I cling to speeding, spinning cones of leadThat pierce the air and armour, skin and bone;Once deep inside, I ditch my deathly rideAnd spread destruction, quell life's fragile wick.I cleave to sharpened shards of stainless steelThat separate the living from the dead.A scratch, a nick, a cut will let me inTo fester in the ragged bloodied flesh.I steal by roadsides, lakesides, seasides, waitingFor unwary or foolhardy soulsTo...

Capodastra: A small movable bar placed across the fingerboard of a guitar or similar instrument so as to raise the pitch of all the strings uniformly. If a thing can call, then it called. Or maybe he just happened to be standing in the right place relative to the thing and the sun. The clouds played a part too, opening at exactly the right time to allow the photons through. The packets of light completed their eight minut...

The brothers had walked many miles, most of them in silence. But for a circling cawing crow, the sky was clear, the air crisp and clean. Green, rolling hills latticed by dry-stonewalls had suddenly turned to a wilderness of golden bracken, bilberry and purple heather. The arching stems of blackberries occasionally bottlenecked the well-worn path. Benjamin paused and smiled into the midday sun, then turned to watch his bro...

The click of the light switch focussed his attention and he bobbed back to the surface of consciousness. Soft, retreating footfalls. A whispered kiss. The baby opened his eyes. A gentle glow illuminated the room to his left and his gaze, seeking comfort, was naturally drawn there. He was warm, full, content, sleepy, and yet still expected something more. The familiar beaming face appeared, garlanded by blonde curls, light...