Eurydice
Before me, snarling beasts forget their rage,
’Round me, hard-hearted dryads weep rivers,
’Gainst me, flung missiles yield to my windage,
And e’en Immortal souls quake and shiver.
By my bellowed sorrow, all high hopes fall,
Toothed grins unwind as giddy spirits sink,
Industry slumps as mindful thinking stalls,
From the happy, prosperous life, all shrink.
All mourn, all wail, with me, for thine passing,
Awakes, my versed melancholy, their springs,
Tenders them their waters as late off’ring,
If only I quit playing my sad strings.
Never! Nothing shalt end my poesy,
’Less Hades pardons my Eurydice!
-Q-
@WindsPoetic
https://poeticwinds.wordpress.com
About Time
I understand you,
you're like me,
waiting for something
good to happen for once,
hearing the clock tick away,
eating every minute of your life
and all you can think to yourself is,
"Why the hell am I still sitting here
waiting for the clock to keep ticking,
talking about how tired we are of being here?
Fuck this!"
You and I are one and the same,
we've got no more time to waste
in following orders;
isn't it about time we set ourselves free?
#rambles #venting #freedom #time
Dragon’s flame.
Trisha~ (In a hushed tone) hmm, how do I carry out this task? Do I just take it away from here...or should I wait for the right moment to strike to get what I want?
The young warrior bent down on one knee and in one hand, grasped on tighter to the jade sword. This was Trisha’s first solo mission.
She moved closer toward the Dragon. It looked so calm and gentle while it lay sound asleep in the cave that was covered with emeralds on the rocky groundfloor and glowing walls.
The Dragon sensed an intruder approaching its resting spot. It opened one of its eyes and spotted Trisha with the jade sword that she now held with both hands.
Trisha~ (gulps) Hai, um- (chuckles nervously) hey! (stares at the jade sword and then the Dragon) I mean no harm, ancient being.
The Dragon raised its wings and lifted itself ready to take flight. Trisha panicked and moved the jade sword into her right hand. Then she grabbed her shield.
A burst of seafoam flames rained down close to Trisha’s feet. The Dragon blew a round of powerful spherical flames aimed at the young warrior. Trisha used her shield to block the fire blasts aimed at her head.
When the flames died out, she leaped into the air and swung the jade blade back and forth which created a strong force of jade flames. The jade sword’s blast circled around till Trisha aimed the flames at the Dragon’s head. But the jade sword’s flames left no mark on the Dragon.
As she landed back on her feet, beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, making their way to the tip of her chin. She squinted her eyes and focused her aim at the Dragon.
Trisha~ Listen up! (laughs) So, you may have won this round. But let me tell you that I’m not leaving without what I came for.
The Dragon glared at Trisha, and grinned. It flew down and landed right close to her.
She wondered if this was the end. The Dragon opened its mouth, getting ready to gobble her right away.
After a couple moments of silence, the Dragon bent it’s head and looked into Trisha’s eyes. It sensed that she only came here to finish her task, and saw her using the new power to help animal, human & plant life.
The Dragon took a deep breath. A wave of a green flame moved from the Dragon then into Trisha’s body. Trisha closed her eyes thinking that she was going to be burned into dust- or ash. She opened her eyes the second she still felt her heartbeating. The Dragon had passed on a part of its power to her.
Trisha felt something building up in her chest. At first, she placed her hand carefully reaching for her mouth— ready to cough. Then the strangest thing happens next, a wave of emerald flames came out of her mouth. At last, the mission was a success. The Dragon’s flame was in her hands, or rather actually a part of her power. She thanked the Dragon for sharing it’s flame energy with her.
The Dragon walked back to its resting position. Once it’s eyes were shut, it snored in a gentle manner before it vanished. Trisha stopped to look back at the Dragon. She scratched her head and wondered what happened to the one who granted her the new power. It was around a couple minutes ago. She guessed the story was true. Dragons are mysterious creatures!
#Dragon’sflame.
You Are Loved
One day, I was sitting in my local library, frustrated over a school project. I'd already been there hours, and as much as I enjoyed reading, the library was loud and crowded, filled with the sound of children running amok. So imagine my surprise when a complete stranger came over and handed me a yellow sticky note. It had a few simple words on it, "You are loved," along with a scribbled sun in the corner. The paper was attached to a dollar bill.
The stranger then told me the gift was to celebrate The Day of Love, which I'd never even heard of. I shakily thanked the person, so shocked I could barely speak. I watched as that same person, along with a few others, made their way through the busy library, handing out a bundle of paper to everybody in it. My parents and I left not long after that, and as we exited the building, I was still bewildered.
After we made it home, I tucked the dollar bill away in my wallet for safekeeping. I stared at the little note that had been attached, not quite sure what to do with it. I knew I couldn't throw it away; a complete stranger had given it to me from the kindness of their heart. I ended up pinning the note to my bedroom door, and it's still there, today.
Whenever I'm feeling down, I look at that simple, but meaningful message, and take reassurance in its words. Its message is clear and true. I am loved. To this day, that message has inspired me to show kindness to others. Whether it's a quick hug, a simple compliment, the words another person desperately needs to hear. I try to always be kind, so others know they're loved, too.
Lullaby
You’re worth more
than this organ trapped in my chest
whose voice no longer sings
of grand escapades throughout the stars
and prismatic bubbles
whose skin,
feeble but mystical,
illuminated your eyes
with unadulterated bliss.
Those eyes,
now saggy and tired,
will witness the birth
of a truly breathtaking star.
A star who will partake
upon a journey
to navigate the universe.
A star whose curiosity
unlimitedly expands,
and gruff asteroids
and silky moons
will treasure your innocence.
But its time
to swim amongst the cosmos.
Your eyelids speckled with iridescent stars
so everybody knows you are coming home.
I have to leave now,
I’ll be off on my own mission
trying to find the strength
to tell you
that I’ll see you tomorrow.
The Little Green Frog
I sat down in the pew the usher nodded at, sliding all the way down to the end closest to the aisle. As I settled in, I sighed, a certain feeling coming over me.
Sadness.
I straightened my bright coral tie in an attempt to shift my focus to something else but it didn’t work. Slipping my hand into my suitcoat pocket, I pulled out a small stuffed frog. It had been a light green color but now it was leaning towards a grungy dark green from years of traveling around with me.
I ran my thumb over its back and for a second, I’m not sitting in a church waiting for a wedding to begin, I’m back in fifth grade, sitting in my chair next to Kat.
“Hey,” she said, plopping down in her chair beside me. “Happy birthday.”
She dropped a small green box on my desk and smiled. “Open it.”
A wide grin spread across my face as I pulled off the white ribbon and opened the gift. Inside, nestled on a bed of white tissue paper, was a little green frog.
“Thanks!” I said, picking it up and holding it in my hand. The frog was a light green with little yellow spots on it’s back and the cutest face. Its little dark eyes stared up at me while it grinned.
“Nice to meet you, Kole,” it seemed to say. I smiled and sat it down on my desk.
“I got it for you ’cause I know you’ve always wanted a frog for a pet,” Kat explained. “But your parents won’t let you. What are you going to name it?”
“Iggy,” I replied instantly.
She smiled. “It’s nice.”
The teacher rapped her ruler on the desk and the conversation ended there. I mentally fast-forwarded a few years to high school. I still had the green frog in my backpack, always there when I needed a good smile.
We were sitting at a table in the cafeteria, one slice of pizza per person.
“How did your math test go?” Kat asked me, taking a bite of her pizza.
Kat was in advanced math so we weren’t in the same class. She had tutored me for a week in preparation for this test and I had hoped and prayed I’d pass.
“I think I did good,” I answered. I glanced down at my pizza and then out the window.
“Why aren’t you eating?” she asked, setting her slice down. A concerned look spread across her face. She followed my gaze out the window. “What are you thinking about?”
That’s how Kat was. She could tell when I was distracted or upset and always managed to get me to talk.
“Well?” she prodded, nudging me with her foot under the table.
I just shook my head.
She reached across the table and grabbed my backpack which was sitting beside me. As she pulled it over the table to her, she tipped over an almost empty water-bottle which I caught just in time.
She reached into the front pocket and pulled out the green frog which she set on the palm of her hand. She wiggled it from behind and, in a high pitched voice, began to speak.
“Kole, what’s wrong?” she made the frog ask.
I smiled but still didn’t talk.
“Kola Bear,” the frog wined. “What’s wrong?”
“Fine,” I gave in. Kat put the frog down on top of my backpack and waited for me to continue. “Football tryouts are today and I’m nervous.”
“You’ve been playing football since pewie,” she said as she returned to eating her pizza. “You’re going to do great!”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to convince myself of,” I explained. “But have you seen some of those guys?”
She didn’t say anything but rather put Iggy back into his reserved pocket and handed my backpack back to me.
“You’re going to do great,” she assured me.
I did make the team and played for all four years of high school. I was a wide receiver and was the member of the team everybody depended on. I led my team to three championships in the time I played and, in my senior year, helped them win the championship.
After high school, Kat and I drifted apart. I had gotten a football scholarship to Louisiana State University and was soon the number one player on the team. As for Kat, she went to Michigan State University to get a Bachelors in Literature.
Over the summers, we both went back to our home town. Since we were next door neighbors, we hung out a lot and soon starting dating.
People told us that dating was a bad idea seeing as we’d been friends for our whole lives. They said that if something went wrong, we would never be able to return to being just friends.
Our dating relationship lasted for a little over a year before we mutually decided to go back to being friends. The people were wrong though. Just because we had dated didn’t mess up the fact that we would always be best friends. If anything, it brought us closer together.
I was a little hurt after the breakup but I soon moved on after meeting Mally, a nice, outgoing girl from my college. I dated Mally for six months before she cheated on me with a transfer student. After that, I never really got back into the ring.
Kat and I still texted back and forth and talked on the phone about once every two weeks and she seemed to be the only thing keeping me in one piece. Between senior year finals and preparing for NFL drafts, I was very stressed. We studied over Skype or talked on the phone while I worked out or practiced my drills.
One day, she told me she had a boyfriend named James. At first, I was a little jealous but that jealousy quickly turned to happiness. Kat was happy with James. James had been a classmate of ours back in high school and he and I never really got along but then again, we had both changed a lot since high school. Turns out, he was playing football where he was going to school just like I was so we had a lot to talk about.
I got drafted by the North Carolina Panthers and loved it. I loved the thrill of standing in the middle of the field, surrounded on all sides by screaming fans. I loved belonging to a team of great guys and wonderful coaches but I was still lonely. Yes, football took up a lot of my time but when I had free time, I spent it at the gym or out on the field. Not with my buddies and their girlfriends or wives.
I guess you could say being single pushed me to be a better person so when I did meet the right person, I’d be right for them too. I always had Kat in mind.
Every night, whether it was after practice or a big game, I’d look at the little green frog on my dresser and smile. Kat had given it to me and it was what kept me going.
During interviews, the little green frog was in my pocket. During pregame practice, the little green frog was in my pocket, and during the games, it was in my locker in the locker room, cheering me on. I went everywhere with that little green frog, the only thing tying me back to Kat.
After playing for a year in the NFL, I got a call from Kat.
“I’m getting married!” she squealed into my ear. My heart sank as did my moral. I didn’t play as well during the games and couldn’t find any motivation to go to the gym after practice or practice my footwork in my free time.
But I soon realized that moping about my first and really only love getting married wasn’t good for my health and soon, I was happy that she was happy. Was I still a little upset that it wasn’t me? Sure but I was happy for her.
The wedding march began to play, snapping me back to the current event. Kat’s wedding. I stood up with the rest of the people as the bride made her way down the aisle. Our eyes met for a split second and she smiled.
“I’m glad you came,” she mouthed as she walked by. I nodded, smiling back.
That’s when I realized that I wasn’t sad. I was happy.
The wedding was beautiful. The deep royal blue of the bridesmaids’ dresses went perfectly with Kat’s crisp white dress and I’ll admit, I almost cried. Almost.
After the wedding and reception, all the guests gathered on the front lawn of the church to let their sky lanterns fly away into the night sky. As I stood across from Jenna, Kat’s younger sister, I began to think.
“These are wishing lanterns right?” I asked Jenna.
She nodded. “Yeah. You’re supposed to write your wish down on it and let it fly.”
“Well then, let’s write our wishes down,” I said. She left me holding the lantern while she went to get a pen. When she returned she handed the pen to me first and I began to write.
In big, loopy handwriting, I wrote.
For Kat to be happy.
I handed the pen to Jenna and waited patiently as she wrote down her wish. When she was done, she put the cap on the pen and we released the lantern into the sky. The small fire inside of it propelled it upwards and farther away from us but before it went out of sight, I saw Jenna’s wish.
For Kole to find someone he loves.
I looked over at her and she smiled. I felt tears spring to my eyes as I realized what she knew.
“I have a question for you,” she said, standing beside me. “Are you happy for Kat?”
I nodded. “Yes, I’m happy for them both.”
“Do you love my sister?” she asked. I could tell she wanted to take the question back.
“Yes,” I nodded again. “That’s why it’s so easy to let her go like this. I know she’s happy with James. That’s all I want her to be; happy.”
Afterward:
Kat settled down on the couch of her wedding suite and stared at the pile of presents and cards by the door. She smiled.
“I can’t believe so many people came to our wedding, James,” she said. He dropped his suit on the bed and walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m going to bring in the rest of our bags,” he told her. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
As he walked out of the room, Kat spotted a little green box with a white ribbon tied around it. Getting up, she walked over and picked it up, carefully removing the white ribbon. She opened the box and there, nestled in the white tissue paper was a little green frog. Not the tattered on Kole owned but a brand new one with shiny black eyes and a perfect smile. Underneath it was a white piece of paper folded in half. She picked up the note and read.
Dear James and Kat,
I wish you the best of luck as you begin your new life together. This frog is a reminder that I will always be praying for you two.
P.S. The frog’s name is Iggy
Kat sat down on the floor and held the frog close to her heart, tears in her eye.
Ode to the Oneiroi
My flesh burns as if Nessus’ tunic donned,
A writhing agony, a searing pain,
Visited twice before and thought foregone,
Alas, this throbbing dolor strikes again.
Alack vigor enough to raise my pyre,
To drudge muddy earth for wood and tinder,
To stoop and shoulder life’s burdensome weight.
Nor know courage enough to light the fire,
And reduce this sod to ash and cinders,
And conclude the horror of mortal fate.
The anguish, the mis’ry, burning inside,
Snuffs the yearning ambitions of youth’s pride.
My waning mettle draws but one recourse,
An entreaty to the dark-wingèd truants,
A desp’rate plea to be from pain divorced,
E’er addled by some sleepy effluent.
O, for a quaff of Lethe’s waters to drain,
Or amusing ether to long inhale,
Or for a bale of fresh poppy to feast,
Whate’er liquor it be that lulls my brain,
Whate’er noxious gas to ease my travails,
Whate’er suffice to forestall pain’s increase.
A tincture, a potion, or laud’num draught,
So long as mortal pain can be forgot!
If not drink, wings, alike thee, grant me wings!
Not those waxed feathers of Daedalus’ craft,
Which doomed his Icarus to Ocean’s sink,
But mindful sails to hail thine lucid drafts.
To dreams, quiet and still, let thoughts flutter,
Let soaring spirit depart its prison,
Let body rest and permit soul’s escape.
O, masters of dreams, bequeath me rudder,
Let my mind’s vessel chase after visions,
And explore the reaches of thine dream-scape!
Plant ye pinions onto this depressed mind.
That life anew in thine domain it finds!
-Q-
@WindsPoetic
https://poeticwinds.wordpress.com
The Broken Soldier
The explosions began to sing
Booming were their voices
Terrified I was, but I must be a patriot for them
To keep this war off of homeland soil is a duanting task
The skin on my arm is peeled back
A fixture placed on my broken leg
I feel a curtain cover my face
I'm unsure if I am dead but I welcome it
It is better than being here
The Christmas Miracle
It's not what's under the Christmas tree that counts.
It's that you brought your whore to Christmas morning. What the hell were you thinking?
Oh great, here we go!
Kids go upstairs.
No! I want them to see this
What, that their father is a drunk and brings hoors to our home? No offense Sally.
None taken.
Really?
You know, I am just glad to get a warm meal. Ron promised me that I could eat some turkey today and I'm so hungry.
Oh...I had no idea. I'm so...
Stop it, it's fine, you have been so generous already. I am indoors, (ha ha ha) that's a big step up for me.
Oh you poor thing.
[Brushes the hoor's hair behind her ear]
[The hoor seems to like it and closes her eyes, relishing the warm touch]
[The two women stare at each other, both too afraid to make the first move]
I...should get that turkey"
Yeah...I should have sex with your husband.
Ok..
Don't..
[Both laugh]
Please, go ahead.
Don't be long, he doesn't last long anyway.
[Gazing wistfully]
Yeah...I know [knowing smile].
I'll be right back.
[She turns and heads into the kitchen]
[Fades to black, with sounds of wet smacking sounds fading to title]
"The Christmas Miracle"