Author: Dan Verkys

Australian visual artist and dabbler in music and literature.
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Silent memories

It’s a couple of weeks before Christmas,
And I sit thinking about years gone by,
Closing my eyes, I can see smiling family faces,
Those of parents, grandparents, siblings, children,
My memories feel like short silent movie clips,
The faces, now colourless and blurred with time,
They feel like they belong to someone else,
As a grandfather myself now, I contemplate the future,
Will I be smiling when my seat at the table is empty,
Silently existing in someone’s distant memory,
Imprisoned in a blurred grey thought released once a year,
Or have I really been that way all along?

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Testing testing

Ok, this will be the last AI jibberish I’ll share, but it was a fun experiment.

I decided to double down and really test AI video conversion, so I applied it to a few of my idea scribbles to see if it could work me out. The result was disturbing and amusing; I have been laughing at it ever since.

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December

I don’t seem to be able to connect lately,
I feel like I’m unable to communicate effectively,
I’m irritating myself every time I open my mouth,
This makes me feel tired, a term I’m sick of repeating,
People exhaust me, even when seen in moderation,
I don’t have the energy for it all right now,
My words come out awkwardly, and I feel like an alien,
An outcast on an island of beige repetitive tedium,
It feels like there’s a heavy weight on me,
I have the kind of exhaustion that avoids sleep,
I wake up tired, I struggle through the day, then at night,
When I lie down, I’m wide awake for hours,
It’s also the time of year for that annual socialising dread,
Everyone looks so happy and full of excitement,
Either that or they’re about to win an Oscar for best actor,
If you’re like me, hold your head up; it doesn’t get much easier.
Don’t pretend, just let it happen, let it all flow past you,
Conserve your energy, because you’re going to need it,
Merry Christmas, the war with the mind is never over.

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Xenolith

Embedded in a dead landscape,
The stone monument stands,
Piercing the stony earth, but not of it,
Ancient, smooth and pitch black,
A tall shard reaching for the stars,
It is said to vibrate on touch,
And to have driven men insane with whispers,
Its northern, sun-facing side is featureless,
However, the southern side is cast in shadow,
This cold stone face features ancient carvings,
Of an unknown, unearthly language,
Some say it pays homage to an entity,
One of unknown cosmic origin,
Who will rise from the earth when summoned,
And lay waste to the land,
Until then, it slumbers beneath the southern sands.

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Fireflies in the morning light

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.

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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. :)

Audio page
Albums by Dan Verkys
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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.

Man clutches at his exoskeleton realising something has crept inside.
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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.

Image of the ghost from the story 'Between You and I' written by Dan Verkys.
The ghost from the story ‘Between You and I’ written by Dan Verkys.
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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.