Poetry – Page 20 – Dan Verkys

November 10, 2024November 2, 2025

Forest of the Mountain King

A great mountain looms over these antique lands,
Mysterious and proud the stone giant stands,
Its snow-capped peaks have a perilous beauty,
Climbing to the summit is an impossible duty,
Behind its back is an endless ocean scene,
And in its shadow are lands pastoral and green,
In its ancient forest, the air is heavy and old,
Fern trees and giant mushrooms grow uncontrolled,
It’s said that trees often walk the forest floor,
Gathering in sacred spaces to discuss forest law,
If you stay hidden you may hear them creeping around,
But if they find you, you’ll be crushed into the ground,
Few animals dare to venture into this forgotten place,
And any men who enter vanish without a trace,
So, choose wisely before you visit the forest of dreams
For the mountain is King, and his soldiers are trees.

November 9, 2024November 2, 2025

A Moment of Dreaming

In the distance, a crystal ship adorned with vivid white sails glistens against an azure sky,

The tranquil surface of the clear blue ocean invokes a serene feeling of comfort and home,

Soft white sand underfoot shimmers like powdered diamonds in the warm midday sun,

Closed eyes feel the radiating warmth, while a fresh ocean breeze caresses the hair,

The gentle washing of water onto the sand accompanies serenading white seabirds overhead,

The earthy scent of lush green grass and sweet wildflowers dances on the breeze,

This moment of dreaming, with its peace and serenity, is alien to the dreamer’s waken world

November 9, 2024

At Day’s End

I need a quiet place in my mind where I can be free,
Where there’s room to grow if the anger lets me,
I’m not a monster or an overly complicated man,
I just have my own problems, and I cope the best that I can.

When the night comes dark and cold, and I lay here awake,
I’m invaded by negative thoughts that I cannot shake,
Morning comes, no change of mind, no great revelations,
Just trains of thought leaving their inhospitable stations.

I even try to distract myself with guided meditation,
But my thoughts are so loud all I get is frustration,
With all this negative thinking, I’ll never be content,
Because at day’s end, it’s with my thoughts alone I have spent.

November 9, 2024November 2, 2025

Bottoms Up

There’s a numbness and confusion upon me this morning,

Racing thoughts now follow, last night’s poison absorbing,

To feel human, to laugh, smile, and feel unrestrained,

Were the weak excuses that lead to this morning’s shame,

But today that numbness and guilt weigh on me like stone,

So, I’ll do my best to write a few words to bestow,

How I felt yesterday; angry, ugly, frustrated, useless and old,

And I gave in, drank the poison, and swallowed the story I sold.

November 8, 2024November 2, 2025

Beneath the Black Seas of Time

Deep within yourself break the waves of a vast black ocean,

It stretches beyond all time and space, capped by a star-filled sky,

In its fathomless depths, exists the end of all mankind,

Doom slumbers there, tentacled and terrible,

Kept silent for eons under waves, since falling from the sky,

Something within the darkness now stirs, an awakening,

Ice cold is the ocean and countless are her secrets,

Nothing is lost forever, the titan will soon awaken,

For you are no longer its keeper.

November 7, 2024November 2, 2025

The Poisoner’s Bride

For too long now you have fed me lies,
You told me that you’d be only mine,
The one whose hand you’d forever hold,
Happily married until the end of time,
But like sniffing dogs, other men arrive,
And my intimacies you did decline,
and greeted me with derision so cold,
So, I laced all your meals with strychnine.

I no longer cared when you did decide,
To fill your deceitful mouth with lies,
I just made sure your dose was double,
And was serenaded by your painful cries,
When I saw the regret in your lifeless eyes,
My cruel heart was filled with vengeful pride,
Silenced by poison, and buried by shovel,
Now you rest by a tree in the countryside.

November 7, 2024November 2, 2025

The Disconnect

There is a new barrier between us,

I built it to protect myself.

I use this numb armour,

So I won’t feel hurt any longer.

The disconnect has happened,

I exist outside of the world,

Outside of the pain you inflict,

No more will you have control,

No more will you hurt me,

The disconnect has happened,

I exist outside of the world.

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.

November 6, 2024November 2, 2025

The Reflecting Moon

The moon came down to see me, as I sat beside the lake,
I was distraught, struggling to soothe a lifetime of heartache,
She touched my shoulder, smiled at me, and asked me to explain,
Her reflection was so beautiful, that I simply could not refrain,
She caressed my cheek, reassuring me, that she’ll take the pain away,
And keep it deep within her glow, so that I would feel ok,
I shared my secret heartaches, and after hearing what I had to say,
She reassured me once again, that it was normal to feel this way,
‘We’ve all lost special people, whom we loved, and who loved us,
But it’s time to let them go’ she said, ‘in moonlight you can trust’.
She kissed my cheek, bid me farewell, and rose into the sky,
And I found myself alone again, but without the pain inside.
When I’m sad I look up to the sky, and see the moon, the queen of night,
And remember that she has my loved ones, safely stored within her light.