pressing into the bark around me

Three figures descend

Hollering in excitement

Bedraggled in rough sewn hides

I consider my options

Travel for another kill

Maybe days

As that shot will have scared off all others for miles

I tighten my grip on my bow

“A biggun’!”

I pull back the arrow

Aim for the side of his face

A soft thwip and the arrow finds its mark

Causing him to spin around

To stop them from knowing where it came from

“What in hell?!”

I notch the second arrow quicker

Deep breath

Release

The second

Biggest of the three

Drops without a struggle

The final one aims a rifle wildly

Old and muzzle loading

We had a few

But rarely used them

The gunpowder too valuable to waste on a single animal

“You think you can attack the Kilkenny’s?!?”

I notch the next arrow

Just as our eyes meet

My face, grim determination

His, confusion

His shot fires wide

A tree to my right cracking

I release the final arrow and he clutches at it

Blood trickling around it

He yanks it free

Mistake

Blood gushes for a few seconds

And he collapses

Dead

I’ll dress my kill

Construct a simple sled for the meat

And take what goods they have

I probably have a few hours before more come looking

I’ll be gone long before they find this scene

If you want to read more from this world go check out Amberley’s poem for this Thursday! Also check out the tag “After the End” to see all current poems written for this project.

Rushing Wind

Grunts of effort as I slowly lower

Lower the basket down

Down to my love

Laden with jugs of water

Fresh rain caught

She guides the basket

To the base of the tree

Lifting carefully one jug

Sipping softly life affirming

Life rejuvenating water

Quickly I retract the basket

Water secured below

Now laden instead with empty jugs

Replacements for yet more water

I grasp the basket as it comes within reach

Quickly placing the five jugs beneath the tarp contraption

I smile and ease my leather slings over the branch above me

Sidling out farther over thinner branches

Wind whipping me up some this far above

I release one of my slings and carefully toss it towards the next tree

Rain catcher awaiting my arrival

New branch snagged I ease my foot off of the tree

Stretching

Reaching for the next

My foot finds purchase and I leap over

Swing catching my other sling

Over the branch which now stretches out above me

I can hear my love gasp below

Always concerned about the speed with which I traverse these treetops

“Careful Matthew!”

She cries out

Slapping the trunk of the tree I now hang from

“It’s fine!”

I call back

“You worry too much”

She scoffs

“I worry just enough, thank you!”

I reach with one hand and lift

With a grunt

One jug at a time into the basket

Easing then this precious package down

Down

Down to her

We repeat the trade as before

And then I eye the next tree

One more for today

Careful

Precise

Wrist flicking leather sling

Grasp

Reach

My foot lacks purchase

The gasp scarcely leaves my throat

I hear the wind whipping

Feel branches scratch and claw

Reaching

Something rushing

River loud

A scream

Not mine

Then…

So, I’m collabing with my lovely Amberley on a collection of poetry. To read more from this world go check out the poem she posted on her Word Press!Make sure you follow her cause she is an amazing poet and you need to do yourself a favor and get her work in your life.

Desert Rose Blooms

Caravan pauses

For an hour or two

Gas station lights buzzing

Harsh fluorescent glower

The heat still eases

Like half seen snakes

Off the cracked concrete

Though the sun set hours before

I eye their leader

Sight focused

Crosshairs set

He’s smiling

Clearly laughing

Sonovabitch

I suddenly flash

Thought fast

Memory bright

Back to my wife

Pregnant

Face aglow

Flash again

Her neck bent all wrong

Belly torn

Spilled out

This man

Laughing like a hyena

Scavenger…

I’m back and ease my breath

Timing

Carefully

Breath in

Release

Squeeze

Thunder crack report

Rose bloom of viscera

I sigh

And sit back

Load another round

Ease barrel as chin rest

I’m coming home

Rosalyn

A Lone Rider

I am wanderlust

Every traveler’s end

Heading southbound like a rollin’ cloud

Rattlesnakes and coyotes for company

My breath fetid brackish thing

The yanks felt my putrid grasp

I am every last gasp

Coasts and desert scorch

Carry me far and wide

See now how they scurry

Caught on quicker than their northern brothers

But far far too late

I ride upon their backs

In their lungs and in their blood

I am their final regret

Pestilence

The only rider

Who bothered to show

Yet in the end

More than enough