War Water

In the realm of magick
I never claimed to be anything less
Than Two Headed
But at least I'm not two faced
If all your vitriol was spilled like ink
Scrawled like words on stained paper
Easy enough for scissors to cut them down
Letter by letter, divide and conquer
Each fiber separating into meaninglessness
Small particles dissolved in tar black water
Rust and iron and creosote
Shake the bottle now, see it grow blacker still
Now all the things that were said -
They bring strife only to you
This is your curse, I gladly give it back
Easy enough to dissipate it like ashes
Easy enough to bottle it up like War Water
And like a glass grenade I can throw this from me
Shattered against your door
All your splinters and careless ire
Splashed across your own threshold
Your own mess to track through
You bring this on yourself
I can walk away from this battlefield
And without you I sleep just fine, cool and peaceful


7/2011

Catharsis

You never knew about the honey jar
My vain attempt to bend your broken will
Our hair, your picture, my sad little dreams
Names woven into crosshatch
Sealed with the blood drip wax of a thousand red candles
Love surely blooming like crystallization within
How I prayed to sweeten your heart

But broken will cannot be bent
And the honey soon turned bitter
No sweetness now
Left to fester too long
Too many unanswered prayers
I realized these tokens simply bound me to you
The very weight of the jar becoming unbearable

I remember running, needing air
Outside, the spring light fading
My hands clenched like claws
Forcing the lid open
Seals breaking, splitting apart
Contents spilling into the open air
Releasing my sickness, bursting forth
Shining droplets suspended for a moment
Like golden tears of a dying sun
And then sounds of shattering
Lancets of broken glass piercing the ground
Honey pooling and oozing into the earth
Draining out like pus from a long neglected cut
Breaking the fever
Purging the infection

Leaving clean and empty
but unclosing wounds


7/2011

Amber

In the end, when they crack open my skull
Clear away the bone and blood
There will be nothing but amber
A fossil of great value
Glowing in hues of ochre and cherry
Everything that is me trapped within
-Hold it up to the light
-See here?
A memory, the color of a lover's eye
Unrequited desire, a knot of ache
Your face, and the moon like Diana's bow
The flush of passion and promises broken
It all takes on a golden luster as time passes
Perfectly preserved
These are my remains
Realer than life ever was
Realer than I ever wished it to be

6/2011

Mal De Ojo

Surely I can't be blamed
For your misfortune
They will call you superstitious
Probably a coincidence
But I really couldn't help it
You could find it flattering if you like
Driving me to the point of madness

Truly this has a just been
A spiritual crime of passion
A ripple on the astral plane
A twinge perhaps, a prick in your side
(but did you feel it?)
The envy from my eye
The jealousy from my heart
Like a throwing knife slamming into the wall beside you

6/2011

Entities I have known

You said a name - what was it again?
He'd boasted a demonic heritage
What did you say your name was?
"I forgot what lie I told you"
A paradox perhaps, lie within a lie
But demons, of course, are prone to lying

Another preternaturally odd
Half here/half there
Guessing my magickal names
He appeared above my bed one night
A perfect glowing entity walking in a dream
Spiritual stalking, yes - but his glamour was strong

My vain Baron, of course
Saving my soul and destroying my house
With his entourage of ghosts
My room was full of voices then
Flickering shades in my windows
Pulling themselves onto our plane just to be near him

And my dear Seraphim
I remember you in another place
Giddy in the fever of divine mercy
Whispering against my cheek
Regarding the collection of certain angelic frequency
For unauthorized and rapturous uses

Sometimes the masks slip, and the solid world becomes soft
My beloved menagerie revealing little secrets
If nothing else reminding me of my own stunted divinity -
Dormant now, trying to quicken
But - when I was younger
My energy was like a sparkler
Leaving a trail of burning stars on the ground


5/2011

Late Autumn

Come with me, I said
Come watch the leaves turn
Like fire catching
Bursting into colored flames of russet and amber, oxblood and saffron
The air crisp, full of spice and smoke

I clasped your hand and we wandered
For this was our time, late autumn afternoon
And I was thinking only of kissing you
Or the feel of my fingers in your chestnut hair
We walked in silence, breath a pale mist

But we were too late, winter already creeping in
The landscape sodden with muddy water
Fiery trees extinguished by damp and dulled colors
Ground matted down with crushed, browning petals
Scattered with dormant seeds, never opened,
Giving up too soon under the overcast sky
I stood gazing into a leaf choked pool at our refection
Feeling your hand slipping away from mine


5/2011

Chase

I am graceless here
The ground vibrating, humming with insects
My feet tangled in daisy chains and cornflowers
Snarled up in high grasses

Golden haired
Summer creature
This is your place
Mocking me with your strange smile in the bright lemon yellow haze
Do you dare me?
I can catch you
Run

Suddenly light
Breathe in, air full and clean
Pure bliss, joy in the chase, locking gaze
Watching your eyes shifting color, blue to green to black


5/2011