~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
we built them in closets with worn out bed sheets
and couch cushions heavy as boulders.
the flashlight’s beam cut through the dark,
a knight's sword, our citadel against bedtime.
the carpet was moat-water,
broomsticks and mops our armored steeds.
We drew maps on pizza box lids—
Here Be Dragons in red crayon,
Mom's vacuum sketched as a sea monster
with fangs of dust.
there were no stone towers, just laundry-basket turrets
and battlements of stacked books where
discarded milk crates became our thrones.
we knew the magic: how a blanket draped just so
could turn December drafts into mountain winds~
they stood until Monday, these cardboard kingdoms—
until recycling bins swallowed the ramparts whole,
leaving only carpet dents where dragons breathed.
And us—we still smelt of marker ink and dust already
scanning the garage for next Saturday's unconquered country.
# Walking the Land
I walk this land
inspired not by what I want from life
but by the constellation of possibilities
unfurling before me
I walk this land
driven by days yet unconquered
and by moments of feeling
raw
inexperienced
alive
I walk this land
guided by a child's smile
seeking wisdom in my eyes
that I'm still learning to find
I walk this land
carrying moments lived
tears shed
weakness embraced
no longer sorry
for being human
I was speaking to a friend
She said nothing had changed
But her eyes revealed
That nothing was the same
I stood looking at my friend
I had known since just a child
She indicated with her hand
That we should sit for a while
I was sitting with the friend
Who had stood by me through thick and thin
I tried to dismiss my feelings
But misgivings pushed their way up again
I felt anxious for this friend
Who had gifted me her heart
It was a lifelong friendship
That could not be torn apart
I respected the silence of a friend
A sibling from a different place
Regardless of the voiceless dilemma
Our friendship would survive unconquered and safe
Is it my grief?
That i behold?
That i knoweth ongoing sorrow
Waterless doves?
None other, a city?
Just? As a city dweller?
Dwelling, in mired filth?
Unconquered mime, play!
At once! Be tainting…..
Project at them
Boredom? You wandered…..
stumbling, my way through the maze,
for what purpose and going where?
evening is thickening in to darkness,
a vague fleeting thought of where am I?
no one to call to, no one to share life with,
just legless sojourn and in a pointless daze,
a hint of hunger, of fear and fatigue,
as I suddenly come to a clearing of open field,
walk through miles of soggy land,
but still that worrying thought,
where am I?
A familiar house to my left, bricks
and windows with no one inside,
just darkness, silence and emptiness,
I walk through the walls and past the house,
and seep through rocks in the backyard,
no one, there, no one at all.
How loneliness travels past fields of love,
seeking answers to questions that are long lost,
a dream, a trance or a reality that is trapped
deep with in me.
Thoughts travel through the dread
of unconquered reality, that sometimes are a reflection
of the dreams, that reverberate through the
unending maze of conscience.
Upon the wings of time, we intertwined our spirits,
Seeking the harmony of eternity, a gentle ocean of song.
A kiss unfurled the creed of ancient silences,
And in a waltz, we joined, with suffering sealing a holy pact.
An invisible thread, a weave from bygone times,
Bound us in the mystery of a world long forgotten and lost.
In depths of mine, your smile blossoms like a feast,
Under a newborn sky, where light was bestowed upon us, undefeated.
Your hands sketched paths across the skin of my unsuspecting hopes,
Your gaze, sparkling like stars in the night, a longing that never fades.
You were my peace in the tumult of the day, I lived every quivering moment,
And upon your brow, I left, with a prayer, a thought that clings to hearts.
In you, perhaps love has melted away, but in me, it blooms anew,
In absence and silence, its deep grave has been dug.
Yet I bear it like an unconquered emblem woven in purple,
And even unthought by you, you are an altar in my soul.
Violins plucking strings
of horsehair, satin ribbons
violet violate a dark
foresaken world
like a beautiful dream
romance unravels
the sweet pain
comes undone
then those wild horses
dance macabre neck-to-neck
racing all the way home
for want of a better country,
these beautiful creatures
limbs racing all lathered
opening wide
and unconquered
plunder new territory
in the red seeded seat
royally the hidden thing
beats like a machine
underneath the skin
a ripe juicy red apple
no cherry pip
feeds the mind of
marquis de john donne
and dorian's sybil vane
gone all wrong
Violins the shape
of a woman
the music inside
her intense jungle
prowls around
like an exotic
soft pawed purring
black leopard
something wicked
or wonderful
in the garden
this way it comes
the soft satin
that binds metaphoric
minds like wrists
the will to resist
comes undone
something wicked
or wonderful
in the garden
dappled in shadow
shining and hidden
like a solitairy secret
like a morning star
this way, it comes
Candide Diderot. ‘24
fearless I stand strong
In the midst of wrath and tears~
master of my fate
darkness all around,
yet I rise, unafraid, strong~
captain of my soul
In the clutch of fate,
my soul remains unconquered~
unafraid, I stand
night's black pit surrounds,
but my soul, unwavering~
master of my fate
In the darkest depths, without my sight,
A soul unyielding, endless is the night.
Through trials fierce, I stand, I stand alone,
With spirit unwavering, when free I roam.
No matter storms that fiercely rage,
I find solace within, a hole unfilled.
In the clutch of fate's unyielding grip,
My spirit soars, my soul, my ship.
Beyond the shadows that cast doubt and dread,
A flame burns within, steadfastly fed.
I am the master of my own immortal fate,
Defiant, unbroken, no priest without saint.
With head unbowed, I forged my destiny,
Through struggles faced, my spirits path.
Invictus, in the face of life and all it's pain,
I am unconquered,
And I am and so I shall remain a man.
I ponder after gazing back at the brilliant blaze and flaming embers ever thrusting forward into the unknown abyss of endless space.
How wondrous and ominous are the surroundings generating an exuberant feeling of being part of this endless place?
Fairing ever deeper into unconquered regions with excitement and anticipation.
Discovering the pure evidence of the great power of light as each star pierces through this dark and wonderous constellation.
Filled with a fire for exploration in search of other sentient beings, seeking that which is a journey of wisdom and knowledge that never ceases.
A never-ending quest to discover new healing technology, or a relative, kin, a friend we have never met as the suspense of anticipation only increases.
There lies within a deep unexplained knowledge of so many events in our surroundings that most are unaware of and simply cannot see.
As even more senses come alive, the feeling of loneliness may set in although never really being alone, for the prime creator resides within the space between every atom, proton, neutron, and cell of everything there was and is to be.
I went crazy thinking about you
even before other guys did,
I try to be crazier now and take you
away from him; what good
is it to get mad if he won't give you up?
I've been fighting without any luck!
It'll be too tragic
to lose you to him and be alone;
let the sky and the stars fall
without worrying about the range of your rage!
It'll be too tragic
to lose you to him and be alone,
to let me feel jealousy and madness,
don't let these be the dire thoughts of my revenge
that I show and have shown;
don't hit me with a flinging stone
and start another chaos:
just find yourself that perfect one!
I'm going crazy to hold you and make you feel
the same way have been hurting me with your betrayal,
don't come back to hurt me again and make me bleed;
I still have the strength to knock down any wall,
we don't decide for ourselves, it's the decision of fate...
we won't be forgiven for the pain we cause
and the anger we actually create:
who's wrong and who's right to choose?
It'll be too tragic
to lose you to him and go entirely insane;
it'll be too tragic
to bear this loss in an unconquered zone!
God is in the smoke coming from incense sticks,
God is in the vast empty spaces,
In the untouched vistas of this world.
In the unconquered deep dark oceans
In the emptiness of every soul.
In the shadows. In the rain. In the pain life gives.
In the skies we cant reach.
In the heart of some deep dark cave.
In the scared and the brave.
In the nothingness life is.
In the unknown and known.
In the mystery and unexplained.
God is.
……………….In
…………..Our
……….core
……..Rests
…..A desire
…..To explore
……To experience
…….To E X P L O D E
….…..To shatter the crust
……….…To reach out to yonder
…………....To connect to communicate
………………..To learn also unlearn to know
…………… ……..To become to be bold to believe
………………………..To experience to witness what is
……………………………To explore the effervescent joys
……………………”…….…To explode in little star particles
………………….In………… ……..…...To merge in our nascent nature
…………………My……………………..…..To lose all identities all labels
……………..Faith …………………………..To stay inspired to bloom...in
…………….I rest…….. ………………….….To a limitless trust.............F
……….…...a dot…………………………....Unconquered ..............A
………………a seed…….. ……………...A blind leap......... .I
…………….….as mustard …………In.................. T
……………….....Speck of light .…to ........H
……………….. ..Faith rests in me
………………..…Alight Alive A
…………………Speck of dot
………………Little; Never a lot
On This Forever
David J Walker
On this today
I will live in
This Forever
As if
This forever
Has never
Been lived before
Never is when
This today will end
As if
This sun will send
It’s rays
In a never-ending
Display
of brilliant light
There will be no night
Tonight
Nor twilight
No sunsets insight
I will ride with
Helios’ horses
Dragging behind me
the Unconquered Sun
Conquered now and dressed
In the rags of a vagabond
Who will kneel and
Humbly proclaim
The name of the
Only living God
This forever
Will never end
As I live and die where
Tomorrow never comes
Battle scarred, zealous, victorious,
tested through terrains too inglorious,
unfazed, unconquered and laborious,
I am now home bound!
Unheard amongst many voices screaming,
love locked in heart with desires yet dreaming,
walking amongst dead with hope yet beaming,
to home safe and sound!
Rushing forward into loud hail of hell,
blood, bricks, flesh amongst ruins of crushed church bell,
soul shattered and ears ringing with death knell,
On way to home ground!
Across the seas with your thoughts your image,
yearning for your touch, body in a rage,
for warmth of home and your love to engage,
to have your arms around!
‘Tail rhyme stanza‘ contest
N/A
Sponsor Emile Pinet
Written 22/08/2020
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