I have written a couple of others this year in addition to these 3 but there themes are a little darker and the poems are more private and not suitably themed for the blog in any case. As this blog is all about Fantasy art, to include them would seem out of place, so in time I will add links to my complete set of work. So I hope you enjoy this little bit of me.
The Faery Ring
A Faery Ring lies atop the hill,
By the stream, by the mill,
Up the path and around the bend,
Past the trees that never end,
Over earth, over stone,
Walk up yonder to the Faery throne.
Now stand atop that hollowed hill,
Take a moment, stand quite still,
Feel the ancient power old,
Of wild tales and
Lustful legends of Faery gold.
This hill with secrets buried deep,
This Faery realm where roots do creep,
To hallowed halls underground,
Where the Faery folk may be found.
"A chair!" they cry.
"Sit down, enjoy our feast!",
But beware!
Do it not, decline at least,
They play their games, they talk a jig,
They love to trick those folk so big,
Whispered words,
Through crack and hollow,
To ears of foolish men who follow,
A lure to those who seek their gold,
A trap to bind and keep tight hold,
The greedy mortal whose heart is sold,
Forever trapped or withered old.
And whilst mortal men lie asleep,
The faeries dance, sing and leap.
Round the ring, round the ring,
Around the ring they go,
Twirling faster, never slow,
Spinning gayly, jumping higher,
The Faerie folk never tire.
A Faery Ring lies atop the hill,
By the stream, by the mill,
Up the path and around the bend,
Past the trees that never end,
Over earth, over stone,
Walk up yonder, but not alone.
Us Witches Three
Boil, bubble, steam and stew,
We stir our cauldron - a witches brew,
A deadly poison we aim to make,
To slay a king for a kingdoms sake.
Our fire burns with flames from Hell,
From our black cauldron, an acrid smell,
With the Devil himself we all have lain,
A pact with Satan for our mutual gain,
Written in blood upon a scroll of skin,
And a sacrifice made of a newborn twin.
So our pact was done, long ago,
Our souls we sold, this you know,
To give us powers beyond belief,
To torment the world and cause such grief.
Boil, bubble, steam and stew,
What vile things within our brew,
Stillborn child, fresh from it's mothers womb,
Rotting corpse from an ancient tomb,
Tongue of frog, ear of bat,
Claw of crow, tail of rat,
Eye of mole, bark of Yew,
A heart cut out from a lover true.
A lock of hair from a virgin maid,
A dark mans skin from a body flayed.
A drunkards liver fried in a copper pan,
And our brew made potent with sperm of man.
With poison boiled three long days, three cold nights,
This kingdom now we put to rights,
So take this potion unto thee,
A deadly gift from us witches three.
The Hunted
Bounding, panting,
Through the cover of the nights mist,
Hounding, ranting,
The pack closes in.
Fleeing, crying,
Escape the darkened forest,
Fearing, dying,
Dont think, just run.
Their noses to the wind,
They hunt, they prowl,
Sniff out their prey,
Hear their drawn out howl.
Be quick, don't hide,
Be swift, don't tire,
Don't lose the battle,
Don't let them hunt you down.
Shape Shifter
See tonights full moon in the sky,
Hear the call of your brethren, hear their cries.
Feel the beat of your pounding heart.
Smell the scent of the chilled night.
Answer the call of the wild,
You who are Shape Shifter, wolf child.
They cry, they howl,
Through the nights chilled mist they prowl,
Hunting the weak,
Their company you seek.
Feel the blood of the wolf course through your veins,
Shift shape and feel the pains.
Two legs become four,
Hand becomes paw,
Nail changes to become my claw.
I am a wolf within the skin of man,
Cunning hunter,
To eat your children is my plan.
Shift shape, no longer the same,
Shift shape, new powers I gain,
Shift shape, your life I claim,
Killing you like sheep,
Bury your dead while you weep,
This evil secret - mine to keep.
And after the rise of the sun,
No longer do I run,
I walk, amongst men, unseen,
But tonight, hunting your land while you dream.
Bathory Bitch
Once beautiful women, vain and rich,
A soul corrupted by pride, a murderous bitch,
Bathed in the blood of innocent girls,
Young and beautiful with long golden curls.
You had them imprisoned and drained of their blood,
All for your looks which everyone loved,
Devil possessed, evil to the core,
Foolish woman, tricked for sure.
Murderess, cold and cruel,
Face like an angel, dazzling jewel.
Ten long years you tortured and slew,
Bricked in your room, you got what was due,
No one to admire your finery and looks,
Gained a place in the history books.
Oh poor beautiful woman, vain and rich,
Cruel and evil, Bathory bitch.
Into Oblivion
Sound the horn we go to war,
We hath been commanded - but what for?
We have been told,
Be brave! Be Bold,
So we go to war,
Told not what for.
Raise our standard, raise it high,
We marched to glory, we marched to die,
Hear our agony, hear our cry,
To win this battle we must try.
Through darkened skies rain a thousand darts,
Then the awful screaming starts,
Men take cover but still lose heart,
The bodies of our dead fill a hundred carts.
They sound a horn, their commander cries,
Giving orders,
Unhonourable lies,
To honourable men whose fealty ties,
We brace ourselves and prepare to die.
Heavy horse now charging forth, upon us they descend,
We hold our ground, we must defend,
Thundering hooves to bring our end,
Then the crash, then we fall,
Our ranks are smashed, no one stands tall,
Through the rutted, muddy ground our dying crawl,
Whilst our fallen ascend to heavenly halls.
Their final horn sounds so loud,
We find our feet to stand up proud,
Infantry charge through the mists and shroud,
Hard rain pours down through darkened cloud,
Then the clash of metal, steel rings,
Sword of the enemy - death it brings,
The sound of brutal battle sings,
The sound of battle - a terrible thing.
A black armoured champion cuts us down,
In our own blood we all do drown,
Our king has fallen and lost his crown.
And to our enemies our fate now bound.
So our standard falls, lost in the mud,
A crimson flag drenched in blood,
Through our lands our enemies flood.
To rape and pillage and satisfy glut.
Of ten thousand men few remain,
Our friends, our comrades have been slain,
We carry the wounded, we bear the pain.
Whilst politicians hide and avoid the shame.
The few march back home to the drum,
We follow orders, under the thumb,
What have we gained, what is the sum?
Our souls are lost, our minds are numb.
And when our enemies are at their door,
They sound the horn, we go to war,
They hath commanded - told not what for,
We follow orders - it is their law.
Ghosts 'n' Goblins
Do you ever check under your bed at night?
Something, somewhere - hiding out of sight.
In your cupboards, under your bed,
Ghosts 'n' Goblins inside your head.
Don't worry yourself tonight,
Say your prayers and everything will be alright,
Snuggle up, sleep tight,
Don't let the darkness bite,
Don't let the chime of the midnight strike give fright,
It's that magic time tonight.
From a light under your bed,
Come the beings from inside your head,
Whispering softly, slowly they creep,
Into your world while you sleep,
Faeries are no faerietale,
Steal your child from the warmth of it's cradle,
Snatched away,
Forever in the faerie world to stay.
When you check under your bed tonight,
Be sure to take a good look everwhere,
Look inside the closet, look there,
Don't be frightened of what you may find,
Ghosts 'n' Goblins are just inside your mind.
Midnight Rider
Midnight Rider keeps on going,
Through the lonely night,
Moonlight shining, stars so bright,
Engine roaring, wheels on fire,
Keeps on rolling, never tired.
Along the highway, never stopping,
Music blaring, always rocking,
Wind blasting through his hair,
Midnight Rider - free of care.
Screaming demon clad in black,
Storming on, along the track,
Mystery man, all alone,
The only road he's ever known.
Tearing towards nowhere, like a maniac,
No intention of ever coming back.
Jack
The lamps are being lit,
In old London town tonight,
The cold evening mist dampening their light,
Saw a figure move, dodging out of sight,
Does anybody know where Jacky is tonight?
Slipping through the shadows, an evil will intent,
Upon horrific murder his twisted mind is bent,
Jack is out there watching, eyeing you afar,
In this horrid murder who will be the star?
What makes him choose his victim? What makes him do these deeds?
Peverted mutilations satisfy his needs.
Passing by your window, who will it be tonight?
Lurking in the shadows, how easy do you fright?
Flash of cold hard steel, silences your scream,
How does it feel being murdered? Is it like a dream?
Breathing hard upon you, he goes about his work,
Slashing with his dagger, this madman goes beserk.
With his gruesome deed all done he flees back home again,
Escaping all detection, he enjoys his little game.
Who was this insane killer? Did anyone ever know?
Walking the streets of London, a hundred years ago.
Now from his grave he laughs,
About the memories of his life,
Of the women who were killed, by his deadly knife,
Of the days he stalked the big, Old Smoke,
Evil Jacky jokes.
Dark Dreams
The Tingle of fear crawls down my spine,
It is almost near the time,
Nearly the midnight hour - when I begin to dream,
When I drift into another world,
A world where no one hears my scream.
Alone in a place far beyond reality and demons rule supreme,
Can anyone explain my dream?
All my fears woven into some twisted tale,
They feel so very real, the horrors,
The abominations that roam there, so lost and pale.
They wander there.
Amidst desolation, the lost but no one is ever found,
And fear I feel for this unholy ground.
Insanity is taking over my mind, tortured by my dark sleep,
A nightmare world, through which terrors seep.
And when I wake the dream is not gone,
With every hour it goes on.
The Haunted Knight
I have a tale I'd like to tell,
A story dark,
With bloody end and bitter smell.
A story, in truth all about me,
My guilt laid bare for all to see.
After wars and battles, and so much blood,
I laid my armour in the mud.
I threw my sword to the lake,
And holy vows I chose to take.
A silent life inside a cell,
With holy books to make me well,
No steel skin to save my bone,
But hooded robes and a life alone.
Meditation
And contemplation,
Rest my soul to avoid temptation.
You see,
My heart was lost,
In a place so dark,
So deep, a place so vast.
I was a soul alone,
In some place unknown,
Devoid of love and as cold as stone.
My first battle had been a hard won thing,
And ever after, guilt did sting.
Men who died screaming upon my blade,
Men I crushed underfoot in mud now laid.
Men now dead, by my hand,
Men who lay, while I now stand.
One freezing winters, silent night,
I stood alone by candlelight,
My troubled thoughts whispered by,
Devilish tongues who heard me cry,
Who smelt fresh blood upon this soul,
Who saw their chance to devour whole,
A hundred demons did dine that night,
A hundred demons with such dark might.
Upon my thoughts these miseries dark tendrils crept,
Upon my heart, whilst I slept,
Gripped my mind,
In artful bind,
Trapped by thoughts that made me blind,
To lose all heart, no hope for me,
No future sight, no will to see.
With this heart, a lost and hate poisoned thing,
I searched the land, peace to bring,
To find my soul, to free my mind,
From demon bonds that tight did bind.
One day I chanced upon a lady, by a lake,
Asleep forever, save kiss to wake,
I knelt beside her and fell in love,
But my kiss was black and not enough.
I cried aloud, I cried to God,
Who struck me down with lawful rod.
Clouded visions took my mind,
And sword of wisdom cleaved lies aside,
Then the way was shown clear to me,
Of hidden caverns by the sea.
The Heavens opened, clouds did part,
And lightning struck my armoured heart,
Four angels flew down, beside my breast,
And healed my worries with deep caress,
To prepare this knight for battles ahead,
To slay the demons who upon him fed.
And in time I came to find,
The place they hid within my mind.
A place down by the Endless sea,
An entrance hidden by rotted weed.
I travelled down to caverns deep,
I travelled far with no sleep,
To a place, where shapeless monsters haunt and lurk,
Where shadows glide,
And creeping things slither through despairing murk.
Where hatred hides,
Where love will die,
Where our darkest thoughts well hidden lie,
A place so evil Angels cry.
And so I walked this caverns path,
Endless tunnels,
No light of day, nor warmth from hearth,
Then I heard my soul cry out to me,
To break it chains and set it free.
To take sharpened sword to deadly beasts,
With ripping teeth,
Whose bloody feasts,
Had torn my hope, my dreams, myself,
To shredded pieces of worthless wealth.
Would that I could do this deed,
My sword arm feeble like withered weed.
My strength was sapped from battles past,
With injuries old that forever last.
I gritted teeth and raised my shield,
I Swore an oath to never yield,
Put foot through door of dankened cell,
Smelt wretched stench from stinking Hell.
And there the great beast did slither,
It hissed at me and bid me hither,
This ancient Wyrm who dripped such slime,
Spat poisoned words in archaic rhyme,
It swayed and snapped with razor teeth,
I drew my sword from its sheath,
Sang praise to God and swung my blade,
It dodged aside to shadows shade.
Once again it spoke its rhyme,
Powered words as old as time.
And mists arose from cold chill air,
About the Wyrm within it's lair,
Old, dark magic conjured born,
A shape like me with demon horn,
And behind him a chattering of devils massed,
Who laughed and sang and did harass,
Whose words were sharper than any sword,
These taunting voices sang by horde.
So I fell before this host of doom,
In a corner of darkened gloom,
The demon me looked down,
With pointed sword to my neck,
Looked at me like some worthless speck,
I hung my head in deepest shame,
And prayed for death to end this game.
Then darkness took me, I don't know where,
I remember not and do not care.
This time away an act of God,
And mortal mind can fathom not.
That's my story my dearest friend,
My story's not quite yet at end.
Now I stand, in my cell,
My place of peace,
And my living Hell.
Beauty of the Beast
At the mountain stream I saw her bathing there,
And I was as captive bound in blissful stare,
My heart was ripped by loves fierce tear,
And obssession born of this maiden fair.
Her beauty was like a radiant light,
Her hair as dark as moonless night,
Her spirit joyful as a bird in flight,
Whose womanly virtues were heavenly sight.
I watched her from hidden hole,
Underground beneath the knoll,
Where beasts like me were doomed to roam,
Within the darkness and all alone.
I watched the world from secret place,
To hide the shame of my wretched face,
A beast like me not fit to see,
Such worldly beauty that can be,
Nor taste the love of such a one,
But cast aside and only shunned.
I turned away from vision shown,
Back to lair, on my own,
I held my head in pained despair,
And ripped out shreds of beastly hair,
I smashed broken mirror again to ground,
And cried for love never found,
My angered roar, my howl of pain,
Was heard afar 'cross hill and plain,
Then huntsmans horn echoed loud,
And blood thirsty men did begin to crowd,
"Release the hounds! The hunt is on!",
"The Beast will die tonight!",
The crowd did cheer with bloody leer,
Fools too drunk to acknowledge fear.
So with reluctant anger I took swift flight,
To protect myself, I would kill and fight,
I lept and ran through forest thick,
Bounding steps my speed too quick,
I ran away into the night,
Until I fell upon a terrible sight,
My maiden fair with blood in hair,
Lay upon the ground with frozen stare,
Knife in heart from a lover spurned,
An evil born from a love so yearned.
I wept in sorrow to see my beauty die,
I cradled her head and heard soft sigh,
She whispered to me from the edge of death,
she whispered softly in final breath,
But I heard it not as I carried her home,
Towards the hunt, towards her own.
And when they saw my fearsome shape,
They cried in horror at her body draped,
They cried out "Murder! The beast must die!"
So I placed her down to let her lie,
And cried one tear for her soul,
I cried that tear upon my knoll,
Now before the world, for all to see,
Was my beastly form that was not me.
The hunt did circle to strike with spear,
They were frightened, I could smell their fear,
I span and roared and swiped my claw,
I killed three men but I never saw,
The woodsmans axe that struck my back,
By a hunter old whose name was Jack,
He smiled as I staggered dazed,
Through misty night towards forest glade,
Where I fell upon ground on leafy bed,
Badly wounded but not yet dead.
Beams of moonlight shining bright,
Did pierce the mist to give clear sight,
Of dancing faeries and goblin things,
Flying drunk on gossamer wings.
I sighed in pain and begged for peace,
To feel the reapers sweet release,
To join my beauty in eternal rest,
To shed this skin for the best.
A faery queen then came to me,
As I lay in distant dream,
She smiled as she wiped my brow,
And hushed my lips to be quiet now.
Then she spoke an arcane spell,
One I thought would make me well,
But the queen then laughed and said to me,
"Beast you are and beast you'll be",
"No handsome prince beneath your skin",
"No love for you, no hand to win",
"I cursed you long, so long ago",
"Why I did I do not know",
"Perhaps it was but in jest",
"Or perhaps I meant it as a test",
"To see how strong a man could be",
"To make you better so you could see",
"That spirit and soul are greater things",
"Than beauty or jewels or golden rings"
Then she stood and left my side,
Across the leaves she did glide,
They blew about and then fell to ground,
Falling softly with rustling sound,
When last leaf fell I breathed my last,
And deaths sweet peace did take me fast,
To a place so near yet far away,
A place so difficult for me to say,
A place beyond all your dreams,
A place of peace where beauty seems,
To be alive and in all things,
Where even beasts can laugh and sing.
The stars shone brightly in the sky,
Upon the night that I did die,
For now my soul, my spark, my mortal flame,
Has flown much higher from whence I came.
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