We’re a secret organisation, We tell everybody, This is a wacky institution, The syndicate of silly, And we’re always open, So open the door and climb in the window, Wipe your hat, And hang up those moccasins, There’s a brew boiling in the bath, But to business my friend, We’re all in the basement upstairs,
So best go up the down staircase, Don’t trip, These stairs bite you know, We’ve been debating, And arguing, And debating about arguing, We’re scholars of senselessness, Humans to a man, It’s all a bit silly, That’s undeniable, But that’s life in a nutshell.
Oh my muse, Upon these blasted lands, The squalls are rising, My life is debris and cattle spinning around, A dread tornado, Around us the wind churn, Encircling our embrace, In your arms I feel no bite, No grudge from the world, You are safe haven, You are serenity, The calm in the storm, Your heart warming me to the chill, Beside you I am myself, No victim to the worlds blades, You make my being bearable, I simply can’t attest loudly enough, I love you.
Plated and iron-willed, Zweihander in grip, We are the first, The forlorn hope, The first of the army, The first to charge, The first to brave that barbed storm, To climb those ladders, To brave those battlements, The first to kill, The first to be slain, We are the first, The forlorn hope, The first to die screaming, The first to burn alive, The first to be impaled, The first to perish under arrows, To be pierced, To be slaughtered, The first to be buried, The first to be forgotten.
As I rise from my crypt, I feel as if some presence rises with me, An ethereal force, Like my dreams have pierced forth from my mind, Transmogrifying before my sleepy eyes,
Butterflies in every shade, Once greyscale, Then shifting to each and every colour in turn, Phantasms in flight, Fluttering around the room in lyrical patterns,
The projections grow more maddening, Hypnotising my cortices, Spelling out words that seem gibberish, Images of make-believe realms, Visual patterns put my brain through a blender,
Was any of this real? Horror and euphoria and mystique brewed together, Who knows? But only the sunrise did quell the mania, And weld my brain back together again.
I waltzed upon a woodland path, To release some serotonin, To be one with the natural backdrop, Between the crowds of bark giants, I chanced upon a wonderful sight,
I had been granted an audience, A once in a lifetime opportunity, To meet the duke of this wood, A regal beast of wild aristocracy, A titanic stag of primeval physique,
Towering over even the treetops, His antlers scratched sermons into the clouds, Treatises on woodland matters, He stood upon ivory legs commanding respect, Purely demanding reverence from all,
He stared into my urban soul, As if in pity, I could only bow, A newfound awe crosses my mind, A lord of nature has blessed me,
I am Gaki, I died once, A life spent in overindulgent opulence, Now I suffer in spirit, Doomed to unlife existing in eternal famine, All is fodder, Unclean or otherwise, But no myriad feast can cure my paucity, All of the kings men, And all of the kings flesh, Couldn’t sate this demons hunger again, Nothing can fill this distended belly, It is hell I assure you, The pain has dulled all other sensation, Hell of a worse kind.
The fly on the wall left for a jaunt, Out of the window, Across a lawn laid in neglect, There he met his companion the gnome, In flaxen shirt and inert gaze, Fishing rod and gormless grin, The fly said to the gnome,
“Between us we see everything, I within the house and you without, Sins within this hovel and besides, I’ve seen the married souls lay with strangers, You’ve seen needles and shady deals alfresco, I’ve smelt the scent of flesh under floorboards, You’ve seen where the bodies are buried under turf, Together we could rule this place”,
In response the gnome looked ever on, Unimpressed, The fly’s proposed blackmail not to his liking, His painted eyes still staring wide-eyed, The fly seethed at the refusal, Zooming back to the house in a rage, He would bring ruin to the occupants elseways.
How are you all doing this week? It’s been another scorcher here in England. I may or may not have gotten myself a little bit burned again. I really have to learn to use sun-tan lotion more correctly. It’s a bit of a family thing when it comes to forgetting though I’m afraid. I’m taking it easy now though, don’t worry. As for writing, I’m actually feeling like my work this week has been a little less good. A couple pieces felt almost rushed or incomplete when I read them back. I’m not sure why this would have been, but it is something I’ve felt all week. I’m not always positive about my work you know! Hehe!
So, it’s that day of the week again! The time for the Harlequins writing music once again. It’s actually taken me all week to settle on what I was going to make the theme this time. It’s one that I’ve wanted to do for a while. Did anybody get the clue earlier on today? If you’re not a nerd like me, it may have been a bit unclear.
The theme for todays writing music is the video game series Final Fantasy! Oh yes indeed! For those less familiar, Final fantasy is a fantasy role-playing series from Japan that has existed in pop culture for a very long time. The music of this series has inspired me for around two decades at this point. I don’t just mean when playing video games either, I often listen to this music when I’m just chilling as well. The sheer scope and variety of the melodies and tunes present means there’s songs for any occasion, whether it be upbeat, relaxed or meditative. Most of the earlier soundtracks were written and created by a personal hero of mine as well. The venerable Nobuo Uematsu. I truly admire this man and the dedication he has to his work. He has been followed by some great artists of course (Soken is of particular note), but he will always be my favourite. And not just cause of red-tinted glasses either. So, does anybody want to hear some of my favourite tunes from the various entries in the series?
Well, join me as we delve into the musical minds of fantastical artists of the world over! Umm… I mean, from Japan in this case…
Final Fantasy XIV – Dragonsong
Final Fantasy VIII – Force Your Way
Final Fantasy IX – You’re Not Alone
Final Fantasy XI – Ronfaure
Final Fantasy VII – Cosmo Canyon
And there we have it! What do you think of my choices eh? I would hope that, even if you don’t enjoy video games, you can all appreciate the musical talent put into these songs. It was very hard to choose just five songs from the entire series and I could have picked at least a dozen more. Please let me know what you guys think eh? Oh, and while I think about, all of these songs are the property of Square Enix and obviously not my own. I just feel like it is prudent to point that out.
So, how about some social media nonsense? The asylum here has a Facebook page, an account over on Instagram and a page over on Twitter. Please come and follow me over on those, I post random stuff and clues for my poems ahead of time. If you enjoy what I do here at the asylum, please consider supporting me over at the Ko-Fi page! Cheers!
She had always dreamed of glades, Beds of grass and hydrangea companions, Dreamed of owl storytellers, And choirs of rodent and hare, So she called to the druids, Those shepherds of the trees, Go between those boughs they told her, That shaded gateway to the forest,
That path of dirt snaking betwixt oaks and ash trees, Those arbours embraced her, Taking her amongst them like ivy, They whispered in breezy leaves, Bestowing upon her a cape of nature, And a crown of flowers, They loved her, And she them,
Jointly they would watch the world pass, The passage of the planets entropy, And decay together at the end.
Descend you will, Seduced by the siren call of golden opulence, Down into the dungeon, The harsh pit, Dank fluctuations through the planets flesh, Hewed by unknowable beings of history, The marvel of its structure only matched by the horrors within,
Those before you have fallen as fodder or gone mad, There are things down there, Things waiting in the darks cloak, Hungry pitiless things, A terrible bestiary of jaws and roughshod weapons, Goblins and dragons and basilisks, Beholders and zombies and troglodytes,
Descend you still will, Like so many before, Will you overcome them all? Cleave a swathe through them, And return to the light with riches aplenty? Or fall and become yet another skeletal decoration, Expired prey of the dungeon?
