Shuffling feet

Groans as they approach

The lights flicker

They have arrived

Their brains foggy

Or maybe dead

Moving slow

With eyes half closed

You think it the apocalypse

A zombie infestation

But I like to call it

High school at 8am

Zero viewers

Twitch assembly

Playing games

Chat is empty

Open Minecraft

Oh the joy

Sea of Thieves?

Land ahoy!

Finish stream

On we pursue

To raid someone

With party of two

Talking to no one

On Twitch fun

But that’s okay

I’ve just begun

twitch.tv/spicyseadragon

For background, this was entered in a challenge that asked the question: What do authors feel when killing off a character?

~~~~~

The kind soul; the empathizer; even the lighthearted- bound to a thousand deaths by literature.

What’s left? The pain? The ruin? The cruel parts of the world? I continue writing, adding yet another knife to the mere words on the page. Who will be the next one to kiss the hands of Death?

Into the climax.

Will it be the jokester? The generous? Possibly the honest? Or maybe all three.

After: the brave. The faithful. The shy.

Personalities written away from the narrative.

And in the grande finale of it all, I kill off one last character with a stroke of a pen- my humanity.

It started as a premonition

A scratching thought at night

A sleepless, watchful disposition

An unrest that tends to bite

You called a guardian by your side

And they check for signs of hostility

And in the shadows I quickly hide

As they wave off an evil possibility

You called me many names

Cruel, eerie, and unkind

And my ego and heart you maimed

As the words rest on my mind

Eventually you began to ignore

My futile efforts to connect

And instead you vowed and swore

To disregard and neglect

You say that I am scary

When I’m just here to make a friend

But now that you are older

My purpose has come to an end

Pretty, pouncing pugs

On music notes they tug

Chirping saxophones and trumpets

In their castle looking snug

But canines make bad rulers

As they’re prone to many duels

Of who can sing the highest note

And who’s written words are cooler

So I warn you to be wary

When arguments get hairy

With a pug

Make sure to look up

Your song in a dictionary

Podiums of judgement

Rest on tables of my mind

The sins of which are made

In my heart forever twined

Red roses colored crimson

My soul begins to fry

As the gates of Heaven open

Angels start to cry

Fill my mouth with rocks

For do I dare to speak

Of a Sun that has grown cold

On a secret I will keep

Sneakers hit the pavement

Of broken hearts and soles

Frantic minds searching to find

Something they cannot hold

And on this quiet playground

Everything is loud

Children laughing songs

Yet none of them are found

And in darkness there’s a dark

Shadow spinning round

As swing sets sing a melody

Of something quite profound

The color here is dwindling

Inside this purple slide

Yet the bridge of metal bars

Causes one to hide

The seesaw begins to totter

On fragmented consciousness

Bare feet on ground they meet

A tormentor anonymous

Goblins and ghosts

What will scare the most?

Rats, bats

Ominous black cats?

With a mysterious load

Of eyes of toads

And toes of newts

Witches cackle and hoot

Zombies

Mummies

Scarecrows too

All drink up a bubbling brew

And singing a tune

To the bright full moon

Werewolves howl

And demons scowl

We behold such sight

Where things aren’t quite right

Monsters give you a fright

On this Halloween night

Of dying plantation

Left in desertion

Ignored, neglected

With a cold sensation

In the sky

The sun shines

As you throw her away

Not willing to cry

And her head hung low

Accepting fate

To a life of filth

The world around slows

He stares at you tilted

And moves on

To a rose

And you stay in the shadows

Unbearably wilted