from the floorboards to the flies

my favourite times are in between
where shapes coalesce but stay unseen

things near, just at the threshold roaming
bright rays of day now gentle gloaming

on ground dappled with dreams half-lit
come with me to the edge and sit

head up in the clouds
surely I will trip if my
feet hit steady ground

wound tightly around itself
in knots or simply hanging
loose, unspooling
waiting for a finer point
to guide and strengthen
to make a whole

this is it
the empire of the dead
only crowns of bone
in these vast halls
sceptres pulled from sepulchres
in the form of femurs
ivory teeth bared
rictus grin triumphant
empty sockets surveying
the riches here below
in eternal imperium
that slowly conquers all

The winters seem to feel longer these days
Is it simply that we're not having fun
That makes time grounded, refusing to fly
That keeps Helios from raising the sun

How could anyone blame Persephone
If she wanted to stay below the ground
Warm and safe and treasured by her husband
Away from man-made, cacophonic sound

But sure as the world still spins, stars still shine
The rivers stay flowing and birds still sing
As bleak as it seems when the days are short
The seasons turn and change with everything

The flowers sleeping in their cold, dark beds
Triumphantly raise their delicate heads

the gods do not bleed
what flows through their immortal veins
is something primal
you can't get blood from a stone either
so when the earth opens up
under the pounding fists of rain
the smell that issues from the wound
could only be likened
to ichor

*

I fell behind because of work and my brain not playing ball, but rest assured I do plan on catching up and finishing all of the prompts.

there's something beautiful
about folk tales

the stories that we tell each other
to drive away the dark

the stories that shape the stars
and embrace the ineffable

lessons to be learned
and wisdom to be earned

everything is a story
people most of all

centuries of service and taming
has softened those hard parts
and made them vulnerable

mutually beneficial exchange
you are sheltered, fed and watered
but take on loads greater than those before you

those that still run wild and free
face dangers of their own and stay hardened
softness is the price of stability

we pay it back with something solid to brace you
wrap your vulnerability in iron
and take it as a symbol of protection and luck
a wish that we can be soft and stable too

tugging on our red
string of fate to move you like
a puppet master

*

it's the 50th anniversary of interview with the vampire so I'm thinking about my beautiful toxic codependent vampires, but also it's been a long day of travel so a haiku's all I've got in me.

We speak of consuming media
Of feeds that serve up
A constant stream of distractions,
Bright colours and noise,
To comfort and pacify

"That's not your problem,"
It whispers as it feeds you
"You don't need to pay attention
to what's happening over there."
And you consume it, Like it and Share

You play it out loud for all to hear
Drowning out anything that might contradict
The sweet fruits offered up 'For You'
Orange, Blackberry, Apple
Lotus in all but name