Sacred Test

Without her frame

There is no vision.

Without her call

There is no quest.

Lost is man

Who fails to see.

Her eyes reveal

His sacred test.

Eternity

There does not come a time,
For that time is ever here.

Unnoticed, it stalks in plain sight.
A candle in the sun.
The faintest of light.
A shadow trailing darkness
In the blackest of night.

An impossible future floats,
Seducing the wandering eye;
Tempting our credulity.
A mirage in the empty sky.

Once you stop to glean, 
Not what would be or what has been,
You will find that time and comprehend.
You will grip that moment and finally see

The trappings of eternity.

Bound

My bonds are broken.
My spirit flies,
Through love and loss,
Beneath the skies.

My ropes are cut.
My blood runs free,
Through rivers and veins,
To colour the sea.

With newfound freedom,
My body soars
Through clouds above
To distant shores.

Though bonds are broken
My mind does question;
Is this reality,
Or merely suggestion?

Heart

I put my heart in a blender.

I fantasized about watching it shred,
And imagined the sight,
A brilliant red.

I thought better of that idea
And threw it on the street,
Where my feet kicked it about 
Like discarded red meat.

There my heart collected dirt. 
So I rolled it up in my shirt.

I decided a black heart wouldn't do
So I took it to a river 
For a good wash and shampoo.

The heart soon found its rightful colour.
After a thorough scrubbing it shone in the sun of summer.

But a newly-soaked heart is a slippery thing, 
And I soon saw it jump from my grasp 
To float with the river's current;
To escape its oppressor at last.

Now dying without my pump 
I went in search of that goddamn lump.

I scoured every heartless hole,
Every filthy corner, beneath every sole;
Before finding the stubborn organ in a muddy little puddle, 
Wallowing beneath the water's surface,
Begging to renew its natural purpose.

Afraid to see my heart escape once more, I moved it to a chest;
Secured the lock, tossed the key, and left it there to rest.

In my chest it shall remain, I hope,
Pumping blood to my peculiar brain.

Mortal

Wishful thinking dulls the pain
Of tender hearts grey with sorrow.
Love and friendship we can't regain,
Yet faith we have in tomorrow.

A stream of tears from the clouds above;
The departed share our mortal strain.
We shout at the heavens for one more love,
But only taste the salty rain.

Our sincerest efforts appear insane,
Yet love does not end with a sigh.
For those of us who still remain
Do not need a loud reply.

As long as memories and words survive,
The fallen will not be slain.
To keep our greatest friends alive
Means no one dies in vain.

Fire

Hope comfort me in my time of need.
A hearty fire that glows and grips.
Away my fears to the hearth I feed,
My icy doubt melts and slips.

Fiery coals steam the damp away.
Embrace the warmth that gives me grit;
A dauntless blaze asks man to stay;
Emboldens my timid spirit.

But Fire serves not thee,
And swiftly takes control,
A reckless spark roaming free
Could burn the very soul.

So temper hope and check desire,
Ere all is lost in the fire.

Wink

The wet soil stirs. 

The pink now writhes from the earth with determined twists and methodical contractions. First a pin's head, then a pencil's lead; the worm pushes on and breaks free from the muddy grip of its sodden cage. 

Grey light oozes through black clouds. 

The worm eeks an inaudible shriek as it raises its head in defiance to the ignoble sky. 
The clouds slowly swirl in reply. 

The pink perceives the gesture but hardly finds it threatening. It hugs the earth with its moist body to crawl on comfortable cold. Slithering, the visitor from below feels the soil roll off its skin while vibrations draw it in.

A strong and constant beat holds the segmented explorer's attention.

It slides towards the source. The string thing, now positively trembling, anticipates this new experience. 

The vibration's intensity builds and grows as purposeful steps bring leather and doom
in an indifferent boot. 

Harsh soles meet soft soil in a contest made for fools. 

A vague shadow in the soft light envelops our lowly friend. 

It's found the source (the one it seeks) but does not have a clue;
the sweetest pink,
the briefest wink,

Will end with a dirty shoe.

Drops

Words that once burst with colour

At the height of our sunlight blaze,

Turn grey in my mouth

As my head bends south;

The letters blur and haze.

Memories lose their edge.

Flashbacks come and go.

Photos curl and fade. 

Pages scatter and tear.

Time will find the cracks,

Seep through to chill the bone. 

A steady drip, 

A tear, 

An inky river, 

A stream to my fear.

Frantic I am to remember;

Futile my attempts remain.

A memory lost 

in an ocean's despair.

Today I may remember,

You will not be there.

Trash

Flyers strewn across the street

A night's ideas dispersed 

The morning breeze

The winter's freeze

The trashman coughs and croaks

A scattershot of paper waste

Nothing of value here

Stabbing trash to turn to ash

Just waiting to reappear

Collecting thoughts 

The trashman laughs 

Oh what wisdom to be found

While behind his back 

He senses that

A presence lurks on the ground

But when he braced to face a foe

A flyer was staring from below

The trashman, through broken teeth

showed relief and a bitter smile

Then deigned to kneel and tell the soul

Rest there a little while

Yet flyers are a fickle bunch

and this one more than most

Without the wind to lift the page 

The flyer broke from the gravel host

Whipping and weaving 

Cutting, deceiving

The flyer flew with force and grace

Frozen in time, this trashman of mine, 

felt the flyer cover his face

He gripped and ripped with all his might 

but the flyer clung to his nose

Losing his breath, seeing the light

His eyes began to close

The fight is at an end my friend 

This thought won't die alone

You gave life to me, your fecundity

Now both will turn into stone

Nethermost

Shadows crawl and shivers creep. 

Find your way into the deep. 

Seek the one the darkness hides. 

Ignite his lamp before he dies.

Offer the spark.

Cover your eyes.

The father of fear.

The lord of lies.

More grotesque could not be found;

Down the spiral,

Round and 

Round.

Now you taste the breath of plague.

In the dark he's been remade.

Will you climb?

Will you fall?

In the Nether,

Fear is all.