The land was barren, the sky was black...

And she knew that the King's Men were back

On their horses, complete with grins

They have come to conquer and win

But her people were strong, and she was their strength

To fight they would go to any lengths

So as the King's Men grew close to her land

She gathered every woman and man

And took up swords, every single one

Able to fight, able to fight the ones who would come

The Butcher took up a wieldy blade

The Healer's sons came to her aid

The Mason hefted a hammer of war

The Messenger called that revenge will be borne

Upon the shoulders of a single girl

Who through the enemy will spin and twirl

With the Dragon lending her wings

She marched on and on

The people's anthem she sings

The bloody vengeance song

"The Men of the King can wait," she cried

Hearing them knock at the gate outside

"But we will bring God's fury down

Upon the scum, they'll burn and drown!"

She raised her sword, of the best steel

Light as a feather, slick as an eel

Swept it through the brightening sky

And then, a furious roar she cried--

"Halt, whoever goes forth!

For the Lord here does not welcome you onto his land.

I am the daughter of my Lord, and thus

You will perish by my hand."

A wave of fire scorched the land

Avoiding the fort so heavily manned

Then the plague of a thousand seas

Leaving shadows of men on a broken frieze

And thus, the war for them was waged

But the tale has died through this age

So I dare you, yes you, to spread the word

About the girl who dared to hold a sword.

The land was barren, the sky was black

no birds, no clouds, no trees

no stars, just the celestial

pall of dark matter, cold of space

no moon, but red

cooked blood is all it was

no sun, but grey

no wind, just pulsating waves

radiation’s silent concussion

no sound, just stillness screaming

the man moved heavy

a lone one of few remaining

trudging through plutonium mist

from a hole he had emerged

like a festered, glowing screwfly

on the decimated earth become

an all encompassing skeletal

hiroshima nightmare,

chernobyl’s chemical desolation,

with mottled glows of utter black’s opague

with shades or radiation’s

hues’ of phantoms’ greys

he wore his mask, to earth’s surface

a solitary radiation castaway

carrying his epidural pen, a feeble ploy

against death’s rems throes, owed

to those beneath,

human moles awaiting scout’s return

within their doomsday shelter

atropine coursed in his veins

beneath his hazmat suit

he shone halogen’s light beam

into the dark, all directions’ circle

could not see but black

his light tried to cut through

as if to pierce a tunnel in coal,

yet the lumens shrank as if afraid

to pierce the pitch

they gave him only scattered

photons at his feet

no solace, all directions blind,

fear’s panic seized, squeezed his throat

aborted path on devastated earth

he wondered why he’d been persuaded

for such a futile quagmire,

a nuclear time had been set

to which he’d been alarmed

minutes to midnight’s atomic clock

and wished instead now vain,

should have shunned in retrospective ire,

have preferred an instant death,

ground zero vaporized

he turned despaired,

fearing direction’s loss, became like lead,

made a pivot back, to a coward’s retreat

to his silo’s womb,

earth vibrated thickly rough

he was knocked down with forceful thud

on radioisotopic ground

ripped his suit, tore his mask

he could not look away,

saw a light far high, like a quasar star;

moving bright across celestial dome,

an arc to reach apogee,

then descended slow

by gravity’s gentle tug to fall

a bursting light of a trillion suns

thermonuclear bomb sent by whom?

triggered by computer glitch,

programmed for this event?

how could man after hell’s exchange

still release another one?

even now in his sordid state

managed to reason’s analyze

months had passed since world war three

he pondered in mortal awe,

what fiend or force, what power could,

for death still thirst,

to send another one

what logic, insanity, credo’s pulse,

uphold to full epidemy,

how many more to come?

as he crawled back to his hollow hole

hell’s gins danced and laughed

upon the lap of shiva’s bloody gun

writhing, whirling, devilish joy,

evil specters mocked and rejoiced

in the black’s eternal void,

of man’s remaining atmosphere

his extermination now complete

they reveled in dirge 

of rancid joy, evil din

as another star descended,

slowly lulled by gravity

from its fullest apogee

for another burst

to partake and prolong

the violent rape

of wobbling earth

in her final throes of death

The land was barren, the sky was black. The darkness of society’s arid opinions enveloped them in the duskiness of hate. Why couldn’t they be left alone by the sniping, bombarding insults of others castigating and criticizing them? It had nothing to do with who they were but still they were rebuked and berated by mindless bigots carrying the onerous dusty baggage of their own beliefs. Surely, it must bog these naysayers down to target such shallow, twisted and dark thoughts toward the two lovers. Such paralyzing animosity would rot the souls and tarnish the worth of the persons guilty of such malignant perceptions.

For he was black, black as burnished ebony, with muscular arms polished to a sheen, bringing light to the darkness. Shiny dark dreadlocks cascaded down his back tempting her to lick them and engulf them with her moist, glistening lips, absorbing their sensuality. A tiny diamond sparkled in his ear, drawing her to its luminescence. His tattoo was hidden by the blue-blackness of his lustrous skin which reflected her body. And his dazzling skills enticed her again and again to the brim of her passion enlightening her that there was more to be explored.

Her skin beguiled him with whiteness as bright and pure as snow. Her satiny skin brought a beacon of glowing sun to his darkness and together, they shone in its radiance. She was aglow with the lust and love that she had for this man. She noticed that his skin flashed copious colors other than black as she observed him with an artist’s eye, seeing red, yellow, blue and white bringing out the lustrous nature of his skin. Their love was not barren or arid but moist and fertile. As they explored each other’s bodies, they reveled in the pleasures and bliss of their differences and yet, their sameness. His tongue traced a slippery line down to her center bringing her to a phosphorescent hotness again and again. She touched him and stroked him passionately until every part of him glistened with wetness.

The dawn of acceptance brought light to the darkness and ended the barrenness,

dampening the diminishing prejudice of humanity. For the love and joy

of the couple dappled racists’ worlds in sunshine, lessening their shadowed thoughts. The sun rose once again showing that the dead of night would no longer prevail.

The land was barren,

the sky was black.

Inside,

I was on my back,

peeking through

the gaps in your

curtains.

White flutters.

Our eyes brown.

Your sheets

fighting snow

to reflect

errant photons.

Darkness failing

to stay still.

You pull my hips.

Kneel between me.

Place my knees

about your waist.

Fall forward and

pin my arms.

I inhale the bramble

of your chest.

Lips funnel

beneath your ear.

Fill me up.

The land was barren, the sky was black, blackened by the sadness of betrayal and dishonor. Learning how to stand all over again like a babe left to the dogs, thrashing about day and night with endless pain in sight, constantly falling to my broken knees, crying aloud, looking for what was once bright and meaningful in life, now I dream of a shovel in hand to bury my silence deep inside where the only light is that of the Flame to burn my inequities away. Saddened by words left unspoken, and delusions of what I pray.

Hope, I wait. Grace, I am unworthy. Mercy, I need you. Love, please don't leave...Weave me back into the blue sky and green pasture, where I felt a beating heart and warmth of sun. Bring me to a time my mind stood still, and my veins weren't drowning in fear. My eyes once blue, now barren and black.

#poetry

The land was barren, the sky was black,

Something humanity shall never lack

To toss and turn and toss at night

Preyed upon by Sadness and Fright

Fearing all; no one is dear

Only to rules of isolation you adhere

Push family, friends away

Then blame them when they don't stay

To Regret is only to dwell in the past,

Shivering and weeping, aghast

Envious of those who had a better chance

And succeeded without a single unhappy glance

Jealously pounces without further ado

The moment someone does better than you

Believe in sportsmanship all you like

But deep down, anger strikes

Inflicting Pain can relieve some Stress

But then turns the world into a horrifying mess

Just search up any, every war

All have left a terrible scar

And so it goes full circle,

Adding details here and there

An awful tale to tell and hear

But together we can change our fate

For us, for them, for everyone's sake...

The Land was barren, the sky was black,

That was all we had.

Shadows sank into the soil,

More with each death toll.

Fires shot from grumbling slots,

Lights glow in the night like moths.

The stars gave us a twinkling eye,

While down here we fell for a lie.

God’s mercy had been asked in vain,

For him all had to be slain.

We didn't know which gate we stumbled toward,

Whether the belief was strong enough in our heart.

We knew nothing besides the gun we held,

Listened only for our names to be yelled.

Like one creature made of steel,

That even on its deathbed won't kneel.

The biting wind only fired its flame,

Welcome to us all, welcome to the game.

A show so furiously captivating,

In our agony we seemed to be melting.

Once the game was played,

Death certificates had to be mailed.

You were lucky if your parents got to know,

Otherwise you were forever stuck in the snow.

For my Great-Grandpa whom I never got to know.

Here

in the periphery of any 

given moment -

after a pale Sun turns her back

and slips away 

unnoticed 

from American Sky -

318 million faces

 lit in dim screenglow hang inanimate,

like fake candles 

in the night-

There were

no witnesses

as the longshadows grew

and the country

turned her silicone toothed

jaws on herself

Piece by Piece

she peeled herself away

etherized at her own table

Exchanging

flesh and bone for

 the idea

of bone and flesh-

Truth

for the image Truth

which validity

shall

never penetrate

The land was barren, the sky was black. The world was devoid of life, feeling, light, sound, taste, smell. A dead planet, orbiting its sun orbiting its galactic center. Once the planet was quite different, but was eventually overcome by the cancer of war. This cancer grew so monstrous and deadly that the denizens of that world, harbingers of death, detonated their weapons of mass destruction upon one another, in turn killing themselves, all other life, and the planet itself. No more atmosphere. No more water. No more oxygen. No more plants. No more life. All. Gone.

The land was barren, the sky was black and everything they had ever known was gone.

She looked over at Shad, and grabbed his hand, squeezing it in the gathering darkness. It didn't matter what happened now, all that mattered was that they survived this. He looked at her, his eyes searching for some semblance of hope to cling to.

She had none to give him.

They made their way down the hill, the broken and charred brambles and earth ripping at their raw flesh and shredded clothing. They had lost their shoes long ago; their feet were raw and cracking with sores and blood. If they could just make it down to the valley, they might survive.

"Rita, I can't do it. I can't go anymore. Leave me."

She looked at him, her face taking on a fearsome form. There was no time. No matter what had come before, she needed him now. She couldn't let him go. Not here. She pulled his arm angrily.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Do you hear me? We move on. We don't stop now. We've come too far."

They made their way down through the burnt and twisted wasteland.

When the shadows had come, no one had known what was happening. There had been panic and fear - absolute chaos. It was the screams she remembered more than anything. The blood that had come next.  They had watched as everything they knew and loved had been destroyed, root and stem. It was a miracle they had made it this far. The air was thick with the smell of corruption. She shivered.

Suddenly, in the darkness behind them, they heard a noise, the snapping of a twig. They ran.

They fled down the hill, their bodies possessed by a new fear-induced ability. They no longer felt the bleeding sores on their feet or the branches that ripped at their clothes. Behind them they could feel it, the breathing, the stink. Rita's stomach flooded with fear, her heart racing in her ears. Just let go, something told her inside, just give in. Let it have you.

No. Another voice screamed inside, this one louder than the last. Run. Run. It can't have you today.

She heard a scream behind her, and the thud as Shad fell. Even as she ran on, the unmistakable smell of blood filled her nostrils. Ahead, in the growing gloom, she saw the shape of a small, weather-worn and dirt-crusted cabin. She made a line for the door, the hairs on the back of her neck rising and the warm stink of her pursuer hot on her neck.

Rita threw herself onto the porch and through the door of the cabin, slamming the heavy oak door behind her.

She heard its screams of frustration as she sank into the dirty, dust covered floor. Her breathing was coming fast, ragged and heavy. Her heart thundered in her ears.

She had made it one more day.

Tomorrow came the next fight.