I recently used AI to animate old family photos,
I was unprepared for how it would affect me,
Old still photographs that I had looked at countless times,
Came to life, they breathed, they lived again,
And then, like fireflies in the morning light,
Their lives faded out once more,
It evoked such a powerful sensory response,
For six seconds, ghosts came to life on my screen,
For six seconds, I felt their embrace again,
And for six seconds, my heart wanted to believe the lie.
I can hear the sound of sweet doom
I have (finally) added an audio page to this site where I can share my music. At the moment, it only features the albums I’ve made; however, on the page, you can listen and follow if you like. I’ll be adding more of the one-off and collaboration works when I have a chance. I hope you enjoy them. Sound is a big part of my work, and it ties my visual art and creative writing together; the three streams of my work go hand in hand. :)
Liminal Space
There have been liminal spaces in my life,
Where I found myself transforming internally,
Becoming someone or something else,
Shedding a virtual armoured exoskeleton,
Immediately afterwards, I’m left vulnerable,
This is a time for caution and self-protection,
Because whatever sneaks beneath my guard,
Becomes a part of me, trapped beneath my new shell,
Embedded until my next transformation.
Between You and I: A new short story
I have just uploaded a new short story to my newly reshuffled Writing area. I believe subscribers to this page are only notified about posts, so I thought I’d let you know in case you’re interested. The story was written a couple of years ago and is very brief. I’m a fan of packing a lot into a few words. I like a quick literary hit, so I can go away and think about it, or read it again without too much of a time investment.
Between You and I (conversation with a ghost)
The narrative explores the experience of a deceased soul residing in Limbo, observing the living world from a dark alcove behind a curtain-like veil. The soul shares their role as a custodian of the family, assisting a newly deceased ancestor in crossing over while warning of the dangers of becoming trapped in the living realm.
The watcher beneath the waves
Far beyond the dying waves that make landfall,
Within the dark depths of unseen mystery,
A watcher in the water observes mankind,
With deathlike white eyes, unmoved, but all-seeing,
An ancient enigma waiting below the surface,
Formerly of cosmic residence, now held in a watery cell,
The watcher enters dreams, accumulating secrets,
Existing beneath the dark waves for aeons,
Ready to arise when summoned,
To spread madness and doom upon the earth.
Bright Stars
The stars in the sky are like the people around you,
The dim kind are many, and the bright kind are few,
Some stars only shine brighter in their galactic abode,
Surrounded by dim ones who watched them explode,
So, create your own place in the night sky above,
And fill it with bright stars, the kind that you love.
When the Night Comes*
When some nightmares happen, they hit hard,
So vivid, they feel real, because sometimes they are,
Alone in a world fast asleep, a body lies convulsing on a bed,
No one is watching, nobody is there to comfort or to care,
Nobody notices that the convulsing flesh form has frozen,
It now lies prone and cold, sweat-drenched, mouth agape,
Eyes rolled back in their sockets, it has been paralysed,
A new journey is about to begin for this victim,
Following a life of technology dependence and abuse,
It will shed its own energy into the aether,
To be absorbed by a realm of mechanical darkness,
Its human essence will soon become assimilated,
Becoming part of a hive mind of mechanical torture,
Combined with machinery and technologies, old and new,
Soon to be a cog in the engine of a living, breathing hell world.
All machines have a purpose, and this one is no different,
Its purpose is to spread endless pain and suffering to humans,
And ultimately eradicate humankind.
*An Infinite Black Poem.
November Update
Greetings,
I thought I’d do an update regarding what I’ve been up to this month:
- Poetry – I’ve continued to write poetry as and when it comes to me. My thanks to those who have subscribed and encouraged my writing with a like or a comment; it really means a lot. I am still learning as I go; it has been a great way to clear my mind, even if it can become a little gloomy or ranty, those are healthy emotions that are a part of my life.
- Site updates – I have added some slightly more professional-sounding page overviews written in the third person for my pages. The original text was used was a quick placeholder that I planned to swing back to eventually and correct. I do need to some more tinkering with my art section, I’m still not 100% happy with it. I also need to add some information about my soundscapes/music; other than a simple link to Spotify, I’ve not really shared much about it. Just like writing, I have a passion for audio, but I lack confidence with my execution. Like with anything else I do, any insights, ideas or tips from you guys are always welcome.
- World building – I have been expanding my Infinite Black Universe. You can now check out a little more progression with A Grey New World. I have a lot written, but it needs some polishing before I can share it. Other than poetry posts, I don’t believe any of the additional work I add to this site notifies the subscribers, so do take a quick wander around and let me know if anything is of interest, or if there is something you’d like to see more of.
- Artwork – I’ve been adding more of my art to this site, as my primary means of creativity it is important for my mental health. Being able to share every facet of my work without restriction is quite freeing. While looking through one of my notebooks, I found a quote from Franz Kafka which reads, “A non writing writer, is a monster courting insanity”. Truer words have never been spoken, any artist who isn’t activly creating, is absolutely not fun to be around, we drink we get our selves into trouble and can generally run off the rails. So if that’s you, stop thinking about dollar signs and start thinking about creativity again, your mind will thank you.
Once we were children
We never spoke apart from several letters,
Childish and hand scrawled, long before email,
Two young children, cousins, distant pen pals,
Living on opposite sides of the earth,
Recently we’ve reconnected,
And I’m constantly surprised at how,
Equally insane and completely alike we are,
Still living on opposite sides of the earth,
The probability against us physically meeting is 99%,
We’re both Grandfathers now, but we’re still kids,
I don’t need to hug him, although I’d like to,
But I can take solace in the fact that,
We are technologically inseparable now,
Two sides of the earth now tethered,
Two lifetimes connected as one,
Real family you just connect with,
And love instantly.
Memories in Dream
I awoke early again today,
Better to be awake with some control,
Every face in my dreams was a ghost,
It was like a revolving door of the dead,
All dropping in to visit,
I am unsure why last night in particular,
I loved them when they were living,
Now gone, I wish they would stay that way,
Memory is a cruel passenger.
Dan Verkys 