Crescent Moon

When you gaze up at her,
Have you ever wondered,
Why the moon has a crescent?
It’s to remind us of the scythe,
That iron kiss we all imbibe,
Not as a threat,
But to remind us to live,

The moon is an attentive beholder,
With an ivory grin,
She rests high in the firmament,
And she sees all,
A thin veil of clouds like maids-in-waiting,
Frantically failing to cover up their queen,
Lest her form be compromised,

She is the more shy of the sky’s orbs,
Dame Solar exemplifies life,
While Lady Lunar venerates the dead,
Her message is just as vital though,
That death can come randomly and unannounced,
That’s what the crescent tells us,
Willed on by the night-time air.

Last Spell

I have written poetry all of my life,
Intermittently over the years,
Playing at mastery,
Playing with sorcery,
Little magic spells,
Cast not with crystal and wand,
But with quill and felt tip,
Art that enchants this golem,

Enchantments wear though,
And one day,
One fateful day,
I shall write my final poem,
Cast my last spell,
And nobody,
Not even I,
Shall know when it shall be.

Flirting With Death

I once met a woman at the watering hole,
She spied me across the pine bar,
Sultry eyes with rum held in gaunt fingers,
There was something fated here,
A once in a lifetime event I fear,
I had to approach,
Drawn like an inevitable end,

A bell tolled somewhere else,

She was a deathly tempting creature,
A pallid face and sunken eyes,
Her ebony dress hung tight,
As if only bone hid beneath,
She spoke through knife edges,
Honeyed words upon a scythed tongue,
The dialogue flowed like deathbed tears,

A bell tolled close by,

She pecked me upon one cheek,
Leaving a chill signature,
She turned and beckoned me,
A fell wind followed her step,
It was love,
So I joined her,
And my lips turned blue,

A bell tolled by my ear.

Brands Of Death

Greetings mortal,
You’re looking rather sour,
Is the end rearing its head?
Then you’ve come to the right place,
Our establishment specialises in grim expirations,
It’s a booming trade I assure you,
What brand of death do you desire?
We have all the classics,

Would you prefer a bombastic end?
A crash or fall or rope,
Or maybe you favour the slow exit?
Pills or poison or water,
Do you fade amongst doting family,
Taken by pestilence and malady?
Perhaps you wish for a warriors death,
Iron to the gut in another’s defence?

So many possibilities,
Will you rest in a mausoleum?
Or be bleached bones upon the dune?
Our supplier rides a pale horse,
And is never late to deliver,
I wouldn’t ask for a refund though,
All of a our stock must go,
And it shall.

Life

Life is precious,
Like a ruby set in a ribcage,
A canary in a mineshaft,
It is the most beautiful of things,
Revealed in all elements of the world,
Waterfalls and leaves and sunlight,
The blush upon a cheek,
The uneasy clamour of a foal,

It is also fragile,
Like ceramic lungs,
Easily damaged or snuffed outright,
Entropy always bearing down,
Ribs can crack,
Light always fades,
Water always evaporates,
The canary always suffocates.

Life Tourism

On this day,
Put on your sunhats and bathing suits,
Grab your towels and sun cream,
For we are all tourists,
Not in Rome,
Not in Tokyo,
Nor in Lapland,
Not even your local beach,

But tourists of life,
It’s a holiday of decades,
Under many suns and moons,
A limited booking,
With activities for every ilk,
Scholarly or athletic or otherwise,
Our time is limited,
But the possibilities are limitless,

This existence is a vacation,
A long stay in a terrestrial hotel,
And nobody knows their checkout time.

Aqua Tofana

Oh women of Italia and beyond,
Do you suffer in your daily lives?
Bruised by the fists of an abusive spouse?
Is even your home an unsafe arena?
Rush ye to Lady Tofana,
She may hold your salvation,
Though it shall cost you your virtue,

She shall offer you a deadly solution,
The poisoners bounty,
Lead and arsenic and belladonna,
All wrapped up in cosmetic mask,
With St. Nicholas presiding,
A tasteless and crystal clear death sentence,
For that special man in your life,

An unsavoury state of affairs perhaps,
But when a woman is pushed too far,
There may be no other recourse,
Than to call on Lady Tofana,
And her Manna di San Nicola.

Panther

Death is a panther,
You cannot spy it amongst the bush,
But you know it hunts you,
Hunts us all,

A killing machine to the bone,
Scythe-like fangs,
And eyes trained on your every breath,
Following your scent since birth,

Its claws rasp across grass and asphalt both,
Its hunt could take years,
Decades even,
But this feline always gets its meat,

Death is a panther,
It’s a grizzly or falcon or barracuda,
It’s an apex predator,
Not formed of flesh and blood,

But of solemn inevitability.

Headstone

Does a headstone speak to you too?
Do you hear their voices?
Friends and family from beyond?
You’re not imagining it,

There is an energy among the resting,
A family reunion through cemetery gates,
A last chance at reconciliation,
Or chastisement,
   
Life lessons,
Spiritual advice,
Placations too late
And loving words missed,

It’s meditative,
The feeling behind you,
That is your ancestors behind you,
And they are your allies.

Heed it.

Air Raid Siren

The symphony commences,
As the sky grows dark,
Metallic warnings in the air,
Cacophonous and shrill,
Like lost souls lamenting the plight of the living,
From their vantage points,
Those sirens have seen the approaching flags,
Riding upon rockets and helicopter blades,
Their hymn warns of fire and brimstone,
Depleted uranium fireworks,
This is no party tune,
But the raucous dirge of a nation.