The night comes down like iron,
cold on my shoulders,
pressing its verdict into bone.
I walk through the ruins of myself~
rooms gutted by old hungers,
mirrors cracked from staring too long
at my own small griefs.
Every shadow hisses
its familiar gospel of failure.
I almost believe them.
Then~
a thin gold seam
splits the rubble.
Not loud.
Not triumphant.
Just steady.
Christ steps through the fracture,
dust rising around His feet
like surrendered ghosts.
He does not flinch
at the wreckage.
He touches the broken lintel
as if it were a beloved brow.
My darkness folds inward,
ash collapsing into ash~
and still His light
keeps blooming
in the hollows.
I stand there,
ruined and radiant,
a house on fire
with mercy.
Black widow, thy fabled mark.
Through a knothole seen.
Moonlight, light path after dark.
Glitch the gangrel green.
Flickering flame, wax candle's gleam.
How to extinguish?
Air. Snuff out. Cut off the stream.
Cover up the dish.
Hellfire, bloom. O woodland, burn.
Ghost, hide in the leaves.
Pain, approval, taciturn.
He who loves, soon grieves.
Life, red ruins. Fain, fast fade.
Silent is the shade.
O for those who were played, glade?
Blighted, bound, bombed, bade.
Will-o-the-wisp, deep the bog.
Follow where it goes?
Light, thy beauty. Slick the slog.
Carrion for the crows.
Tiger in the tall grass?
He's waiting for a meal.
O young suitor, lass? Best pass.
Never shall ye heal.
Vicious viper, poison pit.
Well, we should have quit.
Firefly, how to keep lit? Flit.
Otherwise get bit.
Slit throat, O anodyne? Helped?
Seemed like he had died.
Holluschickie, how you yelped.
Children, woe betide...
The grandfather clock
struck nine as the silver
platters were finally
uncovered.
Instead of the roasted duck,
a severed hand rested on the
bed of rosemary.
Before anyone could
scream, the mansion's
heavy oak doors automatically
locked.
The lights flickered out,
plunging the grand dining
room into pitch blackness.
A wet, heavy thud echoed
as the host collapsed onto
the mahogany table.
When the candles were relit,
a towering figure stood
holding a carving knife.
A porcelain mask reflected
the frantic, tearful faces of
the remaining guests.
One by one, the crimson
wine on the tablecloth was
replaced by a darker red.
Breath was held beneath the
long drapes as heavy boots
approached slowly.
The figure stepped over the
furniture, whispering that
dessert was about to be served.
the wretched burnt-orange sun
beats down on my broken car
as she thumps mindlessly through potholes
with windows down
we gaze at clowns
and the derelicts
and the dirty tricks
as they crawl
across the pavement
the lively beauties walk
amongst jackasses and Gemini's
confused hooligans steal
from random pedestrians
to feed addictions
fulfilling a need, though
they mean you no harm, indeed
despite their transgressions
we're all devoured
by our own deceptions
Shadows befalling
a dark afternoon
And veiling destruction
the end coming soon
A boy and his dog
in the rubble at play
The body’s — toy soldiers
in silence they lay
Then one plane approaches
flying lower than most
Its bomb bay doors open
its payload to roast
A target that’s cross-haired
with ordnance bound
As a boy and dog play
— where death will impound
(To All Children Of War: April, 2026)
Submerged Ruins
Sometimes we ponder about tomorrow
While everything is falling apart
Disaster continues everywhere 24/7
Everyone is going mad
Turn off the news and the distorted noise
Ignore the drowning rage
Don’t be hypnotized
Find your own spiritual way
Do you hold on to sympathy?
Don’t follow the world
Follow your own heart
Not people
Not alarming chaos as bleeding continues
Write your own chapter
Just be you
No one else
Remain calm in the storm
Everywhere you look is constantly burning
Lives are fading
Walk the narrow road
The cross is the only way home
The impact
Of every step
Brought each soul
To instant regret
...you ruined everything
Movement alone
Drew energy around
Negative and positive
Running up and down
...ruining everything
Your sweet presence
Wafting on waves
Breaking open the earth
Emptying graves
...leaving ruins
The old illusion is gone....
New life springs forth
Melodies lining the air
Remnants lie bare
The simulation that dared
....to ruin everything
Hope bursts open
In the moment of release
Catching away
All sickness and disease
...ruining everything
LOVE walking with man
Unity of faith and trust
Expanding to worlds unknown
Diving deep within the crust
...leaving only ruins
Of the old illusion forsaken
Written by Trudy Schrader on 01-21-2026
The wind carries whispers of forgotten delight,
Through ruined arches,beneath pale starlight.
Each memory, a lantern glowing and warm,
A beacon against the shadows of night.
Though the world may crumble and the heart may tire,
Love persists as a quiet,steadfast might.
In every rustle of leaves,in every hush,
I hear your voice,gentle and bright.
And I bow to that enduring presence
Pheko,cousin of Botha
The ruins of constellations......!
The Moon gets an alien-eclipsed...
Galaxies turn their faces away....
The Sun lost its gravity...
The space forgets to unfold...
There once was the fabric of love...
There now is but a shattered cosmos....!!
Crushed trust... ruined hope... a heart full of pain
A dull face, a tired body, and a broken person.....!!
There will aways be ruins
Love and pain are tangible
theres scars to be felt by our fingertips , maps to our sacred innermost places
the altars we built there
There will always be ruins, remnants of life
Pictures become vessels to transport those left behind ,small houses for memories
A time before the collapse
Where we all become drunk on Nostalgia
There will always be ruins
In the reckoning of moments between thoughts
Born in the space of actions
Reactions to the stimulation
Expressions, expectations...
Ruined things, broken lie, belittled
A cry sold in old homes
Scattered around after a war's wrath.
Hear the rage far and away drone
I walk in the ruins of soul alone
I feel forgotten on foreign soil.
The drifting of imagery
Pressing the fragments...
Shards hard into skin
Forsaken forbearing in fringes
A soul not tethered to this realm or reality...
Walking the footfall of a secondary soul
Wreckage of my divinity...
the ancient fortress
surrendered to time and ruins
becomes just another
wilderness landscape captured
by the photographer's lens.
I can feel it all burning down,
the walls I painted in soft colors,
the corners I swept clean for company—
they crackle in silence.
Instead of exploring other ruins,
chasing ghosts in forgotten places,
I should stop.
Sit with the dust in my own lungs.
Run my hands along the scorch marks
I never let cool.
There is wreckage here
I never named.
I’ve been walking through myself
like a stranger with no flashlight—
stepping over the memories,
ignoring the rot,
pretending I’m whole
because I never stopped moving.
But now,
the staircase from my heart to my head is collapsing—
each step a splinter,
each thought misfiring like sparks from frayed wires.
The chandelier has hit the floor.
Glass teeth scatter across the silence.
It used to shine.
It used to hold light.
Now even the ceiling
has given up on me.
Days intimacy fail
And history holds no value
Grudges will be called on
When expectations fail
So are roses intertwined
When petals starts to drop
It’s all a solitary fall
Not to be over burdened
When the time bolts
And unity comes
The fraternal will be separated
And the spare dispersed
Then old thoughts are replaceable
For they are no longer new
Only at the peak do they reconcile
For every pitch gets polished
Lovely Ruins
I loved you to death
I gave you black roses
Maybe you were disappointed
Our love vanished
I just wanted validation
Room too crowded for two
Another closed door
What went wrong?
Shadow pain
Silence, climbing out of shame
I guess we grew apart
I crave your forgiveness
This colorful journey has ended
On empty pages
The bleeding ink runs dry
Too many years have gone by
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