There is a hollowness deep inside, A place I crawl into when I need to hide, Where nothing can emotionally affect me, It’s a safe numb place that no one can see, Something activates behind my eyes, And another me removes his flimsy disguise, While I’m curled up within in my hollow place, The other me now owns my face, He’s uninterested in what you have to say, He feels nothing for what you wish to convey, He is my protector, he’s my defensive shield, Guarding the inner me while I’m being healed, Until a change within fills this hollow space, There’ll be no emotion, there’ll be no embrace, He’s insincere, his actions are purely robotic, He’s a wall, dividing me from a world so chaotic, Someday the colour will return to my eyes, The other me will fade, once the chaos subsides, Leaving me present again, with no need to hide, Within the Keep of Hollowness, that I’ve built inside.
A dreamer’s eyes open, suddenly and wide, accompanied by a gasp for air, It feels as though the sleeper has been brought to life for the first time, The confusion passes, and they acclimatise to this new red sunlit world, Standing high on a dune, the dreamer looks down on a black city lit by red lights, This world of exploration is dusty and dim, as the dreamer enters the city limits, It seems lifeless, countless tall glossy black metallic buildings stretch upwards, Every dark doorway is scarlet lit, there is no sound here other than the wind, No birds sing, no sounds of human commotion, just an empty silent expanse, The dreamer stands in the middle of a sand-covered road, paved with dark stone, The wind whips sand into the sleeper’s eyes, as the sound of a low deep hum rumbles, From the bowels of the earth, the dreamer feels the vibration through the road, And as the sun begins to fall, the darkness brings sinister tidings, From the black alcoves along the street, countless glowing red eyes appear, The glowing eyes follow the dreamer while they cautiously walk among the black towers, Again, the deep horn rumbles with a hum, and the sound of 1000 whispering voices begins, The whispers are almost deafening, it feels as though they are inside the dreamer’s head, With ears covered, the run begins, a left turn here, a right turn there, and into a side street, Black metal streetlights line the roadway, all glowing with a vivid red glow, In the dusty darkness at the end of the street, crooked black creatures with red eyes spill out, They cut off any escape, they rapidly approach, driving the dreamer back towards the dunes, The pavement soon becomes deep sand and a steep incline, where feet sink and slip, The creatures are still in pursuit, the whispering intensifies as the dreamer struggles to move, Coal black arms burst from the sand clutching the dreamer’s clothing and limbs, Many unnaturally long arms clasp and pull the dreamer face down onto the dune side, The sand below the dune begins to give way revealing an enormous gaping mouth, Tentacle-like arms begin to drag the dreamer into the mouth from where they originate, In an instant the dreamer is devoured, the mighty jaws snap shut before sinking into the sand, Silence falls, the city empties, the red sun rises, and on the top of the dune, A new pair of eyes open, suddenly and wide, accompanied by a new dreamer’s gasp for air
The Disconnect is an 11 minute ambient-mechanical-heartbeat soundscape that I recorded and released in early 2024. Based on this poem, the soundscape was supposed to represent the separation of the physical and mental human self, into a colder, more emotionless robotic form that could cope better with regular human interactions. You can check it out on my Bandcamp page.
When seeking a life change, we all like to ponder, About how others cope with life over yonder, Are they as damaged as you, or as broken as me, Well, let’s pop on over so we can both see, It turns out, nobody’s coping, we’re not doing well What once was working, now simply can’t gel, Society is failing, and all are offended, But to create change, apple carts must be upended. So, what is the fix and where is the answer, The people are addicted, social media is a cancer, Like heroin junkies they consume and want more, Of the vacuous fake existence that keeps them enthralled, Sure, real-life hurts and words can be offensive, But it’s your phone that keeps you feeling defensive, Step outside, eat, drink, and witness nature in bloom, Because you won’t find that life change locked away in your room.
Under knotted storm clouds and blackened night-soaked seas, Ancient stone columns plummet countless fathoms to the darkest ocean depths, Beneath the coral covered chancel of a long forgotten holy place, A white leviathan’s eye, stares blindly upwards to the distant surface, Forgotten by time, the sleeper beneath the waves has awaited the call, The somnambulistic god of the old world impatiently stirs in the inky darkness, When called from slumber, the creatures answer will be final, In its throat the reply awaits, death, total doom, absolute devastation.
On a beach, incantations can be heard among the crashing of the waves, For the stars are out tonight as death cult followers summon their leviathan god, With his rising, the sea rumbles and floods, destruction is unleashed upon the world of men. Cities are annihilated by waves, and sunlight is blacked out by ash from erupting volcanoes, The lands freeze, and not a soul is left to witness the creature’s cosmic departure.
All is lost in its wake, a dead planet slowly revolves through the cold darkness of time.
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.
The gaping mouth of the waterfalls is forged by the river of lies, which flows with the tears of the suffering, the falls flow constantly, even below the surface.
Liars float above the current, greedily feeding on their victims, before bathing fat and bloated on the shore.
The deceived are drowned beneath white capped waves, held heavy with the chains of loyalty that shackle them.
Their broken bodies are weighed down by great stones of deceit, before being swept over the falls, discarded onto the rocks below.
Falling out of their dreams, and into the horrible reality of facing a new day’s sun.
Dan Verkys 