It is peaceful now, the lake silent and cold. I am the last as I look back toward the now-distant shore. My wife and my children are safe and warm in our home. I will never see them again, not in this life. The hoards from the north have made sure of that. Raedwulf is still but a child. He will grow strong and become a brave warrior, like his father. Raegan, as her mother, Ragnhild, is already becoming a skilled shield ma...

“And I hate that picture too.” He turned to look at the new target of her ire. “Lake Hintersee? But why? It’s beautiful.” “That lake was beautiful but that picture is just like you. It’s boring and empty. Your eye gets drawn to the dead centre. Dead, empty and soulless.” With that, she turned and picked up her coat. “I’ll be back while you’re at work to collect my stuff.” James stared at the closed door for what felt like...

Snow danced and swirled, driven across the lake by brisk winds. Jenn looked out her cabin’s window and sighed. She put more wood on the fire. The cabin was small enough that a wood stove was sufficient for heat. Sitting at a table by the window, Jenn leafed through her sketchbook. It was filled with drawings of snowflakes. Jenn had not yet figured out what she was trying to capture in these drawings. She just kept observi...

It may be fifty years since we got married, but it only seems like yesterday. Half a century has gone in the blink of an eye. Five decades of happiness and woes, triumphs and failures, laughter and tears. Memories come and go, but one day I will always remember was our honeymoon. We didn’t have a lot of cash at the time, so we took any deal that was offered. It being winter, we hoped for a flight to somewhere warm. Alas,...

It is just a snowflake they tell me. But to me, he is everything. He is my start and my beginning, my alpha and omega, my exodus and my stage left standing ovation. No, I know it doesn’t make sense to you. If you’re like everyone else, you think I’m delusional. You think I am nuts, unwell, crazy, whatever word you use that you think won’t hurt my feelings, or will make me look at my feelings and change my behavior. I have...

My neighbors, I imagine, know me as that guy who stands in the middle of the street for no apparent reason. Is he okay? they probably wonder. Perhaps someone should call 911 Okay. It’s a little embarrassing, but I’ll take the hit Trees block our windows; I need to leave these walls to look at clouds, the moon, a starry night Things that I can’t see from inside my house. I stand in the middle of the cracked asphalt and fee...

I am running Running as fast as I can Heart pounding, lungs burning Scurrying through the undergrowth Frantically dodging and stepping I am frightened Oh, so frightened For they are close now So close Seeking me out But then Then there is a second A breathless second of calm Have they lost the scent? Trembling, I hide I close my eyes and imagine Imagine I am home Home with you, my love Safe and full of life Comforted by y...

I think I get caught up in others To avoid my own reflection. When self-doubt and depression smothers I’m called for decompression. I think I get caught up while they swim in despair While tears fall steady and slow And not all moments should be shared When others tend to lose control. My own goes in a windowed box Where the cycle will rarely cease From the inside it locks And breathe slow when others find peace. Watching...

If I could write a poem, I’d celebrate her style How roses blush in envy, At the radiance of her smile. As I sit in awe, just watching Her form, aglow in silken white. Now she waits, in peace and loveliness For her chosen, loving knight If I could write a poem, I’d fill it to my own delight Perfectly adapted so I could be That bold and blessed knight. Our hands they’d clench together Our hearts would mingle too No matter...

Waking from my slumber, my eyes open Grateful darkness isn’t yet complete Staring out the window as despair creeps in While my vision skews the lights from the street. There was a time when things were much clearer A happier existence ere lights blurred A calmer, simpler time, and oh so sweet That stage of life before the dark occurred. Once all the sights before my eyes of blue Were awe-inspiring, lofty, and sublime But...

In exhausting dreams, There is no solace, no peace In unconsciousness, There is no escape; fears release Thoughts morph into demons, Stalking, Watching, Preying, Panic sets inAs courage weakensWalking, Running, Sprinting As claws dig into flesh No turning back The wound is fresh Howls form into words “In your imagination, you are free” Lies and deceit That is a guarantee For demons never let you rest Waking or asleep Impr...

You may think me a friend From the moment I started But my wonderful gift You just took for granted You wish me away At times of great sorrow Put off from today The things for tomorrow With each passing moment The stronger I get Only when I’m gone Do you start to regret I move past so quickly I’m here and then gone One moment in time That doesn’t last long You look back in anger You start to lament All the time that you s...

Imagine, If you can. A place where you can hide. Safety in anonymity, Rather than, Reveal yourself where you reside. Peace, Sought yet rarely found. Comes in the smallest doses. Like cat’s feet in grass, It comes with nary a sound. Just a click of the door as it closes. Dream, Be it night or day. Details are ever so rare. Sound asleep or wide awake, Failure will always find a way, To turn every dream into a nightmare.

Peace be upon you; And also with me - -- and all within me Imagine being many A pantheon of souls A galaxy born from a stray dream An idle thought turned semen seed and grown Expanding facets of self -- blossomed to full And flowered to flesh of mind Mature in astral attitude Speaking with the retro or futurist swagger And accent of a Time known only to Ancestors -- or descendants from some parallel or tangential Era Imag...

Penny Lambert sat in the darkest corner of the bar, nursing a glass of Orange juice. She checked her watch... again! Still only ten o'clock. She had never felt so lonely and miserable. In fact, the whole week had been miserable. Only one week before, she had spent Christmas day with her family. Her husband and two young children had a wonderful day whilst she had tried, quite successfully, not to show the emptiness and gu...