It was cold that day
Even as the yellow sunlight 
Boastfully beamed through shifting clouds
In patchwork of shade and bright
As if the dimmer switch of the heavenly dome
Rested under the control of a mischievous child 
Cold enough almost to see your breath 

Departing sometime after noontime 
Intermittent brisk wind 
Burns my face and chaps my ears
But my coat is warm and my spirits high
Thirteen riders set out on the trail
Thirteen would return 
But not one of us would remain cheerful

Miles now away from the ranch
And an uncertain measure of minutes 
The troop of five-fingered beings 
Laughing and enjoying the beauty of the trees
And meadows as we passed
Small game darting behind shrubs
As we approached
Carefree and light

Then without warning 
Clouds grey as the many strands of 
The beard of a Man of Wisdom 
Poured over the horizon
Gentle breeze turned to roaring wind
Leaves and loose brush tossed in the air

Sparse droplets of rain smacked my Stetson 
As if the clouds were warning us
Of an impending torrential deluge 
If they so desired 
Or if we failed to appreciate that possibility 
But they held themselves back

The wind died down but the dark sky persisted 
The birds stopped 
Quiet on their branches like some gothic statues
Perched and overlooking our uneasy company 
The babbling brook 
Less than five yards yonder
Somehow seemed to holds its breath too

Each of us felt it 
That something was wrong 
That we should not be where we were
Even the horses became spooked 
Disobeying our pleas to settle and still 

As I rested my hand on my horse’s shoulder 
Trying to comfort her 
A shout shattered the silence of the moment

From off on the ridge behind 
This shrill shriek pierced
My stomach torn up in terror 
Adrenaline shocking my body 
Like ice cracking beneath my feet
Plunging me into frozen water 
My horse shivered in fear also
I looked up from her shaking
To a horrific sight

There before us came a man charging 
He was a thousand feet away
But being carried by some unnatural force 
Racing at us with a pace reserved for demons
Or the fastest predators 
Some of the horses neighed in fright 
The rest were frozen stiff 

This man was naked 
Save for his black cutoff shorts  
Barefoot and pale 
His face was painted half black 
His long dark hair tangled and wild 

He closed the distance in only a few seconds 
And before he reached our line 
Shifted his direction 
Turning as inhumanly as he ran  
A frightening apparition 
Or fell flesh and blood 
None of us knew or will ever know 
Doubtless though an Agent of the Adversary 

I forgot my protection prayer 
In that moment before his course changed 
I saw my death in a hundred different ways 
He looked directly at me 
As he changed direction 

He smiled at me like the devil 
And raced away 
Down the trail ahead of us 
His eyes locked on mine 
Never diverting
Even as he ran far past us
His neck contorted 
Until his head on was backward

He just kept peering at me 
Searching me 
And he kept smiling 
Then he was gone 
Past the bend far down the path

We looked around at each other 
Nobody said a word 
Everyone to a man wore the same face
We’d seen what should not have been seen  
We had witnessed something wrong 

We questioned all we had known
With proof that we were wrong about so much
This suggestion that we had misunderstood life
Failed to know what it was about
Or at least mismanaged our understanding 

Nobody had to say it 
The ride was over
We headed back home
Terrified and stunned 
Silent and morose 
Trying to head back to a world 
That had just been disintegrated
Having stood two inches from the veil
This creature we will never unsee

Silently we rode
Silently we arrived

I am ill prepared for the life destiny delivered 
I’ve wasted more time than I care to recall
Potential atrophied, talent rotted and withered
What I could have done I alone did forestall

Imagination is not enough to forge my fate
I dreamed too often and sought solid ground 
Wishes and thoughts will never fill my plate 
Error and failure the chains by which I’m bound 

Time runs marathons sprinting more each day 
A pit opens up to swallow me into the earth 
Dread of the future visions of chaos replay
Or past mistakes to rob me of my worth 

Repeating in pattern the same scores of mistakes 
Unable to remove this awful burning crown 
If I ever was able to force myself awake 
I might ascend but instead I sink only down

I banish despair and continue the battle 
Futility my armor and malaise my rusted sword 
Climb onto my skeletal steed in rotting saddle 
Another wound to prove I’m alive as reward 

Warm water sloshes around my ankles 
and dampens the cuff of my blue jeans.

Sharp rocks mixed with mud and small shells 
remind me of when I was very young 
and I’d let the mud seep between my toes 
at the pond or the beach.

Billowing clouds frame the mountain tops 
gleaming down on the forest and water below.

The peak of summer provides only a handful of days this glorious, 
and even fewer are noticed by anyone. 
Beauty so extreme it seems regular. 
We are so spoiled.

My nostrils flare and take in the smell 
of what the pavement outside of a fishmonger’s shop 
freshly hosed down with clean city water.
That's what it would probably smell like.
Not bad -- but rather a clean but fishy smell. 

Lakeside boulders covered in algae 
creating a natural wall 
separating the aquatic paradise from my weekend home.

We climb into the boat and speed to the middle of the lake.

I whimsically stand up and grin 
as I leap out of the boat, 
hands by my side like a sailor at attention
suddenly deciding that the open water 
is better than the counterfeit land.

My friend laughs as my head bobs above the water 
turning the boat around to retrieve me.

Soaking wet 
I awkwardly shimmy back into the craft, 
spitting out water like some Greek statue adorning a fountain 
from a long gone time when art and beauty was just everyday life.

Sunburnt and mirthful
We drink a few beers and fish for hours 
catching only drowned worms as the sun gradually falls in the sky 
sneaking down and setting up his own camp for the evening.

We cruise back to the cabin at dusk 
and I notice I now smell like the lake — almost becoming native to it 
from the day.

This perfect moment with a perfect sunset within this perfect day.
I wonder now as I look back -- did it even happen? 

I wasn’t alone so it wasn’t a dream.

And unless we’re all just brains in a jar 
then it did happen to me 
while you were off doing your own thing. 

Dinner by campfire with side dishes of ghost stories, 
trying to scare each other 
but it only achieving unrestrained laughter.

This perfect day 
tucked deeply and warmly 
in the blanket-folds of my memory.

I didn’t realize it then,
but that was one of the best days of my life.

Certainly of my youth.

The way I felt that day 
as I recall 
is what I suppose I chase after each day. 
It’s a cause to get up in the morning if I’m not feeling like it,
on the off chance that magic will crash into me again unexpectedly. 

And if I could have told myself, 
“it doesn’t get much better than this” — would I have paid attention? 
Would I have taken another moment to soak it in? 
To allow my bones and my flesh to pause 
and draw in the experience 
so it could root itself deeper into my soul? 

No. I probably would’ve laughed at myself.

I was enjoying it far too much to care.

Bristling his feathers and shaking 
Shivering off frigid night air 
Sun cracking out on the horizon 
Brilliant light of the morning fair 

The great eagle regal and strong 
Takes flight on the brisk autumn breeze
Stretching his wings and flexing claws 
Circling over the rocky green seas

He charts the same course each day
Northeast with the sun’s infant heat 
His right wing casting small shadows
As he circles the mountainside seat 

Every day he is fed by the gods 
His daily sustenance all guaranteed
Divine blessing for this noble bird 
Deities watch as he prepares to feed 

A solitary man lays prone, waiting 
Bound fast to the cold mountain wall 
Adrenaline and fear course through him
Upon hearing the eagle’s shrill call 

Descending like a feather-winged comet
The raptor dives down without heed
Tackling his foe with terrible force 
Tearing into his flesh with greed 

This once venerated and honored man
Tries to stifle an undignified scream 
But the torture is too much for him
Outside of some horrible dream 

Relenting he bellows in pain 
His punishment is too much to bear
The valley echoes bloodcurdling noise
While eagle talons rip slash and tear

Satisfied and content with his feast
The Caucasian disemboweled his host
This unfortunate Titan brought low
Prizes of organs and muscle to boast

The bloody banquet now all but over
Eagle eyes meet the man’s harrowed gaze
An odd friendship of familiarity 
Frozen eyes of death in a daze 

In agony the man slumps over
Blood soaking his legs and his chest
Releasing his last breath once again 
Caucasian Eagle returning to nest

Halfway between sleep and awake 
I’m in a strange land
Not yet fully asleep 
But certainly not awake

The Twilight Kingdom
Created for myself and by myself
My dark crystal cave 
Flying through empty space

I find myself walking here on an open lot
Pale concrete under my feet
Stretched out in every direction
As far as I am able to see

Startled and unnerved
To my right I see a dismembered hand 
Creeping across the concrete 
Leaving a thin trail of blood as a footprint
Slowly inching itself to intercept my path

I shudder slightly and continue on away
The sun hangs lazily 
Low in the sky 
Casting a red glow over the scene 
The heat emanating from its watchful eye is oppressive 
Siphoning my strength with each step 

An odd fellow approaches me 
He has five eyes and a deformed head
And towers above me
Eight feet tall hunched over
He quizzically mutters “friend”?
His mouth agape and cavernous
Revealing razor sharp fangs
Uneasiness grips me so I only smile
As I continue walking

You cannot travel 
To this place
The Twilight Kingdom
You merely find yourself there
Unaware of how you arrived

This place of phantoms and specters 
Where symbols are alive and speak to you
Where frightening and fantastic things reside
Disturbed by the deeper monoliths of mind 
Constructed towers built by you
For you to visit
And possibly inhabit for a time 
Destroyed with your leaving 
Crumbled back into the swampy mire of memory 
The concrete rubble of your consciousness

Yet this Twilight Kingdom 
Mysterious and foreign 
It would be where I’d spend more time
Than typing at my desk 
Paying my taxes
Commuting in my car to a job that hates me

If I could drive there 
To the place where metaphors manifest
And ideas dance in front of me like sprites on fire
If I could swim to those shores, or fly or walk 
Still, I know I’ll find myself there again 
I go there often enough without realizing 

Though I suspect that one day
I may find myself there again
Some distant midday 
When I should be somewhere else
The day when all changes cease for me
And I unable to leave
Not fearful but wondering
Will I find the way out again?

I saw a man today
At the park 
He was playing with his daughter 
Our children played together 
But I didn’t say hello

That part of me took over 
The part that doesn’t want to bother 
The isolated and alone part
That doesn’t want to say hello 
The closed off part
That won’t acknowledge another 
Or start a conversation 
That doesn't want to hear about the random struggles
And the triumphs
Of strangers going through this life 
Just like me 

Our daughters played together 
Swinging on swings
Bouncing on the see-saw
Laughing and interacting
No less stranger than their fathers 
But much less closed off 

Then we left 
I told my daughter to say goodbye 
To be polite
But I did not say goodbye to the man
I wasn’t being polite
I didn’t acknowledge him 
This fellow traveler 
Inhabiting the same space and time
This person I didn’t care to know 
And we went home 
Later he and his daughter left too

Later that night 
I went to the coffee shop
I took my whole family 
I took my daughter 
We were sitting and talking
Then a man walked in 
With his daughter 
And his father 

It was the man from the park
He look at me 
I looked at him
And he remembered me
And I remembered him 

I didn’t acknowledge him though 
Once again I didn’t say hello 
I did not give him so much as a head nod 
That part of me that wants to remain closed off
That part took over 
Retreating yet again 
Into my shell

This person I’d seen before I was 
Given another chance to say hello 
But arrogantly turned my nose up at it
The universe wanted us to meet 
For a reason I will never know 
Because I allowed myself to be closed off
Isolated and alone

I don’t believe in coincidence
I don’t believe I ever have 
But if I don’t believe in coincidences 
Then this event happened for a reason 

I was supposed to cross paths with this man
We were mean to meet 
Now for a reason I will never know 
What a failure! 
I did not win against myself 
I did not ask the question
Holding to some misinformed justification 
I failed to even say hello 

I’ll go back to that park one day
He won’t be there 
He will be somewhere else with his daughter 
The moment is gone 
I’ve made my choice 
I’ve missed an opportunity
For what I will never know 
God or the fates give us gifts
If we receive them 

Do not reject the gifts 
Whatever you tell yourself 
If God or the fates 
See fit to give me another chance 
I will take it 
I have to 
Even if I only say hello

Up and awake 
At odd hours of the night 
Worries and fears 
Begin to take flight

I’ve forgotten the method 
I can no longer recall
What it means to live
Engines choke and stall

So many plans 
Of the things I must do
To see to an end 
But won't follow through 

No time and no money 
I’m caught in the gears
Of the clockwork material
Minced and crushed by my fears

So may things
Have depended on me
I’ve forgotten my way
And can't seem to get free

This tailspin I’m riding 
As the ground races up
To meet my demise 
While I ponder the cup

If faith will save me 
From the impending crash 
It’s my last greatest bet
Or it ends with a splash 

I’m awake while the sun
Still weary with sleep
Hours from now over 
Horizon will creep

To spread out its light
On this foolish sad pawn
Still I know that it's darkest 
Just before breaking dawn 

Read the news 
Watch the report
Look at the statistics 
Horrible and horrifying
Terrible and terrific 
Awful and awesome 
They pump the terror into your eyes 
Nonstop

Know this though
Every time you give in to it
Every time you swim in that stream
When your soul indulges fear and fearing
And every time I allow myself to be afraid
We give them the power
Like offering your neck to your enemy
We freely give ourselves 
To those who desire 
The power to do 
Whatever they want to do to us

So do not fear
Everyone is going to die some day
Safety is a myth 
Do not be afraid 
Fear is the real fatality 

Some of us die from accidents 
Some of us die from disease
Some of us die in horrible industrial catastrophies 
With molten textiles burning through skulls
Arms and limbs splattered into pink mist
Maybe some of us will die peacefully
Alone in our beds

The Warriors hope to die in a great battle
Proving their might and skill
Jaw-dropping feats of strength and power
Giving their lives to save the ones they love
Fulfilling the whole purpose of their lives

I hope to die 
With a pile of enemies dead at my feet
Who were cut down by my own hand 
Ten or twelve who would’ve hurt those I love
I will smile a warm smile 
A single tear will roll down my cheek
As I move my thoughts from the finished fight 
And think of more pleasant things 

My last thoughts will be of my children 
And finally my wife
Of all the love and sadness 
I’ve been so fortunate to feel 
Then to eternity 
That trip each of us is destined to embark upon
Make the most of it 

Or perhaps I’ll die an old man
With generations of descendants 
Surrounding me and singing
Perhaps not my first choice 
But not the worst way to go 

Whatever it is
Do not be afraid
I tell you again 
Do not be afraid 
To indulge in fear 
Is to paralyze yourself with inaction 
The what if and the might be
All are false conjectures 

Don’t be afraid of them 
The devils and fiends
Who wish to crush you 
Who want your children tortured 
While you watch
The violators of humanity
So twisted spiritually that
All they know is desolation
Their only power is fear 

We do not fear 
We are not afraid of fear 
We do not fear fear itself 
Even fear is not to be feared 

Isolated alone and afraid 
Is what they want 
It’s what they need 
It’s the only chance they have
So the solution is simple

Do not fear
Do not be afraid 
I love you and I always will

Do. Not. Fear.

Walking along the path 
In the afternoon
I came across an old cemetery
It was for me to decide on the 
Circuitous route around or through

The sun was hot and the air was heavy
Softly suffocating in the sweltering atmosphere 
There was no wind or breeze 
Air still and only the din of cicadas 
Was my company 
Beckoning I decided to
Go on through cutting across the grounds

Then on that hot afternoon 
My mind began to wander as it always does
Thinking and contemplating 
Moments passed with the headstones 
As I moved down the gravel through to the center

Lichen and moss pointed north
On the old stones 
Ancient inscriptions whispered 
Indistinguishable words 
Fading numbers the boundaries of lives 
As the time chewed these monuments 
Slowly shredding them
Back into the dust

Clouds moved islands of shadow 
Over the ground 
Sweeping shade and light 
As a weak gust caressed the sweltering grass
Caught out of my daze 
My skin tightened over my arms 
With an alien ethereal chill 
More out of place than a cactus in the snow

I looked around 
That sensation of not feeling alone
When you know you should be 
Crawled up and down my nerves 
And mistaking the figure 
For an ancient marble cherubim 
I did not see him at first 

Yet scanning the brush line again 
Started I spotted the pale figure motionless 
Closing the distance with his gaze 
Speaking to me without words 
Planting the notion inside of my mind
I was out of place in that cloister 
Among the mausoleums and crypts 
The departed and phantasmic memories 
Of the denizens of that city

He told me 
Now and there was not for me 
Not yet 
But soon

For all of us 
Soon
It is sooner rather than later
Before we find our rest
Our lives are a vapor 
Dew on the dawn grass 
Gone by mid morning

So I hurried on 
On my way and out of there 
And as I turned to leave 
I thought I saw a fleeting glimpse
That pale faced specter 
Gently smiling at me

The beast was born
Purged from the sea 
Out into the land 
Proud and beautiful 
Fangs of Iron and will of steel
Albion’s heir and spawn
The father tried to eat the child 
But the wily beast prevailed 
Poisoning the water 
Digging the earth and bleeding her dry
Eating trees and burning the fields 
With its infernal breath 
Shaping the land and taming the people 
The beast was destruction and chaos

The beast thrived
In the land of plenty  
His lair on the riverbanks  
His cave of white domed rock
King by the power of his might
Raiding the countryside 
His name and reputation 
None would oppose

The beast began to reign  
The world shuddered from its raw power 
No man was able to stop his terrific ravaging  
Those who tried were crushed into the dust
Blood dripped from his teeth and claws
In the name of liberty he made slaves of us all
The lion on the prairie 
The bull unstable
Leviathan this beast out of the sea 
 
The beast became lost
Forgetting its purpose 
Drunk on its own power
He razes kingdoms 
Burning hearth and home 
Marching to the sea and destroying 
Eating life and limb of both
Good men and evil men 
And timid men and brave without discrimination 
Drinking from the well of their souls 
Then constructing ziggurats in the sand
To bind up the dead 
Offering his refuse to the carrion birds 

Greed overtook the iron will of this beast
Consuming its share 
Devouring the whole world 
Sapping foreign lands 
Still nobody dared to oppose him
Kings and Sultans 
Bowed in humble respect 
Unwilling to submit but unable to defy 
To jungles and deserts and snowy plains
The monstrous beast consumed all he touched 
His belly was full but he could not stop
Eating more and ever more 
Borrowing a hundred years from the future 
For another day in the now 

The beast was wounded  
Javelins pierced his temples  
He struck out in anger and rage
Bringing death one final time 
To the unfortunate souls who caught his gaze
Making war against the cedars 
In the name of the oak tree
His white capped cavern 
Infested with enemies 
He bleeds and grows weak
The final days of his reign yet he doesn’t know it

In his last moments of life 
The beast is dying  
Thrashing angrily 
Lashing out at innocent and guilty alike 
The death throes of a wicked powerful being
Kicking against the pricks of destiny and fate
One final attack, a final fit of rage 
To ensure his name is remembered for all time 
His last battle as his life drains away 
Threatens to consume the entire world 
In ashes and fire of a thousand unholy suns

To witness this beast take its final breaths 
Is awesome and horrible 
We are blessed and cursed
To be witness to this moment
Many will perish in the inferno 
But some will survive 
Luck may save you of your courage holds fast
I will live as I love - fully and honestly 
If God wills it I will see you again 
We may drink to the beast that was and is not
And his utter destruction 

In the beginning it was innocent 
Anonymous chats carefree 
Donning avatars constructed in whimsy
The fictional virtual me 

Wasting spare time was the reason
A few minutes in an online sea
Surfing and swimming was fun 
Waving zeros and ones digitally 

Nostalgia as a Service
Unconcerned with reality 
Decay of everything tangible 
Ignored by the virtually free 

Then slowly it crept in and inside
Whether you wanted the spree
Registered email is a pittance
So small that it's basically free 

You must have a phone and profile
Wireless tether simply to be
It’s the way of the world these days
Setting you virtually free

Then came endless websites and portals 
Erstwhile second life community 
Life is hard and the real world sucks 
Just live life virtually free

Download this app that tracks you
So we can help you to foresee
It’s small trade for convenience 
And plus it is virtually free

But now the terms are changing 
For just a small subscription fee
You can store your whole life and your dreams
In the cloud you are virtually free 

At last it was clear and apparent
What it was that they wanted from me
Just upload your mind and your being 
It’s all to be virtually free 

Don’t fret about bodies of flesh
Or inner eyes with which you can see
We’ll take awful good care of you now
You’ll forever be virtually free 

No you can no longer go back 
You’ve already clicked on agree
Yes you’re now and forever our prisoner-slave
But at least you are virtually free

There are things worse than death and decay
Silicon crystal eternity
Souls trapped in circuits silent screaming 
This hell is now virtually free

I was given a house when I was young 
My father built the frame and roof 
My uncle built the walls 
And my mother decorated the rooms 
Bringing wood and stone together 
Manifesting a home 

This is where I grew up and spent my years 
Until my father died and my uncle downed 
In the bottom of a bottle 
Any my mother became delirious and 
Drifted into middle aged monotony
Lives and loves caged 

I lived here for a time and wandered away
Striking out my own path seeking fortune 
Seeking myself and my purpose 
Not quite ever finding either 
Walking the path and falling away 
Still trying to find my calling 

That house still sits there 
Beckoning me back to my roots 
The hours spent in the woods
Exploring caves and swamps and meadows
Memories sun-bleached in fading time 
This monument to my being waiting 

Returning back to the place of my past
Vandals surround the castle 
Tossing rocks through windows
Smashing down doors 
Set fire to the fixtures, salting the gardens bare
My heart sinks and hardens 

These destroyers, kings in name only
These self-appointed deciders of my fate 
Warped and twisted men I believed in my folly
Allowed myself to be fooled by their falseness 
Unwilling subject to malodorous monsters 
Unbinding from them will be onerous 

I am to blame for this destruction
Allowing these dastardly children to game my life 
They departed and my house is in shambles 
They hide underground in fear of my wrath
Pleasure and pride is their soiled currency
Searing spirit swimming lakes of fire boiled

Now I’m standing in front of a ruined home
Their spite and greed has undone it all
I’d take revenge if it were possible 
But they hide in their holes guarded and afraid 
So I will rebuild the ruins of a once great house
To pull myself from ashes is my noble fate

Arriving at the trailhead just before sunrise
Birds beginning to wake 
Purple and indigo sky
Wraps me in the serene blue part of the day
Cool air washing over my cheeks
Reminds me of the autumn mornings 
Growing up in the woods 

Starting down the path 
Low whooshing 
Of the breeze in the trees 
The forest welcomes me 
In a slow dance the towering statues
Swaying and creaking
Genteel salute
Almost as if bending their branches 
In a warm greeting
Old friends reunited 

My pace is steady and slow 
Deeper into the forest 
Sounds muffled by the adolescent pines 
Alone but surrounded by so much life
No one to talk to 
But everything listening 

I find a clearing 
The morning sun streaming down
Small holes through the relenting canopy 
Onto dark green waters of a tiny pond
Drinking up a small brook 
Nursing this water for centuries
With almost no one to notice 
The prefect place to rest
I set my bag near a tree 
As I wander forward to the water 

Standing near this mirror pool
I see my own reflection 
My dark visage staring intently
And I back at him
I wonder if he sees me too
Then I laugh at myself 
For these frivolous mental jests 

Drifting in thought to this small portal
The water, the earth, the air, the trees
And my spirit
All here
I feel every life around me
Absolute perfection for this instant
Heaven while I’m alive 
Taking a small rock in my palm
Tossing it softly
Disrupting this still water
Perturbations emanate in rhythmic waves
Chopping my image to ten thousand fragments 

I look up in sky and the trees wave their hands
Complete peace 
Utter surrender to the moment 
I’ve never felt so good 
Or at least I don’t remember the last time I did 
Praising the creator and his beautiful work 
Ecstatic with life and the miracle of living
Witness to the beauty and improbable wonder
Of the glory of being alive 
Then just as suddenly as the pond appeared to me
Out of this ethereal realm
A terrible shiver rolls over me 
Violently shaking my head and shoulders  

Unable to tell why or how
I grow uneasy 
Unable to pin it 
I’ve become a perfect stranger
To the moment just before
In the dreadful sensation of eyes 
Eyes running over me 
And more through me than anything else
Something is there 
I look around nervously 
My eyes darting around the tree-line
Goosebumps cover my arms
I turn quickly as the sensation 
Sneaking up on me from over my shoulder 
Directly behind me
Yet nothing is there 
But the birds are no longer singing
And the trees are still
Passing clouds have concealed the sun
The water is glass again
The whole of the forest and everything in it 
Holding its breath 

Was it me or am I only a witness? 
Something is there 
No doubt remains about that 
It's watching 
Observing
Deciding 
A lonely spirit 
Perhaps this water is theirs 
I was welcome here 
Now my welcome has gone 
I do not know what I did wrong 
But it is time to leave
Hastily I grab my things and head back 
Up the trail 
Not running but hurried 
Sadness and loss 
Mixed with dread 
I pick up my pace 

When every grain of sand 
On every beach 
Of every shoreline 
Of every ocean 
Turns to glass 
Shattering and slicing 
And back into dust
I will be there 
Standing with heart and fury
My eyes wet from stolen futures imagined 
Wishes of what I wanted but never saw
While the unworthy pretend to rule 
Ruling the unruly
Warlords wearing sycophantic smiles 
Illusions of power and delusions
Of death and grandeur 
Callous seared and atrophied love
Walking corpses 
Presidential Sock-puppets

Gleefully unleashing their 
Ungodly fire from heaven 
The avaricious old blood 
Smiles content in the ashes 
Lecherous kings on tinder thrones
Demonic Aristocracy 
Delighted by searing flesh 
Drinking the blood of infants 
And disintegrating their desiccated hearts 
Paying unthinkable tolls
To get themselves 
Just one more moment
In services to their wicked gods 
The Lord of Maggots 
His children obey his lies
His children wish to feast on ours 

They will burn the world 
Before looking in a mirror
We know this and remain silent

Slips down 
Yet another grain of sand 
Free fall though the hourglass  
Melted back into primordial substrate 
I will be there 
Standing, holding my sorrow 
For a future unrealized 
Twelve parts of me united 
Sharing in this terrific and terrible duty
Pushing my heavy soul up the hill
Becoming a boulder crashing back down on me
Get up and do it again
The pain in my side 
The eagles feast 
Eternal yet only for awhile
But keep going
Never ever stop

The wolves snarling in the tree-line 
I ignore them and they depart
Only for them to double back to devour me
Feeding on my fears 
Repeating until I can recognize 
What it is I’m supposed to see

I’m a child 
I never quite learned 
Riding the wings of intent 
Clipped by someone else 
Their ghastly nightmares overtake my dreams 
My only weapon is my heart and intuition
Parts of me that remain untainted by the world 
Clean daggers for a dirty task 
Losing yourself to find yourself 
Losing what left to become what I must be

Outsourcing my sovereign will
Foolishly hoping I can rest 
Responsibility digitized and packaged 
Slavery in convenience 
All for some peace and quiet
But the peace has ended 
And it’s too quiet now 

The past crumbles in my mind 
Sandcastles washed away 
As the last gran of sand 
Turns to glass in the heat of false suns 
The present pauses 
Frozen in fear
And the future 
Not yet known 
But we dream of what it could be
The road forks 
And we decide 
Choosing misery or mirth 
Life is the magic 
We are the magicians 

I’ve lived my life 
I’ve gotten this far
With “supposed to”
Casually driving the car

I look down the road 
I see the path bend  
Anticipate pitfalls 
My errors amend 

Psychic dream trails 
Waypoints are checked 
Constructing towers 
With stones builders reject  

Intuition and reason
Have guided my steps 
Calculating dangers 
And hedging my bets 

But something has changed 
I can’t quite explain 
An ocular splinter 
Drives me slowly insane 

Something is wrong
When I sit and stare
My former visions 
Now muted and bare 

My foresight is dark 
To my shock and surprise   
Interrupted by what
I fail to surmise  

I used to see clearly 
The path for my feet 
Tomorrow was simply 
Another heart beat 

Yet now I look out 
I see only haze 
Nothing but nothing 
In an infinite maze 

It’s as if the future 
Was drowned in a ditch
Bright shining tomorrows
Now buried in pitch

The spells of the wicked 
Potent and strong 
To obscure the fates 
Which ruled for so long  

It troubles my soul 
That no more can I see
As if sometime soon 
We'll meet calamity

Or maybe it’s the end 
Of time and of life 
Just over the hill bandits
Lie in wait with a knife 

Whatever it is 
That’s blocking my view 
I know it’s not good 
Count that to be true 

I pray that this blindness 
Goes away nigh   
Remove these thick scales  
From my inner eye  

Singularity looms 
We do not have much time 
Prepare what you can 
While your life's in its prime 

Mangled bodies strewn about the streets 
Alabaster fields of corpses of the innocent 
Restraining futile the burning call to vengeance  
Silence rests reflected in the blood of martyrs

Another dawn in the morning light 
Neglected our will and forgotten our path 
Damage and destruction through wars of mind

Stars above ministering to our lives 
Above the night sky and our souls below
Tumultuous death rattles of a rotten society
Undoing our futures one compromise at a time 
Releasing the binds of mortality and decay
No way to get back and no desire to return 

No more compromise 
It’s past time for votes 
No more consent
For despicable goats

It’s time for a riot 
Burn down the palace
It’s time for guillotines 
For beheadings with malice 

Tear down the pillars 
Set fire to the boats 
String up the rulers 
Cut traitorous throats 

Chop down the Oak tree
Casting villainous shade 
Raze ivory towers 
With blood be repaid

Smash the wicked
Break all their teeth 
Scatter their bones 
Through the desolate heath

Death to the monsters 
Who abuse little kids
Bury them alive
Nail their coffin lids 

Torch the idols 
Of Moloch and Ba’al
Watch as their priests 
With terror turn pale 

The old warding spells 
Have lost their effect 
Curses to silence 
Of vampires deflect

We must help the minions 
To meet their just fate
The hand waving lackeys 
Who wail “the stock market’s great”

We know well who are
Enemies of mankind 
Drown them in the ocean 
On millstones entwined 

We can do this together 
Because alone we are weak
Frightened of devils 
Who corner the meek

Our enemies in view 
They bear the beast’s mark
Praising false gods
Doing deeds in the dark

We outnumber these ghouls
A million to one
Their hold is now slipping 
So let’s have some fun

No one will save us
It’s on us to be free
Or allow them to bind us
By our own empathy 

We act or we die
A cowardly death
So gird up your loins
Or draw your last breath 

Golden chains loosely draped over my neck 
Priests cackle and sneer 
In this Brotherhood of Falsehood

The eye of suspicion is why we fear
We know our rulers are demon possessed 
Ignorantly averting our eyes 

The crime of ignoring what we refuse to see
Our guilt is thus solidified 
The hatred we feel and project 

Misdirected outward away
Heads in the sand again and again  
Rage for others owed to ourselves

Distractions subversions and circus 
Keep us entertained and docile
We get the world we allow 

Ceaselessly striving to defile
Compromised soul of necessity 
The price of survival is pieces of mind

Betraying your will one curse at a time
Disintegrate slowly with hopes to bind
The priests cackle and snicker

Their sick desperation festers within
We despise them but hold our peace 
Hoping justice one day will win

Longing for a new world yet to be born 
Creation groans and shudders 
Restless to get to the next 

Then die on this ship with no rudder
Demonic rulers who hate us all
Pretend to care while we drown in mud

The lies we abide lock us away 
The machine demands our life and blood
Forgotten how to live with purpose 

Hoping better fortune will arrive  
Trying to hold off the tide 
Trying to live while I’m still alive

Drained of my psychic power 
The machine demands my life and blood
For the privilege and honor 

Of not being crushed 
In its deadened heartless gears
Bones and dreams crushed to dust

Billions of lives gone and blown
Beaten and smashed as we must
Sacrificed everything with nothing to show

Trapped by my lack of imagination 
Imprisoned in this cell of my own making 
Wishing for my own exsanguination 

Freedom so far off and fading
I’ve forgotten the way I once knew 
Looking inside is all I can try 
They say the way out is through  

What was it like for me
To have you one day 
And be without you the next?
Never to see you again.

Starting out like a barn fire.
Tipped over the lantern.
Kerosine ignited the dry hay
And we’re running out before it consumes us.

I couldn’t believe 
You wanted me.
But I was not going to question it. 
Love and passion.
Heat of moments.
Passing smiles and 
Looks that you feel in your guts.
Memories and wishes
Burning inside my chest. 
What are these things 
Did it happen?
Was it real or a dream? 

What was it like for you
To sit back and lose me?
Or did you sit back 
Watching me lose you?
One day it’s spring and
I can’t wait to touch you.
To be around you.
The next day the leaves are falling and It’s cold. 

I didn’t know how long I had.
With you
I never thought of it.
I didn’t know the last time
I was with you
Was the last time I’d see you.

Careless words give birth to misunderstanding.
Failing to sort it out
Sorts itself out.
Miss, you understand. I do. 
Killer eyes and perfect skin
One day we’re taking it slow.
Then the bombs drop.
The next day I’ll never see you again.

Everything ends and everything dies.
It’s a shame our thing died on the vine
Fruit that was never eaten.
That fire consumed us after all.
Never to know what might have been.

One day we can’t get enough.
The next I’ll never see you again.
Would I have held you tighter that night
If I had known that was the last time
That I would never see you again? 

Do you think of me, ever?
I’ll never know
Neither will you
That’s how things end.

Standing under angry skies
Dark masses descending from the North
The last cracks of blue in the South 
And all other sides thick with grey 
Chill breeze drifting lazy from the West
Eastward is ambivalent
These clouds an omen
Of violent nights to come

The sheep cower and bray
They know what’s coming but ignore what they know 
They continue to graze
While the sheepdogs quiver 
Shaking in the cold
Nervous in anticipation 
Of violent nights to come

The wolves lick their lips
Salivating and chomping
Fantasizing
Dreaming of slaughter and bloody feasts 
In the violent nights to come

What am I but a sheep who knows too much?
Might I yet hone my resolve
Sharpen my sword 
And refine in fire my haggard and harrowed spirit
Yet to be a dagger in the chest of my foes?
They wish to destroy my body and bloodline
In violent nights to come

I feel the first drops of rain
Unprepared and without a jacket
Nervously shaking 
Under these angry skies 
Hatred spills from all around
Confused lambs flee
And run in all directions 
Meandering and running blind
Haphazard into hidden maw
Or off a cliff 
The violent heights to come

Birds dart from a bush
I look up to see them flutter
In emergent unison 
A single movement
It’s grown much colder
The frog gradually freezing 
Shredded by a ferret 
Killed by a fox 
Eaten by the wolves
Violent fights to come

This shell of a land
Gutted and eviscerated
Torn and quartered 
Set upon itself a mad-rabid dog mauling its own foot
As dusk waxes and only dimly 
Just a thin line of light
Is left above the horizon and
Below the clouds 
A sliver of the dark day remaining
Before the violent night to come

Raindrops spatter 
Sparse but increasing 
Shallow breath of the wind grows and blows 
My hair flies a flag of my being
My heart alights in my chest
I love a storm
I want the storm to come
Chaotic and terrible
Terrific in destruction and magnitude
I’ve always loved the storms
Washing away the rot 
Drowning weakness and decay 
Knocking down the artifice
Driving the snakes to their holes
Giving new life to a parched landscape 
But not just the aftermath 
Also the power and beauty of its raw rage 
The angry clouds prepare their deluge 
If I survive I will be stronger
Not yet ready 
But I will join in this storm 
Giving my power to be another hailstone
Unprepared as I am
I delight in the violent night arriving