Ichigo

Golden heart

Eyes of fire

Resolve of stone

Explosive desire

Protective vengeance

Righteous anger

Dangerous tenacity

No price too high for friendship

No risk too great for good

Room Frozen in Time (Haunted Hall series)

Quietly creaking, the door does open

Arctic wind assailing the senses

Burning pale skin red

Artificial health

Within the room ice covers all

Turning bare soles black

Moonlight from a single window

Insanely bright

A death-pallored ballroom

Crystallized flowers lay among frozen tables

Frost-chilled pictures line the walls

Mocking with silent glee

Memories of bygone torment

A lifetime ago

A few years past

Just yesterday

This morning, perhaps

Teardrops freeze upon corpse-white cheeks

Blood-red tracks

Black-pained feet slap the floor

Ever fast

Never slipping

Quicksilver's path

The door creaks again

Almost too heavy

Then slams shut

Echoing down the haunted hall

Moonlit Corridor (Haunted Hall series)

Dark & twisted

Slow & creeping

Down the haunted hall

Moonlight blights the path

Dim as deathly pallor

Blackened doors line the way

Demons & hellfire

Laughing & leering

Quiet barefoot padding on the floor

Shadows poison for the psyche

Silence slicing

Along the haunted hall

All doors shut

All doors locked

One hand holds the key

For all the doors are memory

Left Behind

Haunting echoes of the past

Moving pictures of the dead

Haunted still-lifes on the walls

Bring more emotion to the queue

A movie set to infinite replay

No reprieve allowed for one still here

I close my eyes

The movie plays on

Willful blindness cannot erase

The haunted memories of my departed

The theater of the past

Continues the show of a lifetime

For a lifetime

Day dreams and night dreams run together

Transcending all consciousness

Zombies from the past

There will never be escape

For one left behind

Nostalgic Prison

Hidden in plain sight

Forbidden places of memory

Knowing they are there

Knowing where they are

Makes no difference

Ignorance & misinformation

Are not the chains that bind

But rather is pain instead

Happy memories

Of loved ones since passed

Moments of fun & laughter remembered

Relived

These are what true chains are made from

Not steel or cold iron

But bittersweet nostalgia

Haunted Mourning

As tears mingle with ocean salt

Splotches of color float

Idly atop undulating waves

Peaceful as the night

Moonlight alighting petals of red

All that remains the mourning wreaths

To belie the heart's blood

Dark & rich

Forever stilled

Always haunting

December Rose

White caresses red

Slow & dripping

Silent as the moonlight

Darkness in the thicket

No witnesses to bear

Eternal rest to claim the beating of the breast

Beauty frozen in morbid stare

Not till the morrow comes

Will they find her there

A winter rose for all to see

December's child

Cut down before full bloom

Bearer of the Light

Note: This is not a religious poem. Its about someone whom I lost a couple of years ago, and the playful and protective light in his eyes still shines vividly through the pictures I see of him. But, I realize how easily this might be taken as a religious poem. So, I felt the need to clarify.

Light shines forth in death

As once it did in life

Though all that's left are pictures

Inanimation does naught to hide it

Try as it might

Death cannot stifle the light

Darkness waits to smother it

Wait, must Darkness, for eternity

Light will always remain the beacon

On lonely nights

Quietly mourning

Those left behind will see

And in bittersweet comfort walks he

The one who drove away monsters

Shattering fear as was his job

Once long ago in living color

Steadfast guardian

Patient sentinel

A whimper is call to arms

A tear is call to action

Bringing with him only the light

Golden warmth shining from twin blue pools

Steady as moonbeam

Sturdy as sunrise

Twisted Progress

Cold steel

Sharpened blade

Swinging swift & true

Sunshine glinting high

Sweat & nerves run deep rivulets

Muscles strain with hourly effort

Rhythmic forward motions

Eyes blind to consequence

Liquid thick & sticky

Creates mess upon the ground

Each stroke of blade does make a sickening crack

Dull as thunder

Coming forward is inevitable

Down she falls

Aged & proud

Dismembered for sake of convenience

Roots ripped asunder

Where once stood she

Tall & ancient

Now is naught but memory

Dearly Departed; Song for the Brokenhearted

Haunted pictures line the walls

Each capture a once bright light

That of a soul already gone

Dearly departed

The Earth mourning with those remaining

Within their own private world

Like a forest dead & dormant

Mummified roses trapped in wilted bloom

Haunted pictures line the walls

Long-gone figures smile & play

A moment in time to trap the soul

But not that of the departed

The souls of the mourning are those entangled

Strong & deadly branches

As if vines of steel

The Fates grin in gruesome gaggle, cackling mad hens

For eternity to mourn

Quietly gazing at what is now forever lost

Remembering what once had been

And what can never be again

Five Petals

Five-petaled flower

Quiet in your beauty

Let slip a dainty petal

She loves me

Now left with four

Let glide another to the floor

She loves me not

Three left to count

Let flutter the next

She loves me

Two left to see

Let fall this one, too

She loves me not

Now, joyous flower, one is left

Let descend one more

She loves me!

Alas that life is not a five-petaled flower

For in truth I know

She loves me not…

Familiar

Tiny friend

Furry sister

Dark companion

Traverse the plane with me

Until comes time

Too soon for me

For your veil to part

Energetic friend

Inquisitive sister

Happy companion

Wait for me

On the other side

When your time comes

To meet me when my own veil parts

Forbidden Taste

Chestnut eyes meet chocolate

Awkward romancing

Fiery spirits collide

Longing born slowly

Forbidden by society

Explosive passion

Secret meetings

Clandestine love

Only two know the truth

Seasons change

Lives in jeopardy

Sudden separation

Longing born anew

Invisible passion

Vanished lover

Dimensional gap

Sight denied forevermore

Love & passion in dreams alone

Never again in flesh exist

Tears create a sea

Until Death unites lost lovers again

Lady of the Glen

Asleep in the mist

Peaceful and tranquil

Lays the Lady of the Glen

'Neath the never-ending blue

Stars and planets look down upon her

White gown of spider's silken weave

Atop soft moss she lays

Surrounded by flowers wild

Man walks passed each day

Never realizing what they pass

They let her sleep

But not from respect

Rather through ignorance

As they rot the Earth

So too they do to Lady of the Glen

When she is gone

Man reaps the consequence

Yet still wonder not what they have done

Instead why their Heavens deigned not fix what they squandered

Religious Right

Confusion & lies force the masses to one side

No falsehood is too much

Keep their eyes wide shut

Keep their ears loudly deafened

Backwards logic makes sense

When spoken by politicians

Prejudice loudly touted as righteous

God & Jesus become convenient scapegoats for hate

Love & acceptance absent from religion

Good messages lost forever

Restriction, denial, excuses, hate

A deadly masquerade

Dangerous belief

Death & violence accepted

Religiously sanctioned

By any & all means necessary

Oppression, repression, destruction

All is accepted as long as religion moves backward

Even if religion's message is defiled

Even if sins must be committed

No price too great for hate

Seasonal Beauty

Emerald Hills

Diamond lakes

Sapphire seas

Topaz skies

All beauty must fade

As Gaea changes her gown

Making way for Autumn

But when beauty fades

Paths are made for new beauty

Emerald gives way to gold

Sapphire gives way to slate

Topaz gives way to opal

Gaea alone knows the truth

Youth and Age are two sides of one coin

Each hold their own unique beauty

Custom Made Hell

Purple stains her cheek

Swelling puffs her lip

Red blights her skin

Dripping down the alabaster

Knowing the consequences makes no difference

She cannot get away

Soft apologies

Quiet tears

Pretty words

Deft deceptions trap her here

Too weak without help

No help to be had

Doubtful hope saves her sanity

For the next day

When all starts over again

An endless circle to bind her to Hell

The only way out is that which led her inside

But the way has long since been barred

Locked in by her own fear

The Snow Queen

Dedication: This was inspired by and written for my good friend Alice. And despite the fact that she isn't really into poetry, I hope that she likes this poem. ^_^

On the snow-capped mountain she waits

At the peak where no human has reached

Silent and lonely as death

Howling wind blows around her

Yet still she waits

Gazing down to the snow-covered valley below

Snow and ice of her own making

A white flower blooming in otherwise dead terrain

Lady Snow waits for her lover

Every day in the same frigid spot

Away from her ice mansion

Dress of shimmering silver

Covered with a coat of arctic fur

Crystal tears slip from glacier-blue eyes

The path they travel is down snow-white cheeks

She knows her love will never come

But still she waits

Frost-white curls blown by blizzard winds

Woman in the Tree

Winter wonderland all around

Sparkling snow

Glistening ice

Bare trees

Dormant shrubs

Inside a hollow tree she hides

Quiet and pale

Dark curls fall along her shoulders

White covers her from neck to ankle

Doll-like dress of Victorian style

Graveyard gray eyes

Within the tree she waits

To be found by passersby

Strangers to tell her story

For not the cold was it that killed her

Rather a broken heart

Stilled by cruel betrayal

Haphazard Mourning

Pictures scattered along the floor

Ripped and torn

Like so much confetti

Porcelain spread across the table

Broken and overturned

Remnants of dishes and figurines

Wood hanging from furniture

Splintered and razed

As if ruins of a tornado

Glass sparkling over it all

Shattered and destroyed

Products of anger and frustration

Born of betrayal and dishonesty

Lone figure standing in the center

As if a goddess of destruction

All things of which are a product of earlier chaos

What now is all that's left

A life destroyed by the hands of whom the life belongs

A broken heart to blame

A friendship tossed away

Without this friendship all is lost

Or so the chaos goddess mourns

Sublime Decay

Golden rays shine upon the reeds

Cheerful and jolly

Boasting of hope and beauty

Water glistens beneath the reeds

But not with health

Black muck shines instead

Rainbows play along the surface

Eerie quiet

In this land once lush with life

Abandoned has it been

Death and disease

Starvation has emptied the everglade

No longer can it sustain life

All the plants wilt and weep

Soon all will be gone

And with it goes protection

Making human habitats unsafe nearby

But perhaps yet fitting

In some small way

For humans killed the marsh

Tiny Blessings

Dedication: Charlene Thompson

Unconditional love

Afforded throughout a lifetime

A precious gift

A lifelong friend

Eternally remembered

Forever missed

Little do mere mortals realize

The love is never lost

They wait for us

Silently following our footsteps

Watching over us

Silent, loving sentinels

Protecting us through the rest of our journey

For when it is our own turn

Our little guardians traverse the void to meet us

Happily showing their excitement

As we return to our final home

To lay in our laps

As did they once before

"I guess you don't really own a dog, you rent them, and you have to be thankful that you had a long lease." - Joe Garagiola

"If there is a heaven, it's certain our animals are to be there. Their lives become so interwoven with our own, it would take more than an archangel to detangle them." - Pam Brown

Nature Forsaken

Each season when Nature changes Her dress

Time sees new splendor

Yellow-greens and baby blues in Spring

Hunter greens and sapphire blues in Summer

Brownish greens and crystal blues in Fall

Opalescent whites and sparkling blues in Winter

All of Nature's ball gowns more beautiful than the last

All wardrobe changes strategic

Time appreciates Nature's fierce subtlety

Those hiding behind Her skirts forget quickly

That though they suckle at her bosom

The Giver of Life is not forsaken without mortal sacrifice

The loss of Nature's everlasting beauty

Affords only the deaths of her dependents

The Quiet Reaping

Crystal blue high above

Gentle breezes caress the skin

Quiet colors drift ground-ward

Green, warm, and cool at once

Wild and tame, the scents of Fall

Silent, serene, caught in a moment of time

Burnished gold slants the sky at eastward angles

Nature waits, Her dress now changed

For Her children, long forgetting to notice

The Mother of All forsaken

The Bringer of Life to be soon snuffed out

For not in winter, but of ungrateful benefactors

Reaping what She's helped them sow

But forgotten is She when credits roll

The silent death brought upon Her

The silent doom brought upon us all

And from the wind a single phrase; "Reap what you've sown."

The Moore & The Golden Thread

Muck and mire cover the golden thread.

A quagmire of tar in that old and ancient of swamps.

All humans must traverse its terrain.

The path, the events that lead them here, even the amount of times the swamp to travel, vary upon unlucky person.

Golden thread, sometimes found, sometimes broken beyond repair,

Glows somewhere in thick, sticky black.

Oft, the golden thread loses its brilliance over time.

Once the thread is broken, it is just a dirty thread,

A reminder of better times and the final betrayal.

Whether lost, found, or broken...no one's thread emerges from within the unearthly depths of the bog unchanged.

Recollection Avenue

Quiet photographs which line the halls of Memory Manor.

Haunted reflections in Flashback River.

Battered buildings along Recollection Avenue.

Taking walks where leaves fall with pain long past.

Litter from pain still current line the asphalt.

Sidewalks cracked with pain brand-new.

Residences once shiny and new,

Now stand empty,

Dilapidated and battered.

Betrayal and anger long ago destroyed the pretty avenue.

Still today the razing continues with each new slice of Imagination's Dagger

Wielded by unsympathetic, oft well-meaning, oft hate-mongering,

Strangers and loved ones alike.

Happiness A Mirage

Forbidden in life
Forbidden in death

Happiness a mirage

Lonely in wandering
Lonely at home

Happiness a mirage

Forgotten in crowds
Forgotten by friends

Happiness a mirage

Hated in truth
Hated in deceit

Happiness a mirage

Lies for assurances
Lies for stories

Happiness a mirage

Despair at North
Despair at East

Happiness a mirage

Depression due South
Depression due West

Happiness a mirage

Beauteous Decadence

Petals wilt and tumble forth
Beauty still there in death

Grass on which they make their home
Brown and dead, green luster forsaken

Air which once held warmth and life
Gave way to cold and death

Life once apparent snuffed out at peak
No longer the sun sustains it

Dead petals, fallen leaves alike
All Part of Earth in different ways

Snow and ice cover land once lush
Morbid beauty which all admire

Lonely Heart

Trapped alone in hollow log, ice and frost close around all exits, driving out the air, providing small amounts of ironic heat.

The heat is simple illusion. Fake and a trick of the mind.

The cold creeps in around the heat, edging in along the black sides of vision.

Slowly drawing in the shallow breaths as air grows ever thinner.

Tears freeze along pale cheeks, delicate icicles.

Soon limbs grow stiff.

Consciousness fades to black.

Heart once warm and rhythmic, now as still and cold as ice.