"Black Sea" excerpt

She sat very still and straight in the dingy. Only in her mind was she hunched and curled around herself in fear. Apprehension and dread permeated everything here, in this place between. She had been Summoned to this dark place outside of time, though she knew not why or how. Her eyes darted from the shrouded Boat Keeper to the midnight expanse that ought to have been sky. The emptiness of that sight filled her with dread, her stomach knotted tight and her heart thumping against her ribs. Her gaze flickered to the water that was not water, black as pitch. It held her trapped fast. No reflections or ripples marred its glassy surface, though she knew it ought not be that way. Instinctively she knew its touch would burn with a salted acidity. It was death, this whole place was death. Death of all that was light and good.

She pulled her eyes away, forcing herself to look forward, beyond the Keeper and its long pole... To the island in the too near distance. She did not know how she could see it, that obsidian shore placed in the middle of this unnatural water. Yet she could see the individual shards that was the gravelly sand. It shimmered in the most peculiar way, absorbing what light might have ever been, like uncounted black holes. The void was total and complete and she did not want to go there. But she was Summoned. She had no choice. So very straight and still she sat in the dingy, struggling to stay sane and alive.


All these years later I still wonder at the Black Sea, and its Island... And at the other alive one in the boat behind me...
This is the place of my darkest despair, my deepest fears. The place to which more than one Summons have been given. And each time, I am sent back alive, if not whole. Were it not for the light and beauty of the Grotto and the Tree, I should have been insane and dead long ago.


-Excerpt, a very rough one from the first draft, of "Summons"

For right now.

Time slips quietly by, like the misty raindrops gathering and falling off dead leaves too stubborn to let go. And here I sit within my mind; sitting in the shadows of the in-between. Which way will I choose?

I am tired of letting other things decide that for me, at least for right now. I don't know if I will be able to say that again tomorrow, or even later than this moment... For right now, though, I want to choose the sun steeped meadow, the warm evening breeze dappled with pollen and honey. At least in my world that sweet scented wind wont make my head explode...

For right now, I do not want my life summary to be "...", I want it to be more permanent. A period, an exclamation, even a question mark would be fine. Just not "...". So, for the next however-long-it-takes, I choose to be wandering in that beautiful vista, remembering what hope tastes like.

"You"

Plastic ink and pigment upon the charcoal and pencil bright of my life.

The spreading sangoire stain haunts the still open grave of my dreams.

Smoke wreathes the cyan expanse above,

Shattered remnants crunch and slice my soles.

"Let go," the whisper comes.

My hoarse breathed voice asks...

"Let go of what?"

Rusted barbed wires and shards blooded upturned, palms dripping...

Dripping...

My silent scream echoed to the abyss...

"LET GO OF WHAT?"

"You," the inane wisdom answers.

And I fall,

Fall away...

Tumbling...

Only to wake.

Moment

The arisen Moon shines the brilliance of her gaze
Upon the near barren Guardian standing on the hill.
My steadfast Star bright of face
Playing with the silvered Clouds.
The evening Zephyr teasing my skirt
Kissing my ankles in a cool caress.
Beautiful and ageless words
Writ on the evanescent page of the Earth.

the Door

To open the portal and walk through the Door,

my mind awash in the salted rain upon my face...

the colors unending, unheeding

swirling,

skirling,

slithering to and fro...



Dewdrop and rain drop crushed beneath my toe,
test...

testing...

ah, yes,

tested.



Failing for lack,

Falling for love.

To lie upon the silver streak

beyond the abyss...





I

step

beyond

the Door.

It Is Time

Tendrils of shattered dreams
Slipping through fingers
The tainted bubbles of yesteryear's days

Smile Little One
Face of Fair Child
Eyes of the Ancient

Wind borne tragedy
The sighs of night
Collapse upon the roots

Shine Young One
Flaxen crown woven of Gold
Feet fleet for Dance

Flame incited tempest
Creation trampled above
Seared wisps underneath

Sing Beloved One
Lips quivering bruised Lilly
Throat ivory Nightingale

Fragile prayer in hope
Pooling salted fears
Bitter barbs blooded

Stretch Aged One
Hands of gnarled Tenderness
Knees given Humility

Shield of faith upheld
Words distilled battling
Messages from beyond the gate

Stay Raised One
Form swathed Light
Beauty reflecting Perfection

Whisper of love remembered
Soul embraced belief
It Is Time.

It is time

"Take my hand; it is time," he whispered, his voice velvet soft. I knew he could not see my face in this dim light. Could not see the apprehension, the fear, and the confusion contorting my face like soggy cotton candy. My face hurt from it. I knew my tiny hand was reaching for his large bear paw of a hand, but I could not remember directing it to move, perhaps it was the way my breath refused to be caught. Maybe it was soggy cotton candy stuck in my lungs and throat. Soon as my shaking fingers touched his warm palm, the blinding light struck me...

Plumb songs to think about, pray thru, write with...

Taken

i can see you standing in the pouring rain
waiting for changes to carry you away

i can see the light fall from your eyes
as we get lost in the tears of this goodbye
but you can't go farther than my heart can go

*'cause i'll still be loving you
through the sadness and the madness here
and i'll always be with you
in the distance that has taken you from me*

i can hear you laugh when i close my eyes
i can picture your face
and the strength inside your smile

i can see the words dance across your lips
i'll remember forever is something more than this

so you can't go farther than my heart will go
and i'll always be with you
in the distance that has taken you from me


Nice, Naive, and Beautiful


She's only known heartache and pain
But she's never known a pain like this

She stands alone defending her name
When all that she's done is "be who she is"

Well is it so wrong to be who we are
When all that she's done is "fail"

'Cause she's so nice, naive and beautiful
Why does she get taken advantage
Why does she live in a world so cold
She takes advantage of the nice, naive and the beautiful

Cold is the throne of her hardened heart
No one has seen the softest part

Day after night she holds an ache
And won't budge to show this secret place

Well is it so wrong to hang onto hurt
Maybe she could set it free

'Cause she's so nice, naive and beautiful
Why did she get taken for granted
Why did she live in a world so cold
He took advantage of the nice, naive and the beautiful

If you've been there you know
If you're still there hang on
We're all dealt our lumps of coal
What you do with it can turn beautiful

Well there's a life outside of your madness
And there's a face behind every scar
But there's a love overflowing with gladness
Get out of that place that's restraining your love
I said get out of that place that's restraining your love


Both songs from the recording "Beautiful Lumps of Coal" by Plumb. Check it out, it is GREAT!
Copyright 2002 Cubtunes Music et all...

Loves to All and Sundry,
-Me-

Vulnerable Wolf /Vision

Little needles of pain coalesced where his fist tightened and pulled her head so that she was forced to look into his hard eyes. Had a gasp been possible, she would have. The normally guarded and tempered gates into his soul were gone, replaced with an inner maelstrom that only she could see.

The forest quailed under the lash of hail; lightning split asunder trees at random. Shadowed figures assaulted a weary, wounded wolf with taloned hands. Blood slicked the already rain-soaked ground, bits of fur, flesh, and melting shadows dotted the area. The wolfs claws sunk into the mud, providing little purchase for his weak defenses; he did not even attempt to attack now. Soon, the shadows would overwhelm him. Someone was screaming, she could hear it, but it seemed so far away...

She was falling, she knew this sensation; like falling in a dream and jolting awake as the ground rushes up to meet you. The solid impact of her body awkwardly slamming into the ground brought her fully out of the trance. Next to her lay a wolf, its gray-brown fur matted in places. No blood. There was no blood. The realization slammed into her mind and she choked back a sob. Relief flooded through her. She flung herself at the wolf and buried her hands and face into the fur around his neck. His breath came in ragged, shallow gulps.

A hand on her shoulder made Kala jump nearly out of her skin. She had forgotten the rest of the world existed.

"Cardinals in the Snow" Excerpt

A snap of her wrist and the sword sent sprays of blood hurtling through the snow-filled air. Her blade almost appeared to be made of the (stuff). She paid it no mind; she knew there would be more. Her own blood thrummed through her, a sweet and grim song of survival. She firmed her grip on the slick leather wrapped pommel. Her fingers and face were stinging from the cold and her wind-lashed hair kept getting in her eyes, making them water.
Soon her attackers would be dead. Until then, the Battle haze consumed her, forcing the physical discomforts aside. Three of the wounds she had incurred since this all began would need stitches, maybe more. At least the cold would slow the bleeding. A corner of her lips twitched at this practicality. Azurat would laugh at me for that. Thinking of him sobered her. A coldness enveloped her that surpassed the weather around her.
"Let them come," she whispered, "I am ready."
So they did and she was. They came at her from the stark naked trees surrounding the grove. She laughed as her blade sliced clean through the torso of one and caught the off- side of the next blade. She watched the inferior metal shatter and rip into its owner even as she kicked out to her left with the momentum left from her swing. Her foot met flesh with the solid crack of bone and a grunt of pain. She laughed again as she finished off the the creature in front of her. She dodged a vicious swipe of steel and it sliced through her hair. The falling strands reminded her of raven feathers. She turned her dodge into a roll at the last second. As she uncurled herself she slashed at her attackers hamstring. She continued the upward stroke from that to tear into him as he went down screaming. He was easily finished off.
She heard the whistle of a sword behind her and shied to the side. Cold steel parted cloak and tunic and left another wound that would need stitching. She thrust the pain aside and brought her own blade to bear. His intestines met the cold air; the stench would have normally made her retch, but now she smiled tightly. He dropped his sword to grab at his guts, as if to put them back, not even looking at her. One slash and he was dead.
Three more. Only three. She did her best to minimize her own wounds while inflicting the most possible damage to them. The blood surging and spraying from their wounds reminded her of cardinals in the snow. The discordant symphony of battle became her heartbeat. Breath came hard and fast, slamming in and out of her lungs. She struggled to keep it under control. Then it was all over; she was alive and they were not. Her arm lowered, letting blood soak into the snow where the tip grazed it. She turned in a slow circle to survey the carnage. Blood and bits of gore were all around her. Her enemies mangled bodies steamed as they cooled.
She shivered violently in the cold aftermath. Gathering her spattered cloak did little to warm her. She knelt down and rubbed snow on her sword, careful to not cut her numb flesh on the edge. There was not enough clean snow around her to properly do the task. She sighed and got up. She would have to pick her way through towards the opposite tree line; that was the only area in the clearing that had clean snow.