The Journey

The Journey

The long slow drag of a thought

Like bare skin over concrete 

Knowing and tearing at my mind

Creeping through the valleys of my cortex

Searching for the dawn that has not yet rose

Sweet drops of hope fall on my face

Rolling across my skin and seeping in between my lips

The scent of lavender and freedom rise into my nose 

As my eyes dilate my thoughts roll back many moons

With a cool night breeze sliding between my fingers 

I raise my hands to the sky and whisper thank you

Back in the desert

Back in the now

The sun blisters my back on the way out

As the sand burns and swallows my feet

I tread on

I whisper thank you

For I still have time to find the horizon

And you have not given up on me

Temptation Part 2

"I can't tell a soul", he muttered to himself. He heard a hollow distant chuckle inside his mind. Though laying next to his wife he felt utterly alone, but to be honest that was nothing new. The battle was over but for some reason he felt that this was just part of a larger war. He didn't know why he thought that way. Perhaps this was all just a dream and soon he would awake. At this point he just wanted to rest and hopefully get some sleep he was hoping that tomorrow would bring something more peaceful.

Sitting on a boat looking over a beautiful sunset he just stared. The view was majestic he hadn't quite remembered how he got so far out and he calmly looked around for a shoreline that was familiar. The waves lapping up against the hull of his rowboat were very soothing. The rocking sensation was enough to put him to sleep.  Closing his eyes he began to focus on his surroundings. He could feel the warm sun on his face. There was just enough of a breeze skidding over his body to keep him cool. In the distance he could hear a crow calling. "That's odd", he thought," a crow way out here. I didn't see any land." Slowly opening his eyes he saw something on the horizon. Indeed it was a bird and as it slowly flew closer he could see that it was a crow indeed. Nearly a pin prick far off in the distance the crow flew towards him, and as the crow grew closer it seemed to be pulling something behind it. Almost like ink rolling out of a bottle into water dark clouds seem to trail behind the crow. The closer the crow came the more wide spread the black clouds spanned. At first the clouds where thin and wispy but with each flap of the crows wings the clouds became darker and darker. The once serene horizon began to turn dark and ominous. The once soothing breeze grew cold as it began to push harder and harder. His rowboat began to rock more sternly. If didn't know better a storm was coming over the horizon and that crow was bringing it. With the power of the winds rising his hair began to whip back and he was having to squint in order to focus on the horizon. The crow was clearly flying straight towards him. Even though still at a distance he could see into the eye of that crow and it almost looked as if it was keenly glaring like a bird of prey at him. The wind began to howl past his ears. The tide was picking up he could see waves min the far distance coming towards him. The where beginning to become capped with white. He knew he could no longer stay. Without looking he reached down into the boat where the oars were supposed to be resting. They were gone. Frantically he looked around the boat and the surrounding waters trying to find the oars. He had to get out of there. The crow began calling, "CAW CAW!", there was such an urgency in the calling of the crow.

"JOHN! JOHN!" The voice exclaimed, "ITS TIME TO GET UP!"  

Quickly John eyes opened. His wife was next to him shaking him. Looking at the clock he realized that it was past time. He had to get going or he was going to be late for work.

This aint a poem... Temptation

This ain't a poem but I had a little bit of a scary dream the other night and so I decided that I might run with it a bit. Trying to decide if I want to flush this out into a full story or not. 

Temptation

His eyes slowly opened and he knew he wasn't alone. He couldn't hear anything, but there was definitely a presence in the room. He tried to close his eyes and go back asleep he hope that it wouldn't notice that he was awake. The air was cold and stiff in his nose when he breathed in. With the drapes shut the door was very dark. With the door shut only a crack of light could enter the room from under the door. Not knowing what to do he just laid still. Reaching for the phone and calling for help was absurd. It was a path he didn't want travel and a door he didn't want to open. With a small high pitch moan his wife rolled over on her side. She was completely oblivious to what was going on. Slowly it was becoming apparent that this was not a dream. This was for real. 

Quickly he sat up in bed. All he could see was the gauge outlines of all the furniture in his room. Perhaps it was a dream and he just woke up. Surely they wouldn't bother him. He was far too unimportant. Could they have followed him home, if so, from where? He hadn't been anywhere important that day. He never did anything important. He laid back down and slowly the feeling came back over him. Yes something was in the room with him and it was far more powerful than he. Clinching his eyes shut he felt so helpless and stupid. If he had just laid there and kept his eyes shut he might have been able to pretend he was asleep. He could feel the creature slide up over him. It was all a cat and mouse game at this point he would have to be strong. 

Slowly riding up his body he felt it upon him. First at his toes crawling up over the end of the bed. It's touch was soft, cold and wide. Sliding over his legs it came up from behind. He had made sure to lay on his side facing his wife. He wanted to make sure that she was going to be okay. If all want well he would fight off the creature but he wanted to make sure he had sight of his wife and the door behind her. The last thing he wanted was this thing crawling into one of the other bedrooms where his children slept.

And then everything seemed to be at peace. The feeling was gone and he felt as if he was alone in bed with his wife.

“S-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T“, the sound of a mouth full of saliva inhaling rattled in his ear drum. Over his shoulder he could feel the beady eyes peering at him and his wife. 

"I can see you. I know you want to let me in.", the words almost sounded as if they were slithering out of its mouth. 

"Please just leave", he answered.
"Leave? Why I want to play. You like the games I like to play. You forget I can see in your mind", the creatures cadence of words was playful and taunting in nature. He knew that if he screamed the creature would merely disappear as before. The last thing he needed was people thinking he was crazy again. 

"Please God PLEASE help me. Please take it away", the man begged and begged over and over again. 

"GOD? GOD not going to help you", the once high pitched taunting voice dropped to something deep and demonic. "You don't deserve his help. You don't deserve God. He doesn't want something as disgusting as you" the creature refused to relent he kept bantering on about how worthless the man was.
"Dear Jesus please help me.", the man begged he was so absolutely panicked. The creature refused to relent. He could almost feel him slithering around him and his wife in bed taunting him to horrid things. The creature was not visible but only in the man's mind. The creatures woods danced around in the man's mind. Over and over again the creature asked to be let in his body. The creature was tempting the man with all his worst desires. The man was beginning to become weak. The creature just refused to let up or shut up and at the same time the man was not annoyed. He was truly being tempted and he knew he was in the presence of evil.

"Our father who art in heaven...", the man did his best to maintain his focus. Over and over again he recited the Lord's Prayer. It seemed to do nothing for him but stave off the creature's request. He knew that this was some sort of test. He had to persevere. He had to break through and maintain what purity he had.

In a high voice the creature was unrelenting, " I told you God doesn't want you. He doesn't care about you. What do you think I am here. If God was with you do you think that I would still be babbling and sounding OH SO GOOD?!"

The man dug in, "by the power of Christ I COMMAND YOU LEAVE!" It was the only thing the man could to think to say recalling the movie with the exorcism from log ago, "LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN!" 

The creature seemed to stop speaking but the images kept bombarding the man's mind. Over and over again he continued to repeat, "BY THE POWER OF CHRIST I COMMAND YOU TO LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN!" 

The images being implanted into his mind began to wane but he could still feel the presence in the room. The man shifted back to prayer and began to say as many prayers over and over again that he knew. Slowly he felt the presence in the room fade and he began to pray as if he was just speaking to God directly, "God please I love you you always take care of me, please surround me with Angels. You know that I love and worship you. Whatever I have done to offend you I am sorry. Please forgive me and let your protection return." 

With all senses of the creature now gone the man finally took a deep breath. He took a look at the clock at his bedside, two hours had past. Somehow he felt like he had just been involved in some sort of battle. As his body slowly began to relax and mind calm his eyes slowly closed and he knew one thing for sure.

"I can't tell a soul", he muttered to himself, and he heard a mock chuckle down the hall.

Come Along My Friend

Come Along My Friend

Come along, come along my friend 

Theres no time to turn back today

Come along, Come along my friend

So much to see, come this way

I know that you keep turning 

Cause you do not want to believe

You do not want to hear it

But you know that you still need

Come along, come along my friend 

Too much to wonder 

Too much to worry

Too much to hold you back now

Come along, come along my friend 

So much to do this day

So much to accomplish

So much to conquer my way

Come along ,come along my friend

Theres not a lot of time left for you

So much time you have wasted

Time you let slip quick 

Because you get flustered so

Come along, come along my friend 

There’s still enough time if you choose

There’s time enough to get done

What you need to do

The War Inside

The War Inside

The pain and the angst rake though my  spine

The daggers of lost hope tear and pull

With the sun slowly shining on the horizon

A chance for pain to fade is full

Cold darkness it surrounds me

Wielding my shield I push it back 

Forged from fire golden like the sun

It cracks the death-lock of black’s cold back

Waging war inside my mind

I push and dig in, the earth it holds

My blood it floods with heated passion 

With sweat of brow my persistence shows

Each day this battles on to the end 

Wasted bodies line the road

Holding on through the end

Holding off all that will corrode

Clouds

"Clouds"

I sit here and I wonder 

My mind in the grey

Eyes on the clouds

Is that where dreams are held?

Drifting as they do

Are the lost on on a mission?

So many clouds I see down here

Passing the sun

Some rain the tears of pain

Others just rumble about

Trying to hold them

Trying to hug

Trying to help them rise once again

In the sky where clouds belong

My feet so heavy 

Like anchors of a ship

Grounded to the rock

Its weight heavy and sound

I do not wish to fly

Tempted by days past by

I wonder I pause then forward

Screaming the pain in my throat rips

Piercing tears into my own ears

Clouds keep falling off the cliff

Over the edge falling into the pit

Am I not worthy?

Is my love to little for some time?

Am I a lonely grain of sand on the beach?

Looking at the masses 

They all look just like me

I do not want to fly

Nor do I want to leave

Can I just be me?

The inside of me 

What I see

Or do I need to learn to fly? 

Like the clouds

Mystery is the answer

So I wait

So I hope

So I pray

Again

By Your Side

By Your Side

I rise and I am amazed

The gift before encompassed in you

Toiling in work you never stop

No goal no achievement to large

Leading the charge relentless in passion

The path behind you scorned

Yet with each passing step you reach for joy

For my angel was given for protection

You were given to me for nourishment

Grateful and humbled I pass through my day

Well fed well clothed warm in love

My arrival sees smiles and I am welcomed home

In you warm arms I leave again

Through the sting, sweat and ache

I long to see you again

My home in my home

Inside your arms can all the pain subside

So each day I move 

And with each breathe

I push to care for you

I push to remove the pain

I push when you fear to fail

I push to boast your accomplishment

I push to teach your value

Hand in hand

And heart in heart

The path that was so lonely

Is not so much so more

Ghosts

Ghosts

by 

Michael Smith

Surrounded by ghosts 

How they haunt and taunt me

Curling their finger

Rotting flesh falls

Smiling with pride

Waiting my heart stalls

Coming back hiding again

The pounding abuse, sin

I try to fade 

I try to sleep

The rats keep biting

Relentless they bit deep

The ghosts keep calling

Oh it sounds so sweet

To my grave they’re calling 

Lay forever and sleep

Tempting me with visions

Tempting in my mind

Tempting so they push me 

Temptation stabs my spine

The ghosts they keep calling 

They lick their lips so sly 

Cracking their knuckles

They want to crack my neck 

Cracking their knuckles I stumble back

Holding on and  fishing

Waiting for the answer

Holding on and wishing

Waiting for the dawn

Ashamed

“Ashamed”

Lying on the floor I hold my breath

Waiting as the cool breeze passes over my body

I wait and hold back the rage

Disappointment comes over me 

Sinking in my chest knows my heart 

Tarnished again I just want to fade

I hear the singing in the distance

Notes floating on the air a tear slowly rolls

I feel the pull hooks deep inside of me

Slowly sinking into the dirt I go

Over my finger nails I try to grasp

I try to dig in I want to fight

I reach out into the void

Yearning for the light

Yearning for some hope

All of my world has come crashing down

Slowly a whisper crawls across my lips

Asking for forgiveness I still feel dirty inside

A rain drop of a tear falls into my hand

A warm embrace comes over me

Lifting gently I begin to become whole again 

Holding Back the Pressure

“Holding Back the Pressure”

by 

Michael Smith

Holding back the pressure

They all want to come in

Screaming out for mercy 

Soaked in sweat again

Holding back the pressure

They’re glaring with their eyes

And the grinding of their daggers 

They want to make them fly

Holding back the pressure

All the spying ears

They’re waiting for the notice

That the time for death is near

Holding back the pressure

Wicked noses on the prowl

They’re searching for the sent of death

So they can feast on a souls down

Holding back the pressure

Every choice in every day

With a lone strong companion

Who helps me walk my path each day 

An Average Day

An Average Day

An average day

I wake I rise and I plow again

The scenery so beautiful again

The path we'll travel 

Free of rocks and obstruction

Ease of passage is a sunrise

Lost in the familiar

Safe and unchallenged

Plodding head down

All known to well no need for seeing

In this chapter the wounds heal

In this chapter peace reins

In this chapter comfort come all too comfortable

Tend to the weeds

Tend to the path

Tend to the heart and what's in

For day that passes without any tending is day that the end begins

End to the peace 

For the enemy sees chance

End to the harvest 

For the weeds have overgrown

End to the heart

For its cold and now selfish

End to the sunrise

For the darkness of remorse casts it clouds

On the floor 

On my knees 

Swollen and sore

My hands on the floor 

Beaten and bruised

Tore is my heart 

For my loved is in pain

Tore is my peace 

For my complacency

There you stand strong honest and true

There you stand strong waiting for me

There you stand strong

The one truth a true love

There you stand strong forgiving and kind

As my head slowly rises

You smile and stretch your hand

In my direction a grip strong and warm

Slowly you pull me up 

I rise once again

Alone I can't stand

But with you I won't fall

You love and you peace

Is mine if I don't wander

So again I move on

Shining Stars

"Shining Stars"

So far away yet you shine so bright

Cold is the time as it swirls around me

Bundled tightly holding my warmth

I close my eyes for my still waters

The thought of your warmth comes to me 

Holding back the knives, oil begins to rain

Though lost your reflection is in the pool

Waving with the current you call me home

A bitter taste swells in the back of my mouth

The scent of burnt dreams are in the air

As an old door shuts, creaks and cackles echo down the hall

Still your bright light calls me home

Stranded in the desert drying like a rock

Marooned on the island crashing like the waves

Peace holds like a pillar of marble

Standing strong unmovable beauty

Strength to hold against any onslaught

So are you within me 

My shining light, my hope of home

A pause, a breath and check of direction

And on I move towards you

When Is It?

Here we sit 

Holding in the knowing 

How to move mountains. 

How to get the water flowing

Over all the years now

Over all the hate 

Over all the love 

To make what we can make

Still some seem to cry

Each and every day

Over all of the hunger

Over all of the pain 

Over all the hatred

That never seems to fade

Who's looking for the answer?

Does anyone seem to care?

Is the release far from starting?

Or has it started and no one is aware?

"Something Fades"

"Something Fades"

My love swells and rolls out my eyes 

Pooling on the ground you walk through it

The trail you leave I follow

The further you go the less that's left behind

Your footprints fade the farther you walk

What are you chasing? 

Perhaps the sun thing undone

Alone in the night I am cold

As dawn rises so do you over the horizon

Like a wind you blow the leaves of tasks blow down the road

Over cracks and potholes they roll

A lonely bird takes notice, chirps twice then soars to the sky

The sun arches through the sky

With its warmth so does yesterday's tracks fade

Onward the wind blows

Onward the leaves flow

And again tracks made fade to nothing 

“Reflection”

Outside the rain falls 

Inside the floor is cold

I wonder about the summer breeze

And the warmth that it does hold

From waking dawn

To pitch black sleep

The screaming dogs nip at my feet

The trail fades

The light is dim

The slender man he calls again

I will reach back and hold my heart

For it is anchored in all that’s seen

And what is left and yet to grow

It holds the key and shoulders none

“Reflection”

Outside the rain falls 

Inside the floor is cold

I wonder about the summer breeze

And the warmth that it does hold

From waking dawn

To pitch black sleep

The screaming dogs nip at my feet

The trail fades

The light is dim

The slender man he calls again

I will reach back and hold my heart

For it is anchored in all that’s seen

And what is left and yet to grow

It holds the key and shoulders none

"Inside My Heart"

Hold me tight 

I won't push back

Your whisper in my ear

Your everything is I need 

Holding off the lust

Waiting for your call

Everything I have

Is yours after all

My arms are open

I am falling fast 

I hope you are around 

To hold too sweet for telling

All my fingers open 

Waiting for you touch

Sliding down a slippery slope

My love needs no anchor

My eyes are now wide open

It's oh so plain to see

Of all the things in everything

Your all is just for me 

“Climbing Out”

The dancing clown is chasing me

Smiling with that grin

He offered his sweet potions

To try and pull me in

I look away everyday

To keep safe what I have

But he is oh so persistent

And his lies don’t seem that bad

I try to shake my head so hard

To get out of this house

The mirrors are confusing 

And time is running out

Each turn I try to holler

And reach out for some help

But all I hear are echoes

Of the screams that I shout

Deep inside I find some peace

A second at a time

Without it I would probably fall

In chains I would reside

And most of all a shining light

That clown hates oh so much

Thats why he hides my matches

And my candles and the such

For all my aches and pains 

That slow me down each day

I gladly bear all of it

So that I can get away

“Alone at Night”

Stuck down in the dark

No light in sight

Just cold black nights

The leaves are rolling down the walk

No one is listening 

One voice will sing

Some eyes now peer from round a corner

A curious mind

Where devils hide

So true a line that wonders by

A shining light

For the cold dark night

Here again they wonder

Here again some feed

Here again she’s crying

Alone inside her deeds

Some say she’ll last forever in and out and by and by

A chance to take

A lonely ache

Some say there is no way that she is one of a kind

Too cut too pure

Too old too blind

Some are blind to whats in store

Ambivalence

A broken shrine

Some will fall and some will soar

So flip the coin

Sit back and ride

Here again is the wonder

Here again is some feed

Here again she’s crying

But she’s not desperate on her knees

Hope, Where Are You?