[x]

Carving ConstellationsDoctors carve out constellations,
stitch star maps into my skin,
a web of scars, a path to take
to find myself again.

My scars are sewn of haunted stars,
constellations but half-drawn;
ghosts of star-fire whispering words
that fade out with the dawn.
They took my rib from me,
ground it up, reformed it,
turned it into Eve;
made a girl with my own name:
a girl they say is me.
My fragile face now hers,
our spirit splintered,
she stands for nothing
I once stood for.
Deep scars fade
before their meanings are deciphered;
yet more maps unfold

Saltwater VeinsWe chased unfamiliar coastlines,
crossed a continent of earth,
abandoned Northwest shorelines
like broken shells upon the beach;
drove straight ahead, towards looming Atlantic,
laid down roots in an East Coast state
without a shoreline.
But I missed my rocky beaches,
crashing waves swirling sea-spray
against wind-reddened cheeks,
breathing life into salted lungs.
So we chased the Atlantic northward,
up the coast, snaking up Route One,
a wending wave of rocky coastline.
I leaned to touch the water,
and it flowed fast from my fingers -
'til I turned, and
the Atlantic chased me up the beach,
caught me fast in its swell,
froze me in place as seafoam
lapped hungry at my heels,
swallowed ankles seasoned with brine.
My feet sunk into sand
locked between sea and shore
unable to move for fear of falling,
of being swallowed whole.
Then gentle waves released me
sopping wet against the sand
And now I feel the pull
of coastlines east and west
tides rent me from within,
s

ExistenceYou haven't lived in years. You've been too busy just trying to stay alive.

Dinner In a TombShe always did love pomegranates.
She didn't know I'd poisoned them, when I left them on the table when she came to retrieve her belongings. She didn't know I'd already found a new place, that I'd set her a trap, a plan to bring her here, down, down into the catacombs that are now my kingdom.
She stares at me now, dark circles beneath wide, empty eyes. I offer her another seed.
"Come now, my dear. Do have something to eat. You look deathly pale." I flash her a grin she ignores.
I butter bread and place it in her cold hand. "I've arranged this feast, just for the two of us, and you haven't even the good graces to eat it?" Her blue lips offer no excuses for her rudeness.
The bread slips from her hand. I retrieve it, curl her fingers around the crusty edge. "Try again, darling. You'll get the hang of it."
I brush golden curls back from her bloodless face.
"I told you you'd never escape me. My hell is your hell, my love."

the forest breathes for youInhale
poison,
exhale
life.

It's Not About FameThese words within me,
singing just beneath my skin
are not just mine.
I'm going to unleash them
upon the world
and make them yours.

IFIf I spoke correctly the Shakespeare language

I would say

Thou are the light that guides my steps on the path of love
Thou are the flower that brightens my heart by its mere presence
Thou are the spark that warms my soul

But I only know the language of Molière

And

Darkness surrounds us
The flowers fade
The rain keeps falling

You walk away beautiful stranger and you do not understand what my tears want to tell you...

Si

Si je parlais correctement la langue de Shakespeare

Je dirais

Tu es la lumière qui guide mes pas sur le chemin de l'amour
Tu es la fleur qui égaie mon coeur par sa seule présence
Tu es l'étincelle qui réchauffe

Today, I Am Still ThereToday the wind is warm
and carries scents that spark my memory.
Today, I am not here.
On a day much like this
I shattered my spirit;
splintered shards slid from my spine,
through shattered vertebrae,
and clung to cracks in walls,
then scattered on the wind.
Today I can feel those fragments,
I can smell it in the musty scent of books
that takes me back to the house made of paper and words.
Some fragment would remain there, I know,
even if not for the fall.
Today I smell roses,
I feel warmth against my skin,
and hear birds chirping hymns to the spring;
sometimes I can almost hear
footsteps on the deck,
and I wonder
if I even miss the sun.
Today, I am still there.
Today I can feel wind in my hair,
and if I close my eyes,
I can catch that fragment that still flies,
zipping past the sidewalks
on legs strong above the blades.
Today, I ride the wheels I long for.
I've always heard I was was an air spirit;
sound and scent my guides,
and to

The Ballad of SerenityA nightingale in a birch nearby,
sang a song that made her cry.
"Another note and I shall die!"
Her threat was met with no reply.

And so she rested by the stream,
and heard the crickets softly dream.
She watched the cattails kiss the stars,
believing heaven not so far.

"And here is where I shall be free,"
whispered fair Serenity.

The orphaned child, the strange young girl
born into an ancient world.
No elegance or skill had she
but the ballad, of Serenity.

She was cursed with just one song:
a ballad haunting, soft and long.
The words were never hers to hear,
but danced always beyond her ear.
On harp, flute, lyre she wiled aw

Dark MotherBleed your colors to the ground,
let them swirl in the vortex of your breath.
The gathering chill escaped from your lungs
whispers the green earth into death.

Dark Mother, keep the spirits
you hold within your hands.
Souls eternally bidden,
soaked and seeped into the land.
Dark Mother, keep your fury
quivering deep within the ground.
Harm us not, but let us hear
the power of that sound.
The wheel is turning, always turning
as the sun falls from the sky.
Mother can you tell me,
oh can't you tell me why?
Dark Mother, stir your cauldron
deep living waters of rebirth.
Wash clean this wretched wreckage
we have wreaked upon the earth.
Dark Mother, shall we reap
all that we have sown?
When spring returns will you be there?
to light our path toward home?
The wheel is turning, always turning
as the seasons slowly die.
Mother can you tell me,
oh can't you tell me why?
Will you exhale a merciful breath,
to warm our world once more?
Or stop the wheel from turning,
leave us trappe

Bacon and EggsBacon and Eggs

If I should ever live to see
The end of the world by one hundred and three
And know the sound that it makes
When it breaks
I hope it sounds like bacon and eggs.

The Lonely Prince: An Adult's Anti-Fairy TaleOnce upon a time, it's said,
in a land far, far away,
there lived a prince of the dead,
in a castle by the bay.

But this poor prince was lonely,
though his home was fair and bright,
since his whole court was empty,
and from him, folks fled in fright.

For his face was pus and bone,
and his fingers, putrid green,
and though he bathed with cologne,
he smelled of rotten gangrene.

Now this prince was very smart,
and so hatched upon a plan,
that he hoped, in some small part,
would bring people to his land.

He found himself an artiste,
whose canvas was uncooked meat,
to paint him a masterpiece,
from his neck down to his feet.

He

Wail of the Welsh DragonThe dragon bowed his head in pain,
He'd fought many a battle and not been slain,
Neither sword nor lance could end his reign,
But now his time was ending.

Life had been a simple thing,
Patrol his lands on the wing,
In the mountain stronghold he was King,
And no one dared to doubt it.

But now the nights seemed so cold
And his flame was not so bold
Even dragons do grow old,
And he'd never felt so weary.

For many a moon he'd not been out,
A subject the peasants talked about,
And though they all may run and shout,
In their way they loved him.

Yes, they may have fled and hid,
But cruelty was not his to bid,
He just did what drago

Graveside Serenade"My love come to me"
I say to thee
"Come into my sight
on this dreadful night...
Don't fight"
"Dance with me"
I say to thee
"On these gravestones lit by the moons kiss
just one more wish and you'll be mine"
"Don't be afraid, it's only me"
I say to thee
"It's only death on these gravestones
on top of these bones
And you my love are my bride to be
Don't you see?"
"I love you too but this cannot be"
She whispers to me
"Life and death this cannot be
don't you see?
This is an everlasting nightmare, this cannot be."
"Death and life where always meant to be"
I say to thee
"Light and dark, in this everlasting nightmare
don't dare
to leave my side
this everlasting tide"
"I'm sorry my love I just can't stay in this nightmare forever..."

Autumns KissWind caresses my cheek
coldness creeps up my spine
I let out a shiver
Autumns kiss is finally here

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Cosmic SymphonyThe notes build up deep within you
burning at your core
snaking through your veins until your skin hums red-hot with fire.
They say the sun is hottest
when you are just barely out of reach.
It is there you shall ignite.
But if I managed
to slip past your blistering corona
past the halo of light that surrounds you -
and stroke your scorching surface
would I find the right
to burn with you?
And maybe
I could learn to play you
like the instrument you are.
Helios, god of the sun,
your surface shudders with sound,
melodious vibrations
unfit for such ears as mine.
Yet still I wonder what you would sound like
if my hands would not

This Strange World That No Longer Contains YouThey say I'm like you. I hope they're right. They've been saying it for a long time.
My parents always wonder how they ended up with such a polite, demure, sweet, pure little thing. Though of course you and everyone else know what a hellion I can be. But I certainly didn't get any of those aforementioned positive qualities from them. I have you to thank for those.
You raised the entire family and handfuls of our friends. You are Grama to the entire town. But you're my Grama, (even if you're really my great-grandmother), and I was the lucky one out of all of us who seems to have taken after you.
They tell me I'm positive. I'm strong. I'm resilient. I'm not sure I see it. But they said the same about you, and I certainly saw that. They say I'm taking news of your death positively, because I'm glad that even though I was not present, my friends were, your other grandchildren, yours because they were mine. Or perhaps the other way around. I'm sure your cooking earned me more than my

Sehnsucht - The Winter FaeKatie stormed out the front door about a minute after arriving home. Her parents were at it again. The argument had progressed to the point where neither one was making any effort to keep their voices down. It didn't matter that Katie had SATs to study for. There was no chance of that with her parents screaming their heads off about - what was it this time? Katie listened.
Oh, God. The hairbrush. They're fighting about the hairbrush again.
That was enough for Katie to slip back out to the porch, pull on her rollerblades and go. She didn't want to be here if the cops showed up again.
Her friends liked to make fun of her for rollerblading.
"Who still does that?"
"You should try skateboarding instead - at least then you might attract some cute skater guys".
"Rollerblading? Seriously?"
Katie tried to ignore them. They didn't understand her need to escape, not just her house but her life. To Katie, rollerblading was freedom. It

It's Not About FameThese words within me,
singing just beneath my skin
are not just mine.
I'm going to unleash them
upon the world
and make them yours.

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Submitted: October 12, 2012
Submitted with: Sta.sh Writer

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The Promise

Journal Entry: Fri Oct 12, 2012, 8:09 PM

You promised me, my love, you see, and I shall not forget.

We climbed the tower stairs as the bell solemnly chimed.

"If life forbids our love, then in death we shall wed."

You took my hand, we kissed our last, and off the edge we stepped.

But you let go, so I alone, plunged into the night.

But you promised me, my love, you see, and I shall not forget.

So I wait for you now, my love, for I know you must regret

Your eyes were flick'ring candles as you watched me die.

"If life forbids our love, then in death we shall wed."

You'll see me there again, some night, waiting by the tower steps.

You'll take my hand, I'll lead you up, up into the sky.

You promised me, my love, you see, and I shall not forget.

The bell will toll an exaltation, before we paint the ground deep red.

I'll whisper back the words you spoke upon our midnight flight:

"If life forbids our love, then in death we shall wed."

I'll ghost a kiss across your lips, to steal your final breath

Then look into your candle-eyes, and smile like a scythe.

You promised me, my love, you see, and I shall not forget:

"If life forbids our love, then in death we shall wed."

16 Comments

Skin by *CherieNoir

The Promiseby =LadyofGaerdon

Literature / Poetry / Narrative / Traditional Fixed Forms

For =dreamsinstatic's awesome Poetry Screams contest. Prompt: Smile like a Scythe & In The Glow of Candlelit Eyes.

I used the second prompt more subtly, but I wanted to convey that she was Smile Like a Scythe and he was Candlelit Eyes.

Anyway. This poem is a villanelle, which is not as easy form to pull off but it was a fun challenge. The story itself is based on a legend around where I live - near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The story goes that there were two lovers whose families would not permit them to be together. So they made a pact, to both jump from the top of the bell tower at Gettysburg College. But at the last minute, the boy didn't jump, though the girl did, and died. Legend tells that the ghost of the young woman still haunts the bell tower, enticing young men to follow her up the tower steps, and to their death. I never saw her as a vindictive spirit - she is simply trying to find her lost lover, reborn, so that he can fulfill the promise he made her.

Thoughts?

This image always makes me think of Gettysburg and its many ghosts.

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*serel Jan 20, 2013 Hobbyist Photographer

I find this a very "nice" read, as long as you call a tragic story like this nice. What I mean is that it is vey good to read, the flow, rhythm and repetition of words fit really well and create a consisting and fitting atmosphere.

~angelichope Dec 21, 2012

Very beautifully dark and tragic!

~Mierren Nov 6, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

i felt like i was watching your words play out. and it was really good. nice job

=LadyofGaerdon Nov 7, 2012 Professional Writer

Thank you so much.

*DanikaMilles Oct 17, 2012 Hobbyist Photographer

Crazy. I was super shocked when I read he didn't jumped with her! It was like watching a movie!

There was only one thing that came across my mind. For some reason I kept reading this line:

But you let go, and so, alone, I plunged into the night.

As this: But you let go, and so I alone, plunged into the night.

For some reason that reads better to me, but at the same time I do not know the rules of flow of a villanelle.

The only other line that seemed odd to me was: You'll see me there again, some night, waiting by the tower steps

I don't know the some night part just seems out of place to me. It goes but it doesn't...I am not sure what it is...maybe it is just me.

Great work though. I really liked it.

=LadyofGaerdon Oct 19, 2012 Professional Writer

Thank so much!

Ooh, I like that much better - But you let go, and so, alone, I plunged into the night. Thanks!

As for the tower steps line, I can try to fiddle around with it, but I can't think of how to right now.

Thanks so much for your feedback!

*DanikaMilles Oct 19, 2012 Hobbyist Photographer

You're welcome.

Yeah not sure about the tower thing either.

*SubjugatedSandwich Oct 13, 2012 Hobbyist Writer

This was amazing! A very sad story although even as I was reading I still felt that it was a vindictive spirit(probably just because that's what would immediately appeal to me).

=LadyofGaerdon Oct 13, 2012 Professional Writer

Thank you! I suppose many would see her as a vindictive spirit - I just sympathize with her.

`dreamsinstatic Oct 13, 2012 Professional Writer

Thanks for your entry and good luck!

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