VULTURES

Oh the perching, waiting harbingers of death and decay.
Why do they wait behind me?
Unobtrusive and unyielding
A contradiction
Who eats the carrion eater?
Who buries the mortician?
Who will pray for the priest?
Who will revel in the senseless?
What of the observer?
Who watches?

Haunted

He came home from work just like any other day. His face looked a little strained and his eyes betrayed his thoughts as he walked in the door. "What's wrong hun?", said his wife Anne. "They let me go...some bullshit about downsizing. I don't understand, good times or bad, there is always a need for accountants." he said.
Gary had worked for a midsized accounting firm out of Cleveland the past ten years, since he had graduated from junior college. While he wasn't flashy or particularly articulate, he was very steady and workmanlike. Just the traits you would think an accountant would need.
He settled into his recliner in their small living room and flipped on his television. He wanted the noise more than anything else, it helped him think. Anne knew he would need some time to sort things out and then he would come to her and discuss what they were going to do.
She was a good wife, calm and supportive. She knew Gary was a good man and that things would eventually work themselves out. She had seen enough of her mother henpecking her Dad to know exactly what not to do. She retreated into the kitchen to fix dinner while his mind whirled.
"Why? What the hell are we supposed to do? Did I DESERVE this shit?", he thought. Gradually Gary worked through the sting of the dismissal and began to try and see things logically. The company HAD been going through hard times. They HAD already released three junior accountants before this fateful day. Satisfied that the fault didn't lie at his front door, Gary began to plan.
First things first...he needed to update his resume and post it on the internet to get some job offers. They had enough in savings to hang on for about three months if they were careful and Gary was ALWAYS careful. He would just have to handle the jangled nerves of an uncertain income until something broke his way.

On Tornadoes

The songbirds cried
for all who had died
during the screaming of the mimes

These demons sleep
in shadows deep
as the world
falls on hard times

What sense can be made
of a senseless blade,
the wretching pain of despair?

This world a knife
that cuts out a life
when your usually most unaware

The Egotism of Meaning

The wilderness called out
The old man answered resigned
His face grown long
Shadows deepening the etching

A wretched day lay ahead
Full of realizations
His mind picked the scab
The sameness wore him down

Purpose seems to be lost
Going through the motions
Desperately looking for a sign
The egotism of meaning

Woods brought him no peace
Emphasizing his smallness
Trekking a path through deep green
His insignificance grew

The sun burned through the haze
Sweat ran down the back of his neck
Aimlessly walking deeper
Till the woods swallowed the path

Marching in deepening growth
Drawn to the center
Not knowing why
Unable to stop himself

The clearing amazed him
Huge and round, impossibly lush
He stood blinking
The forest embraced him

A smudge of white caught his eye
He walked to the edge
To see a lily where it didn’t belong
Alone and proud it stood

Life always finds a way
Growing without thought for meaning
Part of the immense living stream
All connected without and within

The Graveyard

I always wanted to do the whole photograph the deserted graveyard thing and see if I could actually get any of the so-called "orbs" in a photo. I finally did it and was surprised to actually see a few strange things in the results.
I am not saying these pictures proof anything, but those white circular things on the images were not visible to the naked eye which is pretty weird. This cemetary is right next to a weathered old building that is falling down. It definitely adds to the creep appeal.
Not exactly "Ghost Hunters" but I had fun. The coolest part was when I was leaving and the wind whipped up...I turned around and got my feet tangled up in a fallen tree branch which got my heart pumping just a little bit faster than usual. :0

Into the Dark

Worn and tired haunted house
Full of doubts and fears
The ghosts of whispered demons
Fall on unsuspecting ears

They speak in tongues that no one knows
Ancient lyric on the wind
A cold refrain full of disdain
For all of mortal sin

Abandoned long and left to fall
Its shutters nailed tight
A lonely ruin on a hill
Secluded out of sight

No love remains to hold the form
No laughter echoes loud
No roaring fire keeps it warm
The air itself has fouled

Collapsing soon the house will fall
No loss for anyone
Heed the ancient voices call
Don't look back and run

Three Little Poems...

Legacy

Past power within boils
The barely felt vibrations
Emotion resides here
The moss of life incarnate
Duality of the ages

What once was
Will be again
It is now
With the certainty of gravity
Time presses on us all

Survivors bay at the moon
Joyous and free
In the absence of immediate death
Screaming aloud in fear
That the echoes will fade

A Familiar

Companion long standing
At ease and at rest
Upon my shoulder
Pressing down on my chest

A shadowy chill thought
Unable to shake
Foreboding and frightening
A terrible weight

Why Dear Death,
Do you nuzzle so tight?
You echo in my inner thoughts
As I settle for the night

New Whores

Technology allows for
A shinier coat of varnish
Over the cancer-stricken surface
Of the new whores

Deeper layers and sophistication
Take longer to reveal
What has not changed
Since the time of the Pharoahs

country

cold and big and beautiful
infinite possibilities
to succeeed and fail
matter of fact
without the window dressing
peaceful and relaxing
the longest day
i ever had
was in the country
and night