Poetry – Page 30 – Dan Verkys

October 27, 2024November 5, 2024

Labyrinth of Lost Words

At once a shopfront, but also a cavernous labyrinth of lost words,

An old grey proprietor rubs their hands, anticipating the sale of some forgotten tome.

Deeper the explorer ventures, and the dust covered bookshelves grow dimmer,

The adventurer’s mind buzzes with the sheer wealth of knowledge in one place,

Pressed together in unorganised manner, his predetermined targets are instantly erased,

If asked his own name now, he would not remember it amongst his sensory overload.

Books lay stacked out of order, poetry mixed with dictionaries and the Bards plays,

He clears room one, nothing found, before delving into forgotten fictions, the light dims,

He can hear the proprietor discussing mushrooms, bread and eggs for supper,

As he pushes past the Dickens he owns, sadly stacked amongst the Dumas Musketeers,

He came for Keats, for Shelley or Poe, but his head swims as old dust invades his senses,

Suddenly, one blue book here, Burns, and a green there, Donne, treasure found within chaos,

He makes the journey back before he gets in too deep, back to the proprietor’s hungry eyes,

A deal is struck, and he manages to escape back into the bright sunlight he left behind.

He’ll be back, the proprietor grins knowingly.

October 27, 2024November 5, 2024

Fall of the Old World

The world lurches sideways, bringing with it chaos and doom,
Oceans shift, and massive floods cover once barren lands,
New mountain ranges and great valleys rise, creating instant change,
Shifting seas uncover secret terrain, creating a new alien landscape.
Where once there was vibrant life, the floating dead now pollute the water,
Metropolises are swallowed in moments, covered by the rushing ocean waves,
Vast creatures once hidden in deep trenches are unveiled, wreaking havoc,
All light becomes dark, powerful storms rage, rain falls constantly, and the old-world falls.
The devastation of the human species, has been whispered, but was long overdue,
Extinction has arrived with full force, and a new age of the earth has begun.
Mankind squandered a chance at peace and prosperity, and has been judged.
A cosmic force has deemed man unworthy, and the final judgement is total annihilation.

October 27, 2024November 5, 2024

That Feeling

Sometimes I sit eyes closed and breathe, while I feel my hands shaking,

Some mornings I wake from nightmares, tear-soaked and heartbroken.

Other times, my mind wanders so far, that I worry it can’t find its way home.

Sometimes there’s confusion, chaos, and an overwhelming sensation of sound,

Other times it is deathly quiet, and I trudge through a bog of numbness, am I even alive?

Like an autumnal tree branch I yield, everyday shedding things once held dear, leaf after leaf,

I feel it all, in the sunshine and the cold dark early hours, I can be overcome with grief.

October 27, 2024June 7, 2026

Songbirds on the Peninsula of Sleep

Kneeling, the dream-walker reaches
for the fulvous velvet grass at their feet.

Energised bands of light envelop their arms,
soon becoming a full-body corona of colour.

The newfound energy gently elevates the walker
into a hover.

Floating effortlessly, they cross the bright peninsula,
as the warm ocean laps at the cliff sides.

Large round turquoise boulders rest
beneath weeping lapis trees,
their branches laden with birds.

The songbirds,
with their vibrant glittering indigo plumage,
fill the air with sweet music.

Large white cranes fly silently sunward,
their departure signifying
the end of a great journey.

Vivid dreams have led the hovering guest
to the heart of the peninsula,

a flat, fragrant field of flowers
beneath the spiralling peppermint sky.

Its only feature
is a massive ancient white tree,

its vine-covered trunk revealing
a great hollow.

Beams of alternating light
cycle from within the hollow,

pulsing,
bidding a warm welcome.

At the centre of each flower
growing upon the clinging vines,

a single gazing eye
watches in silence.

As the songbirds begin to trumpet
their full-throated music
into the spiralling peppermint sky,

all eyes watch

as the visitor hovers forward,

silently fading
into the light-laden tree hollow.

The birdsong echoes into silence.

The colours begin to fade.

The traveller is immersed
in brilliant stars.

For a timeless moment,
nothing exists
but light.

Then the stars fade.

The dreamer’s eyes open,

awakening once more

to the glow
of a new morning sun.

October 27, 2024June 12, 2026

The Cry Left Unheard

I feel myself unfolding,
As the life that I am holding
Slowly slips away.

The demons that I’m fighting
Pull their ropes, forever tightening,
And I drown a little more each day.

Into the depths I’m sinking,
Endless darkness leaves me thinking
That I’m better off this way.

I cannot pull myself back out
From this pit from which I shout,
At demons I can never slay.

But nobody hears me calling
To the depths of hell I’m falling,
Deaf ears are my life’s dismay.

I do not wish to struggle anymore,
Beneath the weight of those who left before,
I cannot go on this way.

So I say goodbye to you,
My descendants, tried and true,
“I love you” is all that I can say.

October 27, 2024June 12, 2026

Falls of Deceit

The gaping mouth of the waterfall
Is fed by the River of Lies,

A black current flowing endlessly
With the tears of the suffering.

Its waters never cease,
Cascading day and night,
Even beneath the surface,
Where unseen currents drag the unwary downward.

Above the torrent,
Liars drift effortlessly,
Feeding greedily upon their victims,
Then basking fat and bloated
Upon the shore.

Below them,
The deceived are swallowed by white-capped waves,
Held fast by chains of loyalty
That bind them to their fate.

Their broken bodies
Are burdened with stones of deceit,
Dragged beneath the current
And swept over the falls.

Cast upon the rocks below,
They awaken from their dreams

And face the terrible reality
Of a new day’s sun.

October 27, 2024November 5, 2024

Just Another Tuesday

With one last exhale, he steps from his doorstep and into the inky black darkness outside,

His body begins to rise gently in the warm black scentless air, slowly drifting up into space.

He always felt that his front door led to the end of the world, and he was correct.

Crossing his feet together, then arms across his chest, he closes his eyes and lets the drift take him,

Within moments he’s in the atmosphere, still, no longer rising, there above the earth he hovers,

Invisible currents gently tug at him as his body floats in orbit above a bright glowing world below,

There is a serene internal warmth, a comfort, no more pain, stress, or sadness, a feeling of relief.

The glowing warmth of the sun reflecting from the earth below him doesn’t last however,

He feels himself violently tugged into the darkness behind the earth, cold and anxiety fill his system.

Now in complete darkness, he begins to fall back into the dark world below him.

There’s no heat as he re-enters the atmosphere, but he begins to freeze, blinded by ice and darkness,

Rocketing downward like a human missile aimed at his own rooftop, at impact he opens his eyes. He finds himself standing inside his home, hand on the front doorknob as he prepares to leave

October 27, 2024June 13, 2026

Sleeper Beneath the Mountain

Asleep, yet never truly sleeping,
She lies within the Black Range.

Her breath is a distant rumble,
Felt deep within the bones of the earth.

For six thousand years she has waited,
Coiled beneath stone and darkness,
Her fury subdued by the mountain
That serves as both prison and tomb.

Every crack of thunder
Is a cry from the heavens,
The voice of a distant prince
Longing for the one denied to him.

Beneath forests ancient and deep,
Beneath peaks crowned in shadow,
The Serpent Princess slumbers.

Above her,
Lightning bridges earth and sky,
A fleeting touch between lovers
Separated by the ages.

She is worshipped by the Cult of the Serpent,
Whose rites and offerings
Keep the ancient sleeper bound.
For they fear the prophecy.
They fear what will happen
Should she awaken.

Far beyond the stars,
Her leviathan prince waits.
His heart is forged from stardust,
Shadow,
And grief.

With every passing century,
His sorrow grows.

Two mighty serpents,
Fire-eyed and scale-clad,
Kept apart by those
Who fear their union.

But no prison lasts forever.
A day will come
When the mountain cracks,
And the ancient princess rises.

Then her prince shall descend from the heavens,
And together they will unleash
Doom upon the world that divided them.

Oceans will boil.
Mountains will fall.
Cities will vanish beneath fire and flood.
All life shall perish
In the wake of their reunion.

And when the prophecy is fulfilled,
The Serpents will depart.

Beyond the stars they shall return,
To the realm of the Ancient Ones,
Where time has no dominion
And darkness stretches without end.

There,
Far from the lifeless husk of Earth,
The lovers will coil together once more,
Never to be parted again.

October 27, 2024December 8, 2025

Ocean of the Dreaming Mind

Closing your eyes, you exhale the stale air of the day’s hurt,
The clean, cool new air of home replaces the sickly, anxious heat,
You are wrapped in your safe darkness, your sanctuary of solace,
The darkness behind your eyes begins to erupt into a misty haze of colour,
You feel yourself begin to lift, and light as air, your mind begins to drift,
Your journey to the kingdom of colour, across the ocean of dreams, has begun.

You float slowly, facing the stars, as time, planets and reality slip from sight,
You feel the breeze as you speed across a calm ocean surface,
Eventually slowing as your mind makes landfall, crossing a coast into fields of azure,
You drift slowly above fragrant flora, and a pink sky spirals into cool blue clouds above,
As the warmth of the sun embraces you, caressing your skin,
You begin to rise, the stars reveal themselves, sweet fragrances fill your senses.

Gently, you begin to spiral, drifting through space, your toes leading the way home,
Time passes, the drifting gently ceases, and you float weightless, motionless,
Below you lies your sleeping body, open and peacefully awaiting your return,
You gently roll, floating back into yourself, your mind cleansed by the journey,
The colours cease, you open your eyes, and once again breathe the cool air of reality.

October 27, 2024April 2, 2025