Though we searched high and low
In places that only monsters go
Through mountains where the eagles fly
And valleys where the dead still lie
Through the darkness of the ominous caves
Lined with bodies of broken slaves
And along the old kings castle walls
Where still the sound of wailing calls
Through all the hamlets in the land
Among the wary and the damned
From battlements to battleground
The warrior stone could not be foundFor many years the warrior stone
Had sat beneath the royal throne
It’s strange magic making sure
The border walls were held secure
It’s secrets passed from King to heir
But the second born was hidden there
In jealousy he stole the warrior stone
Hoping to steal his fathers throne
hiding the stone deep in the blackwoods fen
He was retracing his steps back but then
With the night came the harrowing fog
He stumbled and drowned in the Blackwood bogWith the loss of the stone the border walls fell
Exposing the realm to the forces from hell
The sun was clouded as swarms of locusts descended
Demons swarmed over the walls undefended
The king and his men where soon overcome
The prince and his family where ordered to run
Demons hunted and plundered, murdered and enslaved
Devouring the blood that they had long craved
Humanity fought bravely but were slowly diminished
Within a decade it seemed they were finishedThe Prince had spent the time searching and fighting
Behind his banner the last of his people uniting
Weary and tired, finally they stood
With the Hellborn behind them and faced the bogs of Blackwood
Certain death or just death, he thought with a curse
The choices we make, none better, all worse!
As darkness descended, along with the fog
He and his people entered the bog
In front his boy, barely twelve years old
But a proven fighter, clever and bold
Confidently choosing the path to set them on
But a moment later, he was goneThe prince ran forward as fast as he could
Only to see him trapped in the bubbling mud
He threw him a rope and called to his men
And braced himself to pull him out again
But the bog wasn’t easily defeated instead
It pulled the boy down until only his head
Could be seen above the mercurial land
Slowly it disappeared, just an arm, then a handThen the rope went slack and the prince fell to his knees
Begging his Gods to respond to his pleas
Then suddenly a strange light through the water burned
And the hand broke the surface as the boy was returned
Slowly his figure emerged from the mire
Dripping mud as he rose higher and higher
Stood on a pedestal that spun slowly round
And dropped by the prince onto the ground
The prince bent down and rubbed off the mud
And started to tremble there where he stood
With a voice full of emotion he did quietly intone
“Gentlemen, we are looking at the warrior stone”He knelt down before it and grasped it tight
Suddenly Blackwood exploded with light
A ball of fire formed high overhead
Then flattened out as it started to spread
Locusts burst into flame and then into dust
All over the country demons started to combust
As lightening fired down from the fire cloud overhead
Within minutes all the demons were dead
The border walls reversed their decomposition
As the displaced stones moved back into position
Across the realm people started to appear
Realising the truth they started to cheerTime moves on, Kingdoms change over years
History turns into legends and then disappears
Rewritten by rulers, twisted and awry
It becomes whatever you want it to be
In these fair island there still lies a stone
That still sits beneath a royal throne
An English throne with a Scottish heart
Let no man take the two apart
At some point in the past, a change to its name
It’s just words, the stone remains the same
For while every stone carries its own history
This one carries our destiny
Tag: fate
Strange things happen at sea
Home, said the sailor, it’s been a long trip
Two months I was stuck on that ship
‘‘Twas a good job it sunk, that I could say
Though I’d not have said that when we got underway
The captain was incoherent with booze
Had to be carried aboard for this cruise
He wasn’t to be seen the day we set sail
Curing his hangover with a flagon of aleThe first mate knew nought and wanted to do less
I tell you the boat was in a real mess
We left the harbour at the crack of dawn
With a hold full of rum hidden under baskets of corn
Hoping to get into Scarborough under no moon
To avoid dancing to the customs man tune
The Atlantic storms come out of nowhere
Even the best can get caught unawareWe was battered and tossed by the sea and the rain
The wind howling around as the ship shrieked its pain
With a crack the mainmast suddenly fractured and fell
Taking with it the bridge and captain as well
The ship spun without steerage and anything not tied
Slid over the deck and over the side
Taking with them anyone who got in the way
Disappearing in the sea and lost to the sprayOld Jack Bean hung from the ships rail
As the ship yawed his grip started to fail
I struggled to a locker that some rope was on
But when I turned around he was gone
The storm passed as quickly as it had come
But by then the terrible damage was done
Twelve of us on board when we’d got underway
Just three of us survived that awful dayThe sails had been ripped and now long gone
Anyway no mast was left to hang them on
The ship lay becalmed on an eerie flat sea
A silence that suddenly seemed strange to me
We stood on the deck, all three, side by side
we stood there, all three and we criedThat night I watched the sun descend
It’s red dusk light seemed to send
A pathway from us to its deep orange core
For nine more dead souls to seek and explore
I quietly prayed that they were at peace
And hoped they found sense in their brutal releaseFor three long days and even longer nights
We watched for ships or for ships lights
For all the ship was still afloat
Another storm would sink the boat
But strange things can happen at sea
I ask you to suspend your judgment on me
I promise you I will not be deceiving
But this is going to be hard to believe inOn the fourth day the whales appeared
that’s when this story really gets weird
There were three whales circling around us
Both playful and I think, curious
Each was half the size of our ship
Their tails could sink us with just one flip
The suddenly we felt a gentle push
And the ship trembled underneath usWe realised that the ship was in motion
Finally moving in this empty ocean
Then we realised that on either side
A whale accompanied us along for the ride
We looked to see where the third whale had gone
To our surprise it was pushing us alongEvery few hours the whales changed position
Taking turns on this strange mission
For two days we were pushed towards an unknown destination
Carried along by these strange cetacean
Then in the dark of the night we heard a strange call all around
As the whales communicated in their sad mournful soundThe ship slowed to a rest in the dark of the night
Then suddenly a light pierced the night
A lighthouse appeared on our starboard side
In shock we just broke down and cried
We waited until the sun raised its head
And found ourselves drifting near flamborough head
Of the whales there was no sign, we couldn’t believe
That they had steered us home through treacherous seasShortly after the lifeboat arrived and tried to give us a tow
But our boat started to break up and filled with water below
We stood on the lifebout and watched with dismay
As our boat disappeared under the waters of the bayNow I’ve told you my story, I guess I’m all done
So buy me a beer and go have your fun
Tell al your friends about the old sailers like me
You’ll never understand, strange thing happen at sea.
Ending.
A time of ending
A bitter truth
To give up defending
The mistakes of youth
That somehow became
Vagaries of age
Still burns the flame
Consumed by the rage
Haunted by history
No use pretending
There’s no real mystery
In a time of an endingBeginnings were so sweet
Joys held precious inside
Swept off your feet
A beautiful bride
Remember those days
Tears sting her eyes
So many ways
To bury the lies
Some from your peers
But most from yourself
A dusty book of the years
On your own bookshelfRomantic notions
Buried and lost
In life’s great oceans
Where dreams are tossed
Swamped by the waves
Drowned in tears
We are all slaves
To the passing of years
We paint smiles on our faces
Though doom is impending
And we seek out our places
And times of an ending
Where Eagles sing
He returned to gaze on the mountains high
Snow tipped peaks that scraped the sky
Beautiful yet deadly in their majesty
Uncaring of the passing humanity
Who in the mountains shadow live and die
some in this shadow still must lie
And some have carried loss from the past
Returned to face their pain at lastReplay those memories from a childhood day
When life or death was a game to play
When two climbed that mountain wall
One returned, one not at all
One always lost, one never found
Somewhere on that frosty ground
Should mournful weary souls decry
There still his white bones must lie
Entrapped by wild flowers roots and stem
Where eagles sing his requiemHe gazed upon that mountain high
Where such forbidden secrets lie
Of the two, he was the truly lost
Left behind but at what cost
In his dreams memories abound
And a friendship lost cries to be found
He heeds the call with weeping eyes
The child he once was replies
He knew he would climb the mountain again
Where Eagles sing a requiem
Time Machine
In the dying glow of the sun declining
When the world slows down to rest
And the moon rises, its moonbeams shining
To shine a light on the nightly unrest
In It’s pale light ominous shadows will make
A hangman’s noose against a wall
A man who did his own life take
And a rope to break a fallA clock ticking a sound so pleasant
A Time Machine to count the beat
To draw in the changing present
Reject the past in its defeat
Yet nothing changed but everything broken
Tears from a mother, regrets and despair
The whole world turns on words unspoken
For though still a presence he is no longer thereHis memory lives in all those who loved him
They pray to their Gods for the sake of his soul
But they wonder what demons he harboured within him
That damaged his mind and swallowed him whole
What could have been done to his state of mind
What circumstance did lead to his plight?
So many unknowns and all intertwined
So many wrongs that no-one can rightThe grandfather clock keeps on counting its heartbeat
Calling the future without judgment or fear
What’s done is done and is now just bittersweet
Memories of times when he was still near
Love out of time
Every day he’s waits outside the post office in town
If anybody speaks he just greets them with a frown
Looks as though he’s waiting for someone who never shows
He waits there all day until the evening then goes.
One day I got the courage to ask if he’s ok
He just looked right through me until I turned away
Then I heard him speak quietly as I made to leave
He reached out and stopped me by grabbing at my sleeve
He asked me if I’d seen her, he says she’s very late
That he’d arranged to meet her here, so he has to wait
She said she’d be here for him but she’s never there
He begs me to tell her, to make sure she aware
I said I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are waiting for
There’s no-one else I’ve seen, hanging around this store
Are you sure it’s here your meeting, is this the place to go
Who is it your waiting for, is it someone that I know?
He pulled out a sepia photo, the sort our grandpa had
But it looked like it was older, like when grandpa was a lad
You could see that she was lovely, thought the print was faded and torn
One thing was certain, she would have been old before I was born
I realised his clothes were from a bygone age
When cravats and cummerbunds would have been all the rage
He was dressed to go a-courting in a century or more now gone
Somehow lost in time, he waited, to a return to “when” he was from
I promised I would wait, he said. Forever if I must
A promise I must not break, I owe her love and trust
So walk on by, my friend, and wish me well if you can
So I left him that day, a lonely but determined man
And as the years went by, the post office became a store
Then a private house, then a couple of flats or more
But always I would tip my hat at the man waiting there still
And I would marvel at the love that could inspire such strength of will
Then one day he was missing, I stopped and looked around
I realised he was gone and was nowhere to be found
Perhaps I wondered if time had claimed him and returned him to his own
I prayed he was safe and well, I felt somehow left alone
That night I heard a voice calling out as I slept
My friend he said, my promise has been kept
All these years of waiting, finally I am free
my love, my love, has finally come to be with me
In my sleep I smiled, for even old men like me can care
The sepia lady in a photograph now was real and standing there
Then they waved goodbye and left me, back to their own time and place
And I woke up this morning with a smile upon my face
Copyright Tallisman 2022
Girl with the long dark hair
A child of my times, restless and seeking
A future path to lead me to truth
To listen to tutors endlessly speaking
Then dismissing their wisdom with the hauteur of youth
Sitting exams with low expectations
Winging those tests on a wing and a prayer
Outside the window she was picking carnations
That’s when I first began to care
For the girl
For the girl with the long dark hairA bloody war for reasons no one understands
But for people like me the bloodstains were real
Politicians in silk gloves to hide the blood on their hands
Profiting on the dreams that they steal
Death begat ghosts and the ghosts they were abundant
Until I could see them just about everywhere
So they locked me away making my dreams redundant
Dreams that I wanted to share
To the girl
To the girl with the long dark hairNow I’m old and lonely looking out at a winters scene
But turning over my memories like pages in a book
Building a story of a life that could have been
If I could have avoided the paths that I took
I mourn the loss of youths possibilities
Melancholy surrounds me and lays my life bare
And I worry about the probabilities
Would life have been fair
To the girl
To the girl with the long dark hair
In to the fire
Where the hunger is
Where the desire
Born in desperation
Raised from the mire
Struggle through life to
Raise themselves higher
But we’re all running
Into the fire
Twisting and turning
No avoiding our fate
Feeling the burning
Is this love or hate?
The struggle consuming
You’re beginning to tire
But you can’t stop running
Into the fire
Feeling so alone?
It’s part of the game
Without a sweet lover
There’s no-one to blame
Baby, If you want me
Look to the funeral pyre
I’ll be dancing like a flame
Into the fire
Again and Again….
He reaches out and puts his arm on her shoulder
Pulls her close and into his space
She trembled as the darkness enfolds her
As she sees the look on his face
He kisses her hair and whispers his guarantees
“No one will love you as much as I could”
He puts his hands around her neck and started to squeeze
Somewhere an owl hooted deep in the wood
The moon and the stars conspired for romance
Heedless of those that hunt by their light
Young lovers caught up in the passions of loves dance
Unaware of the monsters that crawl in the nightHe laid her down gently in the heather
Kissed her lips in whispered goodbyes
Promised her that they would always be together
The moonlight reflected from her open eyes
He thought it was no more than he deserved
The love he offered was always the best
Such love, he mused, should be unreserved
Such unspoilt memories to take to her rest.
And the moon and the stars kept on shining
Uncaring of ill deeds done under their light
But it’s not natures way to be redefining
The role evil plays in the heart of the nightAnother town and in another bar
Another hopeful smile exchanged
Two hearts beating under another star
One mind remains deranged
And so the world keeps on turning
A desperate lovelorn dance
Lonely hearts keep on yearning
Playing a game of chance
And the moon and the stars oversee all
Illuminating all the sins of men
Bedevilled in the grip of another nightfall
The record starts playing…again and again..
Mors Vincit Omnia
Death conquers all
Some live in the shadows, anonymous and afraid
Beaten by life, feeling alone and betrayed
Shunning all company, friendship and care
Knowing only the struggle, the hate and despair
They see death as a destination on a short rocky road
Where the burden they carry they can finally unload
So they await in their shadows and listen for the call
In death they are freed, as death conquers allSome live in the light, confidant and strong
Buoyed by life’s energy to carry them along
With friends a’plenty, they never give way
In life’s battles they will always carry the day
For them the journey of life is what gives them breath
They cannot perceive the surety of death
So they stand righteous, unbending and tall
But finally must yield, as death conquers all
Fly in the storm
There are those who stand together
And others who drift apart
Bonds supposed to last forever
Crumble from the start
For some they follow their own creeds
Others follow their own desires
Some take depending on their needs
Others what their greed requires
Some pray to a God that’s benign
Others to a God that rages
Some live life to their own design
Some live their life in cages
Some worship only what they see
Others only what they are taught
Finding religion in imagery
Or salvation in theological thought
Some cry for a past that’s not forgiven
Some weep for futures pending
For the path that on which we’re driven
Leads only to an ending
Some laugh in the face of fate
Some whisper in the wind
Some love where others hate
Some pray where others sinned
We are but a single drop of rain
In a storm battering eternity’s shore
A fly caught in a hurricane
Then lost for evermore
They lie beneath
In this place where blood was spilled
A place where many men were killed
Each fighting for a dishonourable cause
Where some distant lord will take applause
And count his coin with sweating hands
The price of death in foreign lands
Paid by the blood of fighting men
Who never returned to home again
Their bones restless in unfamiliar ground
Thrown together in a burial mound
No mourners there to vent their grief
Grass grows on the soil they lie beneathBut still there are those that mourn
In the places they were born
Where streets of smoke deny the day
And candles burn to light the way
Where some still weep and some still wait
Unable to comprehend their fate
Time sheds hope like a tree sheds leaves
Some live now only in their memories
As the world moves on they are left behind
Still searching for a love they cannot find
No tombstones stand, no flowers or wreath
Grass grows on the soil they lie beneath
Pulvis et umbra sumus
we are dust and shadow
Ethereal ghosts
Moving in life’s undertow
Within temporary hosts
Doomed to live for eternity
Yet to die and be reborn
Lost in our self pity
Tortured and forlornWe are forced to roam
Through the realms of man
Outcasts from our natural home
The Gods cursed our clan
Once Angel born and pure of heart
Now ancient and laid so low
We questioned the Gods and they tore us apart
Leaving just dust and shadow