I
White flakes fall to Earth
The city hushed in the night
Walking in the snow
II
Fragrant red flowers
Dying slowly in the vase
Dried petals for me
III
Music to be heard
Lyrics written by my heart
Dancing in the sky
IV
A smile on my face
And tears from my weeping eyes
Laughter fills the air
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Dream of the Raven's Gate X
Lost in the timelessness of the Dream World...
Karasu stood before the great door and waited for the madness to overtake him. It never came. Instead, he waited, unflinching before the impending strike of confusion and hate, the driving storm of yammering gibberish that would again fill his mind as it had so long ago. He stood. He counted out the seconds, the hours, the days.
It wasn't coming.
***
The Great Old One stirred. His timeless slumber roused by the loving caress of a madness so complete that he longed for it's touch. A great slimy body floated in the void between worlds. Trapped here on this plane, he roused himself so slowly as to trick death yet again... to have death pass his eye unknowingly over his already dead body. The dreams kept pouring in, breathing life into his lifeless form. The dreams. The means to connect him to this world forever, to begin his reign of madness again. The Great Old One once dreamed. He was falling, falling, falling through space and time... falling to this dreadful place where the creatures were small, weak, and unimaginative. But he was taken in as a God, and worshiped, and countless innocents were slaughtered in His name. Natives danced, and civilized people reduced themselves to lusting, blood-thirsty savages all to appease His will.
And still he roused slowly...
***
Swirling though the void, minds racing to and fro, dreaming men sought to find purchase in the brewing storm of chaos in their minds. Overnight, sane men went mad, hair grayed in the brief moments between closing their eyes and seeing the sunshine again. Inescapable horror chased them in a dreamland they never expected - and above all else, a feeling of impending doom upon their brows. Wives and lovers woke from fitful sleep to scream in terror as the madmen replaced their husbands and partners. Mothers fell to their knees as their sons stared into the eternal night of crazed babbling and the rage of lunacy. And still the Star Child roused ever so slowly...
***
Somewhere, in the beautiful lands formed by one man's imagination, the locomotive trudged on along a track made of broken dreams, human bones, and the knowledge of a coming evil. Inside, a man was trapped in this world, unable to wake into his body, newly revived and resting peacefully back where it was chained to a hospital bed. Elsewhere in this world a trio of women dressed in white stepped off of a stone stair together, opened an immense iron gate adorned with ravens and spires, and began a journey of hope.
***
Karasu waited for the storm to start.
But it hadn't yet.
Contiued
Karasu stood before the great door and waited for the madness to overtake him. It never came. Instead, he waited, unflinching before the impending strike of confusion and hate, the driving storm of yammering gibberish that would again fill his mind as it had so long ago. He stood. He counted out the seconds, the hours, the days.
It wasn't coming.
***
The Great Old One stirred. His timeless slumber roused by the loving caress of a madness so complete that he longed for it's touch. A great slimy body floated in the void between worlds. Trapped here on this plane, he roused himself so slowly as to trick death yet again... to have death pass his eye unknowingly over his already dead body. The dreams kept pouring in, breathing life into his lifeless form. The dreams. The means to connect him to this world forever, to begin his reign of madness again. The Great Old One once dreamed. He was falling, falling, falling through space and time... falling to this dreadful place where the creatures were small, weak, and unimaginative. But he was taken in as a God, and worshiped, and countless innocents were slaughtered in His name. Natives danced, and civilized people reduced themselves to lusting, blood-thirsty savages all to appease His will.
And still he roused slowly...
***
Swirling though the void, minds racing to and fro, dreaming men sought to find purchase in the brewing storm of chaos in their minds. Overnight, sane men went mad, hair grayed in the brief moments between closing their eyes and seeing the sunshine again. Inescapable horror chased them in a dreamland they never expected - and above all else, a feeling of impending doom upon their brows. Wives and lovers woke from fitful sleep to scream in terror as the madmen replaced their husbands and partners. Mothers fell to their knees as their sons stared into the eternal night of crazed babbling and the rage of lunacy. And still the Star Child roused ever so slowly...
***
Somewhere, in the beautiful lands formed by one man's imagination, the locomotive trudged on along a track made of broken dreams, human bones, and the knowledge of a coming evil. Inside, a man was trapped in this world, unable to wake into his body, newly revived and resting peacefully back where it was chained to a hospital bed. Elsewhere in this world a trio of women dressed in white stepped off of a stone stair together, opened an immense iron gate adorned with ravens and spires, and began a journey of hope.
***
Karasu waited for the storm to start.
But it hadn't yet.
Contiued
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Dream of the Raven's Gate IX
Karasu
A young boy stood silently at the top of a carpeted flight of stairs. In the rooms below, he heard his father's demands of his mother, and was too frightened to venture past this top step, but too interested to move away. His father had been a sailor. His mother would become a widow. And in the years between, the child would grow into a man. But not yet.
***
From somewhere, the sound of a far-off train whistle cut the night in two and started a young boy from his peaceful slumber. He opened his dark eyes, sat bolt-upright in bed, and looked about the room. When his eyes fell upon the open window, he began to sob to himself, tears streaming down his cheeks and dampening his crisp white sheet. The whistle sounded again, and a strange light began to drip into his room from the open window. The boy leaned back as the light fell upon his bare floor, and he cringed as the pool began to grow, it's luminosity consuming the darkness in the boy's room. Fear and dread took hold of his heart and all the world was lost to him in an instant.
***
Suddenly, he was on the open ocean, a man now, and the waves slammed the boat from all sides. Great, calamitous thunder rolled overhead and the Johanson looked worriedly at the compass which spun wildly, never pausing more than a second at any one heading. The ship, The Alert, was slightly tattered, and it seemed impossible that the charts could be right since there was an island out there... but how? Then they were screaming and leaping.. running from the thing behind them, and the the darkness grasping the breath from his very lungs...The darkness called.. the hate and the rage and the confusion... all of it welled up. He ran, fearing for his life... he pivoted, and he cast his eye upon the lumbering madness behind... The horrific Star Child, freshly born from his beyond-death slumber. Like a tsunami crashing upon a thin strip of beach, his sanity broke, and forever more, a young man would see eternity in the black behind his closed eyes.
Death eventually came for the man. It swept him up and ushered him into the waiting arms of the Great Old One. And in the decades that passed, an average and unremarkable sailor became the agent of something not of this world. He was transformed... and took a name he had heard in some far-away land on some long-forgotten voyage...Better now, here as an escort in the Dream World, then as some shoddy man toiling on the thankless sea.
***
Forward in time, now... a child sits with three woman and another man. The woman are dressed for a party, while the man has the air of a huckster. They are excited to be there, the oldest most of all. The man begins by turning the lights down even lower, until they can barely make out each other's faces. He says strange words in the hot little room, the boy can feel beads of sweat on his face, and wants to wipe them away, but the women are clinging to his hands from either side, as well as each other. The man continues to chant, and smoke begins to billow out of the censer to the man's right. It startles the women, and makes the boy grasp their hands tighter. The man shudders, now even stranger words are coming out of his mouth, but they no longer feel like the work of a sham -they feel unnatural and alarming. The women panic slightly when the man quiets down and speaks in a voice not his own.
"Margaret. My sweet Margaret. I left you so suddenly, and I am sorry for that... I see our beautiful Helen is with you. I missed her life and beg you to forgive me. Could this be another of ours, Margaret?" The room was chilled, and the man was not moving as he had before. He was far away and lost in the moment. The youngest woman began to shake, The oldest, Margaret, wept openly and was both joyful and saddened. The middle woman, Helen, simply stared in disbelief.
"Da...Daddy? She said almost imperceptibly, "Daddy, is that really you?" The voice returned to the man's mouth with rush, "Yes, Helen. It's Daddy. I've missed you so much, my darling. The sparrows came for me, sweetheart. But I see you in your dreams, and I love you still." The women all wept now.
Then Margaret spoke "This is your granddaughter, Norma, and her son. He has your eyes." The voice turned and looked. "And he doesn't know you. Only that you were a sailor."
"My granddaughter, my great-grandson, how perfect a vision. I see you all in the dreams, of course, but here and now, in this place, I am sorry for my absence. I mustn't stay long, my loves. I must not be missed for too long a time, as it will not be wise. But I am glad to be here and to have seen you all. You, boy - come to me with these women someday. You will need them. The Silver Key is yours, child. It will come to you in your lifetime. Use it wisely. Now I cannot speak further. The seas will rise and R'Leyh will come again -" And with that, the man crumbled into a soft pile, his hair once black now gray, and his eyes blank with some unknown madness.
***
Standing now, a shadow in the corners of a quiet place. Rich fabrics and soft carpet set the scene. The creature slips from shadow to shadow, edging closer to the open casket. Margaret's body lies in eternal peace, he knows this. But he is drawn to this mortal capsule, to the face of the woman he loved. His presence goes unnoticed, as the visitors have all long-since gone, and the staff is safe in bed for the night. Just a shadow and a few select lamps to illuminate the moment. He stand before her, and lets himself remember the day he left her standing upon that dock. He had promised to come back. He had promised to see his darling daughter before her next birthday. How long ago was that? Seventy years? She was still so beautiful to his eyes, and for the first time in as many years, the creature wept a tear. A single salty tear that fell upon the empty shell of the woman he remembered. The track it took down his face burned like the sun itself was scorching him. But it was worth the pain. He remembered the dripping sky of his childhood, and how the star-spawn had somehow chosen him to be his agent. He remembered the glowing fear that visited him, and guided him to choose this woman from so many others. He didn't understand then, and would have eternity to ponder it all. He loved her, despite his being guided towards her. She had shown him the joys in life, and he left her to die alone.
The Great Old One called him from his beyond-death slumber. His return was coming, and the creature had to begin his tasks. The Key had to be granted, and it fell to him to find it and pass it on. That damned Carter had changed so much of the landscape... And now it must change again.
The creature bent down low, kissed the lips of the woman who's body lie before him, and slid back into the shadows. Karasu flew into the Dreamlands, alone as always.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
Continued
A young boy stood silently at the top of a carpeted flight of stairs. In the rooms below, he heard his father's demands of his mother, and was too frightened to venture past this top step, but too interested to move away. His father had been a sailor. His mother would become a widow. And in the years between, the child would grow into a man. But not yet.
***
From somewhere, the sound of a far-off train whistle cut the night in two and started a young boy from his peaceful slumber. He opened his dark eyes, sat bolt-upright in bed, and looked about the room. When his eyes fell upon the open window, he began to sob to himself, tears streaming down his cheeks and dampening his crisp white sheet. The whistle sounded again, and a strange light began to drip into his room from the open window. The boy leaned back as the light fell upon his bare floor, and he cringed as the pool began to grow, it's luminosity consuming the darkness in the boy's room. Fear and dread took hold of his heart and all the world was lost to him in an instant.
***
Suddenly, he was on the open ocean, a man now, and the waves slammed the boat from all sides. Great, calamitous thunder rolled overhead and the Johanson looked worriedly at the compass which spun wildly, never pausing more than a second at any one heading. The ship, The Alert, was slightly tattered, and it seemed impossible that the charts could be right since there was an island out there... but how? Then they were screaming and leaping.. running from the thing behind them, and the the darkness grasping the breath from his very lungs...The darkness called.. the hate and the rage and the confusion... all of it welled up. He ran, fearing for his life... he pivoted, and he cast his eye upon the lumbering madness behind... The horrific Star Child, freshly born from his beyond-death slumber. Like a tsunami crashing upon a thin strip of beach, his sanity broke, and forever more, a young man would see eternity in the black behind his closed eyes.
Death eventually came for the man. It swept him up and ushered him into the waiting arms of the Great Old One. And in the decades that passed, an average and unremarkable sailor became the agent of something not of this world. He was transformed... and took a name he had heard in some far-away land on some long-forgotten voyage...Better now, here as an escort in the Dream World, then as some shoddy man toiling on the thankless sea.
***
Forward in time, now... a child sits with three woman and another man. The woman are dressed for a party, while the man has the air of a huckster. They are excited to be there, the oldest most of all. The man begins by turning the lights down even lower, until they can barely make out each other's faces. He says strange words in the hot little room, the boy can feel beads of sweat on his face, and wants to wipe them away, but the women are clinging to his hands from either side, as well as each other. The man continues to chant, and smoke begins to billow out of the censer to the man's right. It startles the women, and makes the boy grasp their hands tighter. The man shudders, now even stranger words are coming out of his mouth, but they no longer feel like the work of a sham -they feel unnatural and alarming. The women panic slightly when the man quiets down and speaks in a voice not his own.
"Margaret. My sweet Margaret. I left you so suddenly, and I am sorry for that... I see our beautiful Helen is with you. I missed her life and beg you to forgive me. Could this be another of ours, Margaret?" The room was chilled, and the man was not moving as he had before. He was far away and lost in the moment. The youngest woman began to shake, The oldest, Margaret, wept openly and was both joyful and saddened. The middle woman, Helen, simply stared in disbelief.
"Da...Daddy? She said almost imperceptibly, "Daddy, is that really you?" The voice returned to the man's mouth with rush, "Yes, Helen. It's Daddy. I've missed you so much, my darling. The sparrows came for me, sweetheart. But I see you in your dreams, and I love you still." The women all wept now.
Then Margaret spoke "This is your granddaughter, Norma, and her son. He has your eyes." The voice turned and looked. "And he doesn't know you. Only that you were a sailor."
"My granddaughter, my great-grandson, how perfect a vision. I see you all in the dreams, of course, but here and now, in this place, I am sorry for my absence. I mustn't stay long, my loves. I must not be missed for too long a time, as it will not be wise. But I am glad to be here and to have seen you all. You, boy - come to me with these women someday. You will need them. The Silver Key is yours, child. It will come to you in your lifetime. Use it wisely. Now I cannot speak further. The seas will rise and R'Leyh will come again -" And with that, the man crumbled into a soft pile, his hair once black now gray, and his eyes blank with some unknown madness.
***
Standing now, a shadow in the corners of a quiet place. Rich fabrics and soft carpet set the scene. The creature slips from shadow to shadow, edging closer to the open casket. Margaret's body lies in eternal peace, he knows this. But he is drawn to this mortal capsule, to the face of the woman he loved. His presence goes unnoticed, as the visitors have all long-since gone, and the staff is safe in bed for the night. Just a shadow and a few select lamps to illuminate the moment. He stand before her, and lets himself remember the day he left her standing upon that dock. He had promised to come back. He had promised to see his darling daughter before her next birthday. How long ago was that? Seventy years? She was still so beautiful to his eyes, and for the first time in as many years, the creature wept a tear. A single salty tear that fell upon the empty shell of the woman he remembered. The track it took down his face burned like the sun itself was scorching him. But it was worth the pain. He remembered the dripping sky of his childhood, and how the star-spawn had somehow chosen him to be his agent. He remembered the glowing fear that visited him, and guided him to choose this woman from so many others. He didn't understand then, and would have eternity to ponder it all. He loved her, despite his being guided towards her. She had shown him the joys in life, and he left her to die alone.
The Great Old One called him from his beyond-death slumber. His return was coming, and the creature had to begin his tasks. The Key had to be granted, and it fell to him to find it and pass it on. That damned Carter had changed so much of the landscape... And now it must change again.
The creature bent down low, kissed the lips of the woman who's body lie before him, and slid back into the shadows. Karasu flew into the Dreamlands, alone as always.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
Continued
Saturday, January 1, 2011
That Was SO Last Year...
It is now New Year's Day 2011 and I am still on the couch clacking away on this keyboard. 2010 Was quite a year, wasn't it? Many of my friends and I turned 40, I reconnected with a few people, built upon the lasting friendships that were rekindled after so many years away, and even learned a few things about myself. I lost some people I called friends, some friends lost family members, and as far as I know, nobody too close to me had a baby (yes, I know people who had children in 2010, but not anyone THAT close to me).
In 2010 I learned to stop stuffing the scrawls I sometimes put on paper into the lost world of "what else do I do with it?" and finally got a blog (thanks you two...I really should have done this sooner). I had the opportunity to be exposed to an artistic world I had not given much thought to, and started to see that writing can be as much therapy as art. Well, I guess I should say that I rediscovered that since I knew that a long time ago and just needed to be reminded.
I find myself spending time reflecting upon the events of my life from time to time, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone. I appreciate those of you who are with me on those occasional journeys, sharing and listening as we traipse through the inner confines of who we really are.
2010 Was a year that also seemed to be FULL of disasters, huh? Earthquakes, Volcanic eruptions (Stop laughing, you guys), Oil spills, Trapped miners, I mean JEESH! I'm surprised the 2012 craziness hasn't really taken hold of every single news outlet yet, either. If the world ends next year, I'm gonna be doing the 'Slim Pickins' and just ride that sucker screaming YEEEEE-HAAWWWWW! It's better that way.
And 2010 was a good year for another reason. I rediscovered a couple seasons I had been dreading for longer than I'd like to remember. Autumn and Winter. I got to be reminded that kicking leaves into the air while walking was just as much fun as an adult as it was when I was a little kid. I jumped in a leaf pile, I rolled myself in the crisp crunch and let it infuse me with the spirit of the season. I lay still looking up at the deep blue sky and breathed in the joy that I hadn't cared to notice for so very long. And the Winter, now here, makes me long for the slopes and for cocoa after a good day skiing. Of course, there's nothing wrong with a walk in that snow... and spinning dizzily while it falls around you. Aaah... the appreciation of all four seasons.
So there you have it, my friends. My little glimpse into the year gone by. There is so much more to say, however, so I will add one more thing.
You.
All of you. Each and every one of the people I call friend. How could I ever mention last year without mentioning you? I will not run down the list, but each of you knows that I am thinking about you when I say that I love you. And that beyond my friends, you are as much my family as anything. Thank you all for being there with me on this wonderful journey. Let's dance and sing until we are thrown out of the building. Let's make a nuisance of ourselves with our laughing and glee. And above all, let's just hold hands and discover what lies ahead of us.
Being afraid? Being timid? Not being BOLD?
Well. That's SO last year...
In 2010 I learned to stop stuffing the scrawls I sometimes put on paper into the lost world of "what else do I do with it?" and finally got a blog (thanks you two...I really should have done this sooner). I had the opportunity to be exposed to an artistic world I had not given much thought to, and started to see that writing can be as much therapy as art. Well, I guess I should say that I rediscovered that since I knew that a long time ago and just needed to be reminded.
I find myself spending time reflecting upon the events of my life from time to time, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone. I appreciate those of you who are with me on those occasional journeys, sharing and listening as we traipse through the inner confines of who we really are.
2010 Was a year that also seemed to be FULL of disasters, huh? Earthquakes, Volcanic eruptions (Stop laughing, you guys), Oil spills, Trapped miners, I mean JEESH! I'm surprised the 2012 craziness hasn't really taken hold of every single news outlet yet, either. If the world ends next year, I'm gonna be doing the 'Slim Pickins' and just ride that sucker screaming YEEEEE-HAAWWWWW! It's better that way.
And 2010 was a good year for another reason. I rediscovered a couple seasons I had been dreading for longer than I'd like to remember. Autumn and Winter. I got to be reminded that kicking leaves into the air while walking was just as much fun as an adult as it was when I was a little kid. I jumped in a leaf pile, I rolled myself in the crisp crunch and let it infuse me with the spirit of the season. I lay still looking up at the deep blue sky and breathed in the joy that I hadn't cared to notice for so very long. And the Winter, now here, makes me long for the slopes and for cocoa after a good day skiing. Of course, there's nothing wrong with a walk in that snow... and spinning dizzily while it falls around you. Aaah... the appreciation of all four seasons.
So there you have it, my friends. My little glimpse into the year gone by. There is so much more to say, however, so I will add one more thing.
You.
All of you. Each and every one of the people I call friend. How could I ever mention last year without mentioning you? I will not run down the list, but each of you knows that I am thinking about you when I say that I love you. And that beyond my friends, you are as much my family as anything. Thank you all for being there with me on this wonderful journey. Let's dance and sing until we are thrown out of the building. Let's make a nuisance of ourselves with our laughing and glee. And above all, let's just hold hands and discover what lies ahead of us.
Being afraid? Being timid? Not being BOLD?
Well. That's SO last year...
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