Tag Archives: shadows
and then there was silence
The awful moan of the morning
breaks upon my startled ears,
the black shadows
the sound of a moving thing
a faint rustling
dead leaves;
something gives way
a momentary feeling of nausea
a sharp click
the snapping of a steel wire,
moonlight floods the cave
my own body lies before me
eyes staring out
seeing nothing.
– matt at shadow of iris
and then there was silence
[Inspired by Edgar Rice Burrough's A Princess of Mars.]
lunar
The beast long dormant
in that dark alcove
of your heart
is roused
and I find myself
turning into jelly –
Spilling out onto the floor,
a mess in the dim light;
your smell lingering on
as I grovel in the dirt
and sniff
and follow.
Ferocity, a steel web
that rakes me into the dirt
the me I thought I knew
not me at all.
Shadows bend
towards the approaching night
a complex dance
between the fading light of day
and the encroaching dark of night;
the moon rises
and casts new shadows
over flowers lost
in shades of gray.
Finally, I find you
confined
restrained
rusted, heavy chains
weigh you down
in a single square
of thought.
Kneel down
forgive me my sins
for by the time
the new day dawns
once again –
I will have set you free.
– matt at shadow of iris
lunar
long narrow halls
Long narrow halls
deathly silence
only the whisper of ghosts
echoing;
a manmade place
empty of man;
on the tall walls
visions of shadows
from long ago.
– matt at shadow of iris
tall narrow halls
inner geometry
Inner geometry
spectral patterns
tubes that transcend
moving in and out
traveling down that tunnel
yes that one
and looking for
the light at the end
but it’s all gotten so swirly
and all around me
I see exits
to other tunnels
each one
a different tint
the shadow of iris
shimmering
and leading me
in a new direction.
– matt at shadow of iris
inner_geometry
lean back
Lean back
and let it happen;
take it in
and hold it
while you breath slowly –
wait and watch
as the truth explodes
into glimmering stars
that leave indistinct trails
across still air
brightening pocket shadows
you never knew were there.
– matt at shadow of iris
lean_back
murmurs and shrapnel x
An ancient church
complete with two bell towers
and a large nave;
the outside walls have corroded
and are covered with
an aeon’s worth of spider webs
and long dead ashen moss
giving the appearance of
stringy coral;
surrounding the church
are smooth short tombstones
black onyx that extends
as far as the eye can see;
the sky above –
a drab haze charcoal
yet when one looks
at just the right angle
one can see
the church still glows
a white aura.
With a grudge against his family
a mentally troubled man stands
and is judged by the people
who fear they see in his dark soul
a shadow of themselves.
An ancient man
with a large smooth head
whose eyes have disappeared
as his skin has grown over them
wears a ruff made of stone
and a gold ring in one ear;
his face cracks.
Withering criticism faces
an equally hash response
ignorant and totally misleading.
In an empty battlefield
from yesteryear
near a place
where unnamed boy soldiers
were buried en masse
a vision appears
of baby faces
amidst bones and shrapnel
a sad face warns us
and begs us
for a future
it can’t have.
A large-scale military exercise
coincides with
a deadline to a counter-offer;
a commander of ground forces
challenges nations to decide
to swap blood, sweat
and uranium tears.
– matt at shadow of iris
dreams xii
A mouse moving under the carpet
a small lump, cartoonish
a white mouse in a cage
always safe, well fed
but always restless
it sticks its nose between the bars
and rubs
till its nose is sore and red, even scarred
it gnaws on the bars of the cage
a grating sound
that won’t let you rest
until finally
not being able to bear it anymore
you take it out to the woods
and let it go …
Second thoughts overwhelm you
guilt
a white mouse against red leaves
a sore thumb
snake fodder
you reach out to grab it
because even if
you can’t let it live
you can’t let it die
but even as you move to snatch it up
it’s faster than your hands
and quickly gone
the deed done.
You’ve stepped out of time
into a small dark chamber
stony walls and dark shades
of fluorescent violet and green
time flows onwards
but only outside the cave
never within
you can watch friends, family, life
moving forward
leaving you behind
all through a misty door –
do you step through
back into time?
Or do you stay there forever
and watch?
Far, far away
in a passage through a cave
or on a trail through a dark section of woods
you spy an eerie wavering light
you halt
you are not alone
behind you stands an old guardian
a harsh face and an old stony voice
he promises you safety, honor
but only if you slay
the shadowy figure out in front
yet the shadow’s voice is soothing
and it beckons you forward
towards the shimmering light
with promises of flesh and power.
You are in a restaurant
clean, cool, and spiffy
you’ve order coffee
you sit with one friend
and another has gone to use the rest room
the drinks arrive
hot steaming drinks, one milky green tea
reaching for yours
you clumsily spill sugar on the table
you scoop some up
and place it in your absent friend’s cup
thinking it’ll flavor his tea
but your friend who is present asks
“why are you putting poison in his cup?”
– matt at shadow of iris
