3 haikai ballads
SHAPESHIFT
old wolf sings the dark
lovely shapes form shift dissolve
tell me more was it..
times past many moons
our ancient clan rituals
fast furious blood
threading forest trails
we were young and soldiers then
with cubs to fatten
males females good friends
a skillful hunting fighting pack
we had faith in God.
CITIES OF THE PLAGUE
cheap gold fighting ringsone on each finger - with bladestight fingerless gloves -as neon dream warriorswe seek and destroy demonscame we upon themsleeping in their mystic caveshiding in their visions -we slew them with fists and knives
when we left that place we sang
ancient mythic souls
beneath desert stars we march
rotating our line -
through once proud fallen cities
silent and full of nothing
at sunrise we camp
as dawn scorches endless sand
in shadows and holes -
without compunctional thought
we are sharp fierce animals
at sunset we move
our women laughing off fear
these are our habits -
once we told tales of childhood
now we only kill for songs.
-
thus does our tale start
and brave corpse be any fool
fain would interrupt -
this parable's momentum
with craven compliance.
HOW A SERVANT WAS PROVIDED BY THE WYRD
"Who goest where ?""A traveler traveling .""Whence do you come and whither do you journey, traveler ?""I journey upon my own errand .""Then travel thus in peace .""I will not travel down that road .""Which road ?""Any road a fool defends ."'Then draw your weapon dead man.'"My weapon has been drawn and its work is fresh .""How say you thus ?""How say— ?""Why . . . ?""For thee be ghost now ghost and shall walk before as pathfinder and decoy through these endless wastelands of mechanics and dour creatures."
jp 31-08-13 (June 2007 via 2005)