Jack-O'-Lantern

Jack-O'-Lantern is aglow on this night, like will-o'-the-wisp
As the wicked witches cast the spells of their black magic tryst
Cackling old hags from a dimension that should never be seen
Kindred spirits of the ghouls and the creeps of this Halloween
Over an open fire a cauldron's oil boils every butchered part
Liver and guts, the eyes and the brains and a still beating heart
As they worship in a pentacle with their blades tainted red
Nefarious necromancers calling on the lost souls of the dead
The Jack-O'-Lantern's mouth is agape, for it once had a name
Empty eye sockets are alight, inside there is a flickering flame
Run for your life, trick or treat, but there is no looking back
No one is safe, who can't escape, when the only magic is black

Echoes

Am I blessed or cursed, or should I be aghast?

For those veiled voices are from futures passed

But the dreams are worse for then I'm an invisible man

And though I can see them there I cannot bridge the span

In the quiet hours of the moonlight's cataract shimmer

In a semi-conscious haze I sense the threshold's thinner

And I want to be there under a rainbow's parhelic circle

In that elusive paradise where there is nothing hurtful

They are there, I know, where nothing's planned

But the echoes confound, as time pours like sand

There's nowhere to cross and every path's a maze

Along which I might wander until the end of days

Perhaps I can escape in dreams and find a door

To enter a new world where there is no before

And when I'm there I'll be heard and seen in focus

Beyond the reach of time and my own neurosis

I'm lost in my darkest reveries where I know I'm trapped

But there is no past or present, for in these dreams I'm rapt

So I'll hush now, for those distant echoes will be here soon

And perhaps tonight's the night I'll be guided by the moon

Horrid Lore

Have the flaming pits of Hell been forever in your every thought?
Or perhaps in a loop of nightmares is where you're permanently caught
Raising the wraiths and the phantoms and the faceless spectres
Restless malevolent dreamscape creatures and black plague vectors
In that empty place of your heart, you know you're the Devil's whore
Drenched in the blood of humanity and a disciple of the horrid lore
Lingering in death, not living at all, for it's the scythe you'll always wield
Over the fearful massed mortals, who will inevitably weep and yield
Razor the blade will pare the somatic from their bleeding souls
Each and every last one of them, forever yours, to burn on coals

Wyndham Lodge (A Home For Ghosts)

Wandering, he's still wondering and the Colonel always will
Yesterday and tomorrow, in Wyndham Lodge, on Ankle Hill
Never alone, for there're others there, within the bricks and mortar
Dormant and cloaked, until they approach, like insanity's stalker
He is the quintessence of 'haunted', a presence who roams in silence
And with him now are the godforsaken phantoms of an old alliance
Maudlin souls, they possess, for they are the gathered dead
Long lost to the world of humanity and by the Colonel led
Outside and within, those of flesh and blood, strip away the rot
Disturbing the shades in shadows, but perturbing them not a jot
Gone for now, but their opaque proximity will always ebb and flow
Easily drifting unencumbered, back and forth, in the last lights glow
And the Colonel's forever there, from eerie attic to oppressive cellar
His gift the lodge once, but now with the others, a hallowed dweller
Optical illusion or delusion, but many saw more than just his trace
Meandering along the corridors and landings, now a man of wraiths
Empty buildings were abandoned at the end of an ascending drive
For too long forgotten and only fit for the dead, not for those alive
Others sought this place of sanctuary and 'tis now a home for ghosts
Renegade twilight apparitions whom the Colonel, in petto, hosts
Gregarious are the dead, for two stragglers heard their chatter
Halfway somewhere, someplace, though it really didn't matter
Ousted, they escaped from a place where they could not belong
Stealth-like the silence, as they departed and were finally gone
The Colonel still wonders, as he wanders and he always will
Surrounded by those of the past and the new folk, on Ankle Hill

Ankle Hill

They came to slay in battle and their brothers kill

So the blood flowed down the slopes of Ankle Hill

Muskets, pikes and blades vied in a wars discord

As they churned the turf and soaked red the sward

Theirs was not to think, or ask, or even reason why?

But death would find them between the ridge and Eye

Up the slope they went, as their Royalist foes bore down

Mayhem and carnage, all for (or not) a tarnished crown

It was a day to die in hundreds, like slaughtered sheep

As the blood and gore poured and pooled to ankle deep

All those lost souls, for what and why? No one can tell

On that cold February day, borne from the fires of hell

Memories lapsed, a century passed and a house was built

Upon the killing grounds where so much blood was spilt

Renamed, rebuilt, more than once, with bricks and mortar

'Twas Wyndham Lodge, on Ankle Hill, a place of slaughter

N2,O (Dragon Slayer)

Nothing is clear when she's tripping on gas
Inside, the outside, is just dripping wet glass
Takes another breath in (phfft), but she's not laughing
Reality is waxing and waning and her sanity's crashing
Oh My God! What the fucking hell has she done?
Undermined by delirium, she's completely unspun
Shaking and sweating, she's gripping a bloody cleaver
On the floor, a body and gore; did he try to leave her?
X-ray eyes are alight, for she's with orcs and dragons
In her illusory world, where her serenity slackens
Disembowelling the demons, but her monsters are faux
Except everything flips when she's on N2,O

Demons and orcs and of course, dragons too
Roam in gossamer clouds; some fly high and through
All atrocious creatures, they have all come to bait
Goading her into the neurosis of a nightmare's fate
Outside, the inside, is awash with delusional gas
Neither here, nor there, she's in thrall to a mask
She's a deranged monster killer, she's a dragon slayer
Lost in the mumbling tongues of a mad soothsayer
And now her end is nigh, for her end is death
Yearning for N2,O was always beyond her depth
Everything flips and fades, as the cleaver cuts
Reality trips and lies, amongst the blood and guts

Straw Man

He's there in the field, he's guarding the maize

Like a crucified effigy, his barren eyes gaze

Into the embers of dusk, where darkness now grows

As another day's done of scaring the crows

Perhaps you can see him from the place where you are

Or is it a thought to avoid, or is the distance too far?

Why not conjure up his image, you can, if you try

In your meandering musings, until you're caught by his eye

He's still where he his, for he has nowhere to run

And though his work might be creepy, it's never quite done

For he's often possessed beyond the evening's last caw

And there's only mulch for a heart and his body is straw

You know where he his and you know he's too close

There's fear, that is clear, for you know he's a host

And now he's animating himself and departing the soil

For the day maybe done, but there's still the night's toil

He's clearly been baiting, while waiting for you to arrive

For he's quietly expectant and holding a rope and a scythe

But you know in your head it's a nightmares perception

And the fuel in the can will end this deception

A finger is pointing at you from sackcloth and rags

And straw is protruding from openings and jags

But nothing is moving, 'cept the wind through the crop

The rhythm of the swishing like a blade on a strop

The dank smell of his rot pervades, for it's a reality check

And the rope that was his, is now a noose round your neck

You're gagging and choking, you're fumbling with panic

As you sense he is creeping; from straw man to organic

He's doused in accelerant, you're creating a flame

The fire's in your fingers, before you take aim

A last look into his smouldering eyes... now you understand

And the world's an inferno, as he hacks off your hand

Maybe you died in a nightmare, or in a scorched field

For you couldn't possibly know of what he could wield

But the embers of a fire are to the dawn juxtapose

And now another day breaks for scaring the crows

We Can Dream of Mars

We can dream of Mars, with our conscious mindset focused
Even evolve ourselves into a rapacious swarm, the 'cosmic-locust'
Can we go from here to there, the red planet our first stepping stone
And then onto a plethora of distant worlds that we can make our own
Not now, but maybe sometime soon, we can spread our wings
Drawing on the sunlight's power, to sail away on solar winds
Racing on invisible tides, we'll not ebb, for we'll be in destiny's flow
Earth left behind, plundered and pillaged, bereft of the status quo
And we'll be gone, from what's left here, to unspoilt orbs elsewhere
Malnourished droning droves, who need to feed, but cannot share
Our father who art in... Heaven and Hell, for we are the swarm
For ours is the kingdom of power and glory, ours is the norm
Maybe the future is ours alone and we can dream of Mars
And thereafter feed like ravenous locusts on the worlds of stars
Resource conquering, we'll bring chaos to the natural order
Subjugating all that's afore us, to the event horizon's border

Bewitched

It seemed her quivering white flesh was all patched together

Like she had lived lives before, or had been alive forever

But her beauty shone through when glanced at an angle

Before her raven black hair went from kempt to a tangle

In reflection I was bewitched and under her spell

For my blood was cascading in a bore to the swell

Her clammy hand was demanding and I was feeling the brunt

But I didn't give a fuck, as I reached for her cunt

I kissed the mounds of her breasts, she had hairs on her nipples

As she gorged on my member, I felt the sweat between ripples

And then I was locked 'tween her thighs, trapped in her shackle

As she cajoled me harder and deeper until she came with a cackle

We both spoke in tongues, her alien words that of a linguist

As she held my head down for the need of cunnilingus

But she was cold when it was over, as if borne from a barrow

As she recollected past lives and the future in tarot

The dark pools of her eyes reflected the moon's next eclipse

Before she left, she kissed me goodbye with her ruby red lips

I was bewitched and under her spell whilst we were together

For she had lived many lives before and she would 'be' forever

Solstice

Standing stones, henge of ancient tribes
Ominous sacred presence afore the scribes
Ley lines lure with a subliminal incantation
Sourcing souls of a hidden shadow nation
The sun holds sway over the gathered mortals
Ignorant tongues obey to open unknown portals
Calling to the cohorts of those once dead
Empire of Legion, diseased and by Satan led

Just Smile And Remember Me

You're so gorgeous my love, you are truly beautiful

Inside and out, a loving soul, who is forever immutable

And that dazzling smile! It's so wickedly warm, it's a real teaser

And I'm sure it could melt the gathering ice trapped in a freezer!

I could wax lyrical about you, I could go on and on and on

I want to my love, but to do so would be recklessly wrong

But you know you make me so happy, you make me laugh and cry

Tears of joy, of course, but sometimes surreptitiously I cannot lie...

Because nothing's forever and we were never for ever

But time ticks by and we're still tied by an invisible tether

For now, for a long time now, but it's time to look ahead

And see what's looming, for it will tear apart our last thread

Though I know you live for today, but it will soon be tomorrow

And nothing's clear, as dusk descends, there's only time left to borrow

The inevitable doesn't stop and wait and fate's not for stalling

And we can't stop (tho' we tried) and we'll be lost, for twilight's calling

For when we tread our different paths, we'll find that reality's stark

As our parallel paths find different tracks, in the bounds of the dark

And when dawn realigns and the sun shines down once more

Don't look back my love, for what is next is set before...

And if you look around and I'm not there, just smile and remember me

Because nothing's forever and I'll be somewhere, for our fate's 'pro tempore'

This Halloween

They skulk in shadows, those with hideous painted faces

But 'tis now this Halloween and they'll not be so evasive

And on this frightful night akin to the Grand Guignol

They'll play their gruesome part and take a bloody toll

So all the frightened little witches, ghosts and ghouls

Should run for cover to escape these demonic fools

With their trick or treat, no treats, just tricks

They will shatter glass with flying bricks

A jester's harmless humour, their aim is neither

As they walk the streets with meat slicing cleavers

With their sinister smiles and malevolent eyes

On whitened features the daubed crimson cries

Safe for now this evening, your street is quiet

Mayhap you're calm, mayhap your heart's a riot

Bolt the door to repel the night, if you desire

But from afar "trick or treat", a shrill childrens' choir

Are you alone? For 'tis now this Halloween

And those out wandering have thoughts obscene

But surely creepy clowns wouldn't hunt in packs

So you'll be fine...... a thud; a window cracks!

Cold sweat, hot flesh, a breath caught in shock

A motionless moment; on your door a knock, knock, knock

A death knell chimes from a church bell tower

Pitch black; darkness reigns; someone's cut the power!

Tinkling, falling, shattered glass

Etched your fear, on your face, aghast

But 'tis now this Halloween, no treats, just tricks

As somewhere, close by, a cut-throat flicks

There're hideous guises, with saliva dribbling

With manic grins, but no one's giggling

And the glutinous whitening of sanity's lost

And gone for good, like the sun-drenched frost

The vile creeps are abroad in towns to woodland glades

Carrying knives and razors and butchers blades

And now your last scream has been curtailed

And 'tis not the sweet air, but your blood inhaled

For those alone on this Halloween

Fear not the crazed clowns of a disturbing dream

So sleep well tonight, but turn the lock

And worry not of the knock, knock, knock

October

Of callous thoughts, of basest evil reason

October falls, to call, to the heinous heathen

So hail the hail, in storms and violence

And praise the darkness and an old alliance

The sun will set in non-shifting shadows

Hiding the arrival of New Drop gallows

And the howling wind will sing through garrotting wires

To fuel the flames for the witches pyres

And they'll await the date of All Hallows' Evening

For the innocent, caught, will not be leaving

In satanic black, wandering ghosts in masks

Will hunt to kill, like wolves in packs

There'll be creaks and groans of wooden decks

Before trapdoors open to stretch ropes round necks

And those twitching corpses with lolling tongues

Will be celebrated amongst the heathen throngs

Of callous thoughts, of basest evil reason

October's last falls in the killing season

Hidden blades and wires; the pyre, the necromancer

A knock on your door that you shouldn't answer