There astride the gloom of rock
Where hazy mists and foamy sprays
Playfully vie for Nether’s Reach
And cold moon light casts gilded rays
Flickering candle on the horizon
Watchful eyes fearful wide
Bobbing closer it comes
Cutting through the baleful tide
A knowing sea a ship thus pass
Frigid uncaring dark humored its wake
For no intervention shall bend the course
The souls aboard it would gladly take
Chill hands slither from briny depths
Heaving grey bodies rife with rot
To cling upon gloom rocks and sway with silent swells
Bitter gaze reflects light with life not
The cruel waters guide unerring
To a fate that suffers no bargain
With a hunger that can never be satisfied
The horrors of the Rock Garden!
Cold winds blow across a blue face
Numbing high cheeks and pointed nose
Jet hair flowing from elongated skull
Tugging fiercely upon loosened clothes.
Lean hands hold tight gripping the rail
Boots stand on the deck steady
Large almond eyes with watery gaze
Watch the night standing ready.
Marine of Atlantis upon a great ship
Plies the skies over any terrain
Sails billow on towering masts three
Stretched by winds conjured by arcane.
Suddenly through clouds death does dive
Lean crimson hides under leathery wing
Through sharp fangs howling a chilling keen
Hungry for blood with claws bristling.
Aurinium sword in hand gripped tight
Flash like lightning strike fatal blows
Rend through wing, limb, and torso
Quivering piles of flesh in final death throes.
Thunderous booms light the clouds a’fire
Disgorged from iron cylinders a fiery ball
Massive explosions they cannot escape
Blackened and scorched the demons must fall.
At the start many and then so few
Evil smiles gone replaced by a grin
Slick now the deck awash with black blood
Triumphant to stand in the cold gentle wind.
I wade along the shore, with foamy waves lapping at my toes,
The shifting sands soft and restless moving with the flows.
The moon waning gibbous lights my way,
Guiding my steps, so not to stray.
Listen to the wind, hear the bitter drums!
From ancient days the droning beat thrums.
A voice rises beautiful, sorrowful in song,
A forlorn ballad from a time agelong.
The melody a woeful tale, with a harrowing refrain,
A harmony of discord, and a chorus of pain.
For this place was once the City of Ys,
Betrayed unto ruin by the Princess Ahes.
I hear the call from darkness and come into the light,
I am born once again unto Sunna, to live in her sight,
To defend her teaching and follow her faith,
And never reveal the secrets of the order to which body and soul I am endowed,
Ne’er to commit murder, deceit, or lie,
To honor and serve my king and my lord,
Upon pain of death and ruin upon my soul,
In her Grace, I shall serve with bone and blood and spirit,
With every breath within me to the end of days.
I am a thousand faces, a thousand personalities
No pronouns define me, I can be any or none
Power is my domain,
Control my weapon of choice
The fate of many weighs heavily,
Yet has no meaning at all
Even the Gods are at my beck and call
The world is but a setting for my theater of passion and triumph by pain
The truth is what I deem
Life is what I call it
Death is my prerogative
All bow before me
What am I?
“I met a boy barely a squire,
Who fought a war but did not tire,
He came to Ys draped in white,
For now he was a Temple Knight!
Here’s to Sir Perault!”
Perchance to dream
Or so you might
Come hither forth and sell your life
Cheaply now or dearly later
Either way, there’ll be no favor
It is said in dreams that should you die
You never wake from where you lay
Come find the truth, if you dare
There’s no escape from the Pumpkin King’s lair!
Muwahahahaha!
Fear in your belly?
Beware what is near
A touch or a moan, will chill to the bone
Or send you in flight, your head filled with fright!
And join those souls who remain,
Cursed to wander this fell domain!
Fire to burn
The howl of the dead
The echoes of the soulless fill your heart with dread
They wait for you now, but be not afraid,
For their cold bite will free you
Join our eternal charade!
A fiendish glow
From eyes that see red
There is no escape from the cruel undead
They watch you now
Waiting in the darkness
Vicious beasts of lore
Eager to bless with their unholy gore!
You’ve come this far, so don’t delay
To face your fears real or fey
In my world now, come take your place
Beside the others in death’s dark embrace!
Heart pounding with fright
Legs weak and powerless
On your knees with prayer
Come meet your nightmare!
A drooping willow tree,
Alone but not free,
Haunted by spirits,
Receives no visits!
Fatal expiry,
With little propriety,
Eternally rages,
Across the ages!
So good traveler beware,
Not to join the despair,
Of the Spirit tree,
That beckons to thee!
O’ sailors rest your heads to sleep,
Against my breast to slumber deep,
Cradled in my arms so tight,
Protected through the endless night!
The sea beckons softly in your dreams,
The cold in your bones not what it seems,
Sleep O’ sailors never to awaken,
Once your life the sea has taken!
Lonely shepherd dost not bewail,
When the ewe lamb thus spoke true,
Wenst ye come down to yonder vale,
Jealous murder shall quick find you.
Sayeth the shepherd to the ewe,
Tell the ones that craft my doom,
Bury me near a sheepfold ado,
And place mine pipes upon the tomb.
For when the wind blows in the sere,
The pipes of beech and bone shall play,
And draw the sheep to gather near,
To mourn mine passing all the day.
Then go and tell mine mother dear,
A fair Princess I have gone to Wed,
So she shall live a life of cheer,
And never know her son is dead!
Bitter spice for the one in need, in royal vestige and courtly manner.
Taken to the golden maiden so innocent,
And one who seeks the love of another.
The spell speaks strongly for earthly desire,
Makes true what was before only a dream.
Only a dream.
Beware the bearer that makes the promises and is too eager to serve.
Drink deeply of the cure, and the curse it brings everlasting.
And one who seeks the love of another.
It brings everlasting.
Only a dream, it is only a dream.
For eternal love and embrace, that seeks truth but cannot be truthful.
And in the end will only succeed in the corruption.
For the heart to seek the lie unseen.
Of love everlasting.
Only a dream, it is only a dream.
Toil of spade, the Muckers trade,
Silty Salty Soil!
Laden Carts, to doors we part,
And fetch the mud to boil!
With a heave and a ho,
And a shout as we go,
Mix a malty swill!
The Salters way, we spend all day,
Sloping at the Mill!
Steady beat the drum,
War is coming soon,
Brothers make you ready,
Sisters do not cry.
Cry Not!
Strong beats Brave Hearts,
The Warriors follow you,
Chase down the White Man,
Scalps will not be few.
Warriors!
Take Scalps!
Warrior strong,
Battle long,
Show their might,
In the fight.
Fires bright,
In the night,
To the Gods,
Sacrifice.
Trice trumpets shall sing
A forlorn tune dour
Upon discovery a Primal Tower.
The foremost, red as new-smitten blood
Plagued by conflagration nary a spud or bud
A passage fraught with peril from a land so long sterile.
Next rises one black like bilberry
Here one must not tarry
O’er face a Guardian unmade
And a soul you must trade.
Further, seek out one that climbs high in the lowest
Garlick-bladed like the skins of many dragons
A voyage of exceptional flagons.
The last claims the highest favor of them all
Lily-white and mirrored hall
Hazard reflections to fuse the sign of Majesty
Attentive to the hand of gravity.
Neglect not the order each Spire must be achieved
Lest ambition wane aggrieved
A merging of vessel, blood, and crown
And the Lord of Flies cast down.
There is a land, beyond the mists
No mortal man can yet resist
The lure of riches with gold to spare
The wealth of kings to none compares
Emerald rings and golden spires
Strum the strings of ones desires
Pristine and innocent the land does call
To explore its wonders before mists fall
Those whose stay is short will prevail
The others whose greed is strong will fail
For this lands visage is less than sure
A curse to endure with no lasting cure
Only a God could have planted the seed
Such a land must have a bright future indeed
Bitter spice for the one in need
In Royal vestige and courtly manner
The spell speaks strongly for earthly desire
Makes true that before was only fantasy
Drink deeply of the cure
And the curse it brings
For eternal love and embrace
That seeks truth but cannot be
And in the end will only succeed
In the corruption of love everlasting
Farewell and Adieu to ye fare Ysian ladies,
Farewell and adieu to ye ladies of Ys,
Blue seas are a’callin’, my true love awaits me,
Below salty waves in my lovers embrace.
I once fell in love with a fair Ysian lady,
I once fell in love with a maiden from Ys,
Her long dark brown hair
an’ smile warm an’ lovely,
no o’er have I met that could ever compare.
A bell tolls lonely in the darkened night,
Harkening long hours until the first light.
Sleep o’ ye townsfolk, slumber till dawn,
Let quietly pass the wicked spawn.
Baleful howls the night hounds sing,
Hooting owls take to wing.
Falling silent each goes their way,
At the advancing stench of death and decay.
Ancient forms march with a stumbling gait,
To the far call of trumpets, the dead slowly migrate.
Some clad in armor, some bearing spears,
Some lowly footmen, some cavaliers.
To the Dormonts the host winds its way,
The price of their lives to once again pay.
For the fate of Lyonesse, the dead again battle,
Yet for these men awaits naught but a death rattle.
So, sleep well and wake not lest to enlist,
To join their ranks the dead must insist.
Stay quiet and still, let your eyes not be drawn,
‘til the bell tolls again at the first light of dawn!
Satin tresses,
Wisp of curl,
Flicker dark eyes,
My pretty girl.
Smoothly silky,
Delicate curves
Soft kisses,
Without reserves.
A special place,
Within my life,
Captured forever,
Mrs Wife.
Vexed! Quite vexed am I!
All for the promise of pastries and pie!
Jack Spriggins is he,
Grandson to me,
Who stole my bean,
Because he was mean!
Then planted it thus,
And caused such a fuss,
Chased him up the stalk I did,
But determined he was of me to rid,
And fell me down to slink away,
Avoiding his rancor and further foul play!
So here agog,
I reside as a frog,
Should Jack Spriggins ever return,
I swallow him whole with little concern!
Please! Please! Please!
Kindness and ease!
We're in love you see,
To the greatest degree!
We’re not fit or able,
For the Gracious Queen’s table.
Our thoughts turn to flight,
And run far out of sight.
Allow us to flee,
So we may live free!
Ancient thump upon taunt skins,
Echoes beyond the cold grey fins,
The calling proclaims a gathering force,
And a man to lead them upon black horse.
A great host will cross the Sea of Dragons,
Trailed by leagues of trundling wagons.
What breath doth inhale and not expire,
Breast filled with temporary need.
A patient expectation does transpire,
Come forth another and another of life’s great deeds.
As darkness swoons in harsh betrayal,
Against each moment passing forward,
Shadows mask a passing portrayal.
Tiny paws come hither fall,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
Stumble bumble down the hall,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
Days are fleeting Spring to Summer,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
Time passes to a silent drummer,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
Heavy paws grown sturdy and light,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
The tread of cotton in the night,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
Ticking clock doth not forestall,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
The measured stride that brings the Fall,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
A lighter step might miss a beat,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
Slower now and nary fleet,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
Cold winds blow with Winter’s chill,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
The clock strikes twice then goes still,
And the house is silent.
A smile broad with warm sincerity,
And sanguine eyes bright with clarity,
Where is my little boy?
So small and gentle holding tight,
Embracing my neck is pure delight,
Where is my little boy?
Growing tall into a man,
Lost are the days of Peter Pan,
Where is my little boy?
I miss the days we laughed and played,
Knowing memories too soon will fade,
And on the day God calls me to task,
Of my maker I have but one ask,
Where is my little boy?
