Category: Dark / Gothic

NaPoWriMo Day 28

On By WinstonIn Dark / Gothic, Discrimation, Macabre, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, Uncategorized, Values1 Comment

Because of the last two night shifts and having to work tomorrow at 0600, I haven’t slept since about 1430 yesterday. This has some strange effects upon my little brain. For starters, I had absolutely no idea what to write about today, only the determination to not miss a post this close to the end of the month. So I just started putting words on the page and trusted it to write itself. Enjoy!

WELCOME TO YOUNGWICH PLOT

“You are a witch and so must burn!”

The magistrate declared.

So terrified, the young girl sobbed,

And in her heart despaired.

“All these good folk have seen you dance,

With devils in the night.”

“And when you spoke to Widow Blythe,

She fell down dead of fright.”

“You’ve cursed a babe and blighted crops,

Done Satan’s own dark deeds.”

“You’ve done all this and so much more,

To suit your evil needs.”

“When you have died, your grave shall be,

Unhallowed, unmarked plot.”

“With iron chains and salted earth,

To bind you to the spot!”

“Now speak the truth, or not at all,

Repent now, do not lie!”

“Confess to us your evil ways,

Confess before you die!”

Her fate confirmed, she stands up straight,

“The truth is what you seek?”

“Then harken to my words and learn,

About your future bleak.”

“The spells I weave, no devils need,

All nature is my loom.”

“It’s true that with some herbs I mix,

I fly upon a broom.”

“I’ve done my best to help this town,

Through famine, drought and plague.”

“And many a good Christian has,
Sought my help with the ague.”

“But then one day an old man tried,

To have his way with me.”

“So I did as my Mother taught,

Displaced him with my knee.”

“Then Sunday next, that man stood up,

And lied of me to you.”

“He is a man and I am not,

So his words must be true.”

“He swore he’d seen me dancing with,

Three devils in the night.”

“But did not say why he was there,

So late to see that sight.”

“What was it that he hoped to see,

When peeping in that pane?”

“Was he possessed of some dark urge,

From which he’d not refrain?”

“But you don’t want to hear this truth,

I see this plain as day.”

“There’s just one thing before I stop,

It’s this that I will say.”

“By powers of the earth and air,

And of the waters deep.”

“From now until your lives are spent,

You’ll know no restful sleep.”

“Each time you close your eyes to rest,

Wherever, you may be.”

“My tortured face all wreathed in flame,

Is all that you shall see.”

“Your stock shall flee across the land,

To seek their wild way.”

“Your lands shall bear no crops for you,

“Now heed these words I say.”

“Now none of this must needs to pass,

Surcease my freedom buys.”

“But if I burn, this curse shall last,

‘Til each one present dies!”

They burned the witch so legend says,

Her every word came true.

Those who slew her soon rued the day,

Too late there’s naught to do.

So now you know the reason for,

The name our town has got.

I welcome one and welcome all,

Welcome to Youngwich Plot.

Cheers Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 2

On By WinstonIn Dark / Gothic, Enlightenment, Fantasy, NaPoWriMo, Personal Responsibility, Poetry, Uncategorized, ValuesLeave a comment

ON GREED

Oh once upon a time a King,

Sat on a Royal Throne.

While at his feet a Royal hound,

Gnawed on a Royal bone.

 

The bone belonged, or so it seemed,

To the late former King.

To normal folk, it’s murder clear,

To them a different thing.

 

Now heavy weighs the new King’s head,

Beneath it’s crown ill-got.

He looks out on his courtiers there,

Can almost hear them plot.

 

He knows for once he plotted there,

Before the late King’s throne.

Imagines he can see the stain,

Of blood upon the stone.

 

The new King knows he may not rest,

Must vigilant remain.

Lest Royal blood, his own this time,

Shall flow free once again.

 

So listen to this tale my friend,

And learn it’s lesson well.

The prize not always worth the price,

‘Til it’s too late to tell.

 

Please reach not for that thing you want,

If it’s not yours to take.

The very truth of who you are,

That is the wagered stake.

 

I thought I was a better man,

Than he who sat here then.

But I have killed to gain this crown,

To keep it killed again.

 

This is not who I meant to be,

Yet now I play this part.

While conscience shrieks and tears it’s hair,

Deep in my darkened heart.

 

This wisdom is the boon I grant,

From my high stolen seat.

While poisons drip and daggers glint,

‘Mongst those with words most sweet.

 

Now that is all I have to share,

My kingly wisdom spent.

Ignore desire and walk away,

Your evil ways repent.

 

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day 1

On By WinstonIn Dark / Gothic, Fantasy, Macabre, NaPoWriMo, PoetryLeave a comment

So… it’s April 1st once again and the kick off of National Poetry Month which means the start of the annual poetry writing challenge. The last time I tried this, things came up and I failed to meet my target of one poem per day for the full month. But here we are again and so… Here we go again.

I was thinking about the movies and shows you see where someone finds a book of spells and, lured by the promise of shortcuts to success they decide to try out the spells. Nothing happens of course… until everything goes pear shaped. Often with tentacles. That scenario inspired today’s verse.

A WORD TO THE UNWISE

You found the book, you learned the spells,

Rehearsed each small detail.

Your dedication must ensure,

This summons cannot fail.

A flash of fire, a brimstone stench,

A cloud of greasy smoke.

That’s all you get for your hard work,

Like some sad cosmic joke.

You snuff the candles, kick the book,

Then profane circle break.

With towel try to staunch the blood,

You gave for your lord’s sake.

You tried so hard, believed so strong,

Believed the Lord of Lies,

The only sound, the drip of blood,

And hungry, buzzing flies.

But don’t despair, for something came,

In answer to your call.

A nightmare thought, a dream so dark,

Ten million souls shall fall.

But you won’t care, you won’t be here,

Your sacrifice complete.

Your Dark Lord wears your body now,

Your soul the first he’ll eat.

So think on this before you etch,

That circle on the floor.

The Prince of Lies will lie to you,

Write lies in books of yore.

Now think it through oh foolish one,

Think of the price you’ll pay.

And turn aside from this dark path,

To live for one more day.

Cheers, Winston

Morality For The Lost

On By WinstonIn Dark / Gothic, Enlightenment, Personal Creativity Project,, Personal Poetry Writing Challenge, Poetry, Society, ValuesLeave a comment

Morality For The Lost

A demon danced in dead man’s shoes,
His face turned to the rain.
An angel raged on through the night,
Adrift on seas of pain.

A babe new born an orphan lost,
Alone and powerless.
A demon too far gone to curse,
The angel cannot bless.

The babe, a child, grows up alone,
Ward of a careless state.
And still the demon dances on,
The angel curses fate.

The child becomes a young man now,
Most think he has no chance.
He’s seen the angel, knows his rage,
Has learned the demon’s dance.

He’s done some bad, he’s done some good,
He’s learned what’s right and wrong.
It isn’t what you do but why,
That drags your soul along.

A demon dances in the rain,
He wears a young mans face.
And those who see him watch in awe,
Angelic rage and grace.

He sees no absolutes in life,
In terms of wrong or right.
To him there’s only shades of grey,
Invisible at night.

Cheers, winston

NAPOWRIMO Day 16

On By WinstonIn Dark / Gothic, Enlightenment, NaPoWriMo, PoetryLeave a comment

To Know The Truth

Another day has come and gone,
Dusk spreads hen gentle cloak,
The fog rolls in across the bay,
Like slowly drifting smoke.

All sound is muffled faint and far,
The world fades away.
A streetlight’s just a distant glow,
‘Round which some damp moths play.

In darkness dense and damp and dull,
All sense of place is gone.
You walk along and wonder if,
You’re lost, you hurry on.

It’s full dark now all light has gone,
Been swallowed by the gloom.
You want to stop await the dawn,
Yet hurry to your doom,

Ahead the faintest spark of light,
Relief floods through your soul.
You cannot know from whence it comes,
But now you have your goal.

You rush ahead into the light,
No thought but getting there.
The light enfolds, embraces you,
You’re nothing everywhere.

And then you’re where you’re going to,
At long last you arrive.
You learn the truth but cannot share,
With anyone alive.

Cheers, Winston

NAPOWRIMO Day 10

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Not What They Thought

Beneath a cloudy midnight sky,
A deeper sort of dark.
Upon the air a cop’pry scent,
Drifts slowly ‘cross the park.

Through thinning clouds a wat’ry light,
Sifts faintly through the trees.
A shout, a shot, a bestial shape,
Now topples to it’s knees.

Not far away in these same woods,
A second figure lies.
Been clawed and chewed and ripped apart,
By beast of monstrous size.

The hunters gather by their “beast”,
A hole straight through his chest.
And all agree for one like this,
A silver ball is best.

A house nearby a child awoke
She thinks she nearly died.
How else explain all of this blood?
And in the dark she cried.

Soon enough she’ll understand,
She’ll understand quite soon.
A month from now into her room,
Light from a bright full moon.

Cheers, Winston

NAPOWRlMO Day 4

On By WinstonIn Dark / Gothic, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, Values, WarfareLeave a comment

The Lies Myself Tells Me

I fear the time has come I said,
As I sat there alone.
I found that I agreed with me,
Been too long on my own.

I used to argue with myself,
Don’t bother any more.
The fact is I’ve learned to my grief,
I am a dreadful bore.

But I’ve been here so long it’s now,
Much harder to go out.
I’ve beat them all and won the game,
Of that there is no doubt.

Some players used to talk to me,
Upon my radio.
But static swallowed up each voice,
So many years ago.

I see the dust on everything,
My larder so long bare.
There’s nothing here to eat or drink,
I think that I should care.

I hear a whir from faraway,
From deep down underground.
I look and see the blinking lights,
And curse this truth I’ve found.

I yell at me and curse myself,
I’m filled with hate and rage.
And once again I vow to flee,
This cybernetic cage.

For it was not a game we played,
But dreadful, dreadful war.
And deep within our bunkers we,
Slew billions, billions more.

Each of us thought we’d be the one,
Once it was safe outside.
But one by one the bunkers fell,
And one by one we died.

I had a plan I would survive,
Just not the way we thought.
Our scientists had found a way,
To fend off age and rot.

Now me, myself and I all live,
If life is what this be.
In memory and subroutines,
Of this machine I see.

I argue with myself again,
It’s such a waste of time.
Because the years have not been kind,
Myself speaks only rhyme.

I want to end our suffering,
To pull the plug on this.
But myself and me refuse,
To grant eternal bliss.

But they will do the next best thing,
And dump my memory core.
Let me forget the centuries,
Think I’m alive once more.

Cheers, Winston

Personal Creativity Project: Poem #6

On By WinstonIn Dark / Gothic, Macabre, Personal Creativity Project,, Poetry1 Comment

When I was a kid, my brother Jack spent countless hours winding me up with ghost stories.  He took a perverse delight in terrifying me.  We had no hydro or TV and the nearest neighbor was miles away.  I guess I was his entertainment. 

He had a knack for turning the most mundane thing into a source of pure terror.  For instance…. a flight of stairs.

The Cellar Stairs

A narrow stair, a slippery stair,
A stair into the black.
To take this path, to travel down,
Is never to come back.

A basement stair, a cellar stair,
Just how far can it go?
What’s waiting there? What’s lurking there?
If you go down you’ll know.

It’s just a stair, a simple stair,
There’s nothing there to fear,
Then why the shakes, and why the sweats,
Each time that you go near?

A wooden stair, a shaky stair,
It waits to take you down.
To every terror you can dream,
Your very soul to drown.

A dreaded stair, a hated stair,
You’re frozen at the top.
If you should slip, if you should fall,
You know you’ll never stop.

A proving stair, a testing stair,
Your brother eggs you on,
If you complete this trial then,
Your fear will soon be gone.

A haunted stair, a cursed stair,
This brother told you so.
And now he nudges you a step,
And says you have to go.

A treacherous stair, a fickle stair,
You want to flee this place.
You turn to go, you turn to run,
You foot slips into space.

Triumphant stair, victorious stair,
You plummet to your doom.
Your brother calls down from the top,
“Now I’ll have my own room.”

Cheers, Winston

Personal Creativity Project: Poetry.

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Reading some Poe earlier lent tonights verse a more macabre air.  Infidelity, vengeance and remorse…. Enjoy!

Ghost of a Romance

You come to me, you cling to me,
You beg what I can’t give.
You shade, you fade, oh spectre rude,
I can’t help you to live.

You shriek, beseech, and weep at me,
You swear you were so wrong.
You never loved, could never love,
To someone else belong.

But I walked in, I saw the truth,
The two of you entwined.
Then something broke, my heart was broke,
And broken too my mind.

I don’t recall, I can’t recall,
What happened to this day.
But I suspect the worst because,
You’re hounding me this way.

Forgive me love, for love we shared,
When love was bright and new.
And I’ll forgive, forgive you love,
That peace may come to you.

Cheers, Winston

Personal Creativity Project: Poetry

On By WinstonIn Dark / Gothic, Loving Life, Personal Creativity Project,, PoetryLeave a comment

Thinking of Ray Bradbury and Clive Barker tonight.  Love the sinister carnival theme. 

The Carnival

Behold the great and secret show,
Dare you to enter in?
There’s love and beauty honor too,
Debauchery and sin.

There’s every kind of freak inside,
Just take a look my friend,
You’ll see we’re really all the same,
Mere mortals in the end.

We travel round from place to place,
We’ve travelled everywhere.
Though all agree the show is great, None want us anywhere.

So see the show then tell your friends,
Tell everyone you know.
But do it soon for Monday night,
It’s on the road we go.

The great and secret show’s in town,
A brief engagement run.
So grab your love and came on down,
If our show sounds like fun.

Cheers, Winston