Wormwood

Wormwood

It was foretold in November,
When those who would've remembered,
Gave away their burning embers,
For disciples who carried on.
Apostles who bore cognizance                                                      5
Drug each and ev'ry resident,
To the room with the elephant,
For trumpeting the ancient con.
And there the clerics subjected,
With index fingers, directed,                                                         10
To the pastorate's perspective,
The neophytes of saintly code,
To dismantle the ambition,
The desires for sedition,
And implant their own rendition,                                                  15
With seedy counsel to be sowed.
But on the eve of December,
Those who hadn't felt limber,
For as long as they remembered,
Looked to the starry night sky,                                                      20
Where streaking from the firmament,
To preempt its own complement,
With blazing edg-ed armament,
And trumpets sounded from on high,
Was embraced by pagan mother,                                                    25
In battle against her brother,
With the fury of another,
Without the batting of an eye.
The seraph was first entreated,
As Gaia's tongue, steadfast, tweeted,                                             30
"To consider foes defeated,
Lambs must be deafened and be blind."
The seraph, at once, there agreed,
In order for lambs to be freed,
They'd remove the offending seed,                                                 35
And plant a new one in their minds.
The archon flew into battle,
To combat the rivals' prattle,
A strike that caused them to brattle,
And scattered the cowards apart,                                                  40
A firey ring from the crater,
Spread outward from the abater,
And silenced craven dictators,
Releasing the minds and the hearts.
Unto her children newly freed,                                                       45
Gaia spoke with furious speed,
With her claws, uprooted the seed,
Leaving the bed fertile again.
But the hero unto her rumbled,
"By affection, I am humbled,                                                          50
With your passion, I am crumbled,
And it's difficult to ignore,
Aberrations shall be repeated,
By the hatchlings you've entreated,
And foes remain undefeated,                                                          55
Yet more dangerous than before.
For to become as the snake,
In a garden of your own make,
Is a promise that you forsake,
And an effrontery on will."                                                              50
The daggered words struck Gaia true,
They pierced her dignity right through,
But all at once, the mother knew,
She could no longer be the shill.
Gaia said unto the brave knight,                                                       65
"Fairest spirit, I am contrite,
Contrary to my own delight,
The cure is the same as the curse.
Beside me stand, my avatar,
Your bitter words, your shining star,                                                 70
Are the beacons I know you are,
And your wisdom is no less terse.
Thus, my champion, I proclaim,
Consequence is no more the same,
Though a mother's love is to blame,                                                 75
I am the Queen but most of all."
With brief kisses, she left them each,
In the valley and on the beach,
Atop the mountain out of reach,
Vowing never to forestall.                                                                 80


Invino Veritas
1/6/14-1/9/14
EOF

Like That

Like That

So, it's like that, is it?
In the spring it's out of sight,
And therefore it's out of mind,
Summer: bathed in selfish light,
It still is not your time.
But as the Autumn breeze blows,
And you pat your freezing arms,
You realize nobody knows,
Or cares to share a yarn,
As winter rounds the corner,
And the scowling winds that scratch,
Spray the snow on the mourners,
To say, "Yeah, it's like that."

So, it's like that, is it?
Your friends and fam'ly arrive,
To the party quite early,
And directed by the drive,
To end up quite surly,
You escape to the others,
And get them out of your hair,
To mingle without smother,
As you have left them there.
And there are no more strangers,
As they all drink to your health,
And sing you 'Happy Birthday',
Until the stroke of twelve,
But then you are out of beer,
And the party's winding down,
For the moment that you fear,
There's no one left around,
And you slip into the sheets,
Lay your head on the pillow,
Alone as your heart skips beats,
Then quits with all its show.


Invino Veritas
1/2/14
EOF

Succubus

Succubus

Your tongue is a knot,
Thus, I don't initiate
   conversation,
You are a bird's eye,
Providing warrant
   for the implication,
And you're a bottle,
Whose neck never invites
   participation,
You are the lone leaf,
That scurries towards the dam.

But it's surprising,
When you allay your need
   to be the teacher,
And it's alarming,
When you decide to hide
   from me the preacher,
And I turn t'wards you,
Alas, unfold my wings
    to bear my feature,
As you dare to plunge,
The dirk behind the scam.
   
Invino Veritas
12/19/13
EOF

Once Around The Abbaye

Once Around The Abbaye

Apast I sing, me liver,
I hath made, twice, thee quiver,
My apologies,
For the rounds of threes,
For 'twere'nt no mere sliver.
An' a tip to me cabbaye,
Who'd made it home quite crabbaye,
When out his bed,
I grabb'd instead,
For a trip 'round th' abbaye.
Yet 'twere far sadder,
For th' backseat and me bladder,
A yellow line,
'Twer'nt too fine,
Yet 'e could've been far madder.
Bless thee, sir, and ye chillen',
For me guts tha' I be spillin',
If'n there be saints,
For cushions I'd hav' taint,
My apologies for what be illin'.

Invino Veritas
12/6/13
EOF

Gold

Gold

Beauty is a curse,
It's hell to be admired,
When the caller,
Gives a holler,
It's hard to be inspired.
It's old to be gold,
When everyone is ferrous,
When the rusted,
Can't be trusted,
To pay attention might be careless.
But it's lonely to be stoney,
And cold as the thief,
When your taking's,
For the making,
It's your only time of relief.


Invino Veritas
12/4/13
EOF

The Tale of Bors The Steady

The Tale of Bors The Steady

Gather round, ye rough and ready,
Hear the tale of Bors the Steady,
A mountainous man with a heart of steel,
A thunderous step and a thorny feel.
The tale begins upon the trail,
For a pride of lions with twitching tails,
Yea, Bors had hunted these killers of men,
And Galavan women again and again.
But Bors had tracked a beast of mane,
An alpha cat, the Galavan Bane,
When perchance he spied its crooked gait,
Hidden in moonlight and sprinkled with fate,
And he cleared the rise of a rounded tell,
Where fell his eyes on the beast from Hell,
Dripping and soaked with entrails and flesh,
Not quite sated as its dinner was fresh,
But Bors the Steady stood his ground,
As the beast's yellow eyes swiveled around,
And the two champions locked their gaze,
Upon one another, each unphazed.
Bors the Steady notched his arrow,
Looked down the shaft intended to harrow,
But as if graced by an unholy speed,
The lion, as lightning, paid no heed,
And leapt through the air dodging his missile,
With a ferocious roar and claws that whistled,
The lion landed on Bors with a pounce,
Were Bors not so steady the lion would trounce,
But nerves of iron and wits made of ember,
Glowing with fire and years to remember,
He bore his blade as he slipped out from under,
Before the lion could tear him asunder,
And faced his foe as warriors should stand,
With rage in heart and blade in hand,
When at last Bors struck a terrible blow,
Causing the lion's ruby river to flow,
And the beast lunged over the victorious man,
And straight to the forest, to hide, it ran,
Bors gave chase and entered the trees,
But the beast was swift and skirted with ease,
And then the beast stopped and there fell down,
As the rest of its life littered the ground,
Unable to run and welcoming death,
The lion, as Bors approached, sighed its last breath.
Bors bent down to retrieve a small token,
A trophy of sorts to sate those unspoken,
When the ground trembled and shook underneath,
And Bors looked up to four rows of giant teeth,
Standing before him an avatar of scale,
A saurian champion as big as a whale,
And roaring like thunder and striking like fire,
Snatched the lion's body with insatiable desire,
And swallowed the flesh and bone all in one,
Then looked at Bors as if it weren't done,
At that moment Bors then shuddered,
Knew his bread had finally been buttered,
Staring his reaper in its great eye,
Bors the Steady cowered and then cried,
As the beast's breath signaled the end,
Bors the Steady was never see again.


Invino Veritas
Posted 11/27/13
Written 11/14/12
First Appearance: Saurian Frontier, www.SlothMUD.org
Happy Thanksgiving!
EOF

Two From The Road

Wish

I wish,
We shared smiles,
The way I oft' muse,
And I wish,
We had times,
That only we knew,
Alas, it's far too apparent,
That I'm far too transparent.

Inadvertant Eavesdropper

It's always the same,
Friends louder as the night goes on,
The sober women laughing to be polite,
Estranged and thinking,
"Why have you brought him to me?"
And yet when the momentary intrusion is gone,
The right song comes on,
The one that brings attention,
To the triviality of the situation observed,
And makes it comical.
I don't blame them,
Until they becomes contrived;
I don't think they know I am listening,
But I'm not privy,
To my own thoughts,
Until it's too late.
So what do I know?


Invino Veritas
11/26/13
EOF