This

Empty words... Hollow thoughts... Abandoned souls... Forgotten hearts Stranded in clouds of confusion A place gone wrong in a time that has lost itself Between the shadows I stand Eyes askance to the faded light of hope's dying beacon.

Another cut from my book, Wingstone

With the words of the Millennium Soul still ringing in his thoughts, Algastna found himself back where he started. He moved through the masses of demons. He felt their eyes upon him, narrowed and angry. The snarls of hatred and scorn that arose from the lesser demons were echoed by the talon slashes of the most powerful. Algastna’s golden blood flowed from the strikes, as he moved closer to the unavoidable. He knew that no demon has ever disobeyed the master, and continued to exist. It was the way of this world, And he was no exception. At the end of the line stood Demon Leviathan, an immense reptilian beast of the darkness and demise. Leviathan lashed out to grab Algastna. Algastna, with a firm grip, dug his talons into the wrist of Leviathan and said, "I will enter the chamber myself.” Instantly, Leviathan’s other claw struck Algastna to the ground. The other demons, including the lesser, seized the moment and swarmed in quickly to maintain the attack. They overran Algastna, and thrashed him in ways only demons know. The wretched shrieks filled every gap of silence. With eyes widened in anger, Algastna roared in pain, as he struggled to remove Leviathan's heavy foot from his chest. Leviathan bellowed in superior outrage "Enough!" He swiped the other demons away. He reached down and clutched Algastna’s throat, and promptly lifted him to his eye level. For the longest time Leviathan had yearned for this moment. Although superior in size and strength, he lacked the sly and treacherous ways of Algastna. Now, with Algastna out of the way, he might now be allowed to visit the mortal world and serve more closely with the Master.
Leviathan snarled with hatred, "See what disobedience leads you to? Failing your task is one thing, but you denied it! My only regret is that I will not be allowed to destroy you myself. To me, this place will be much more suitable for me without you in it.” With that, Leviathan flung the once revered Algastna into the chamber of Ulkaru.
The weakened Algastna slowly rose. In a flash, Ulkaru leapt across the dark chamber with a roar loud enough to be heard in three worlds. He slammed Algastna against a jagged wall and tore into him. Ulkaru’s talons dug in sharply. Struggling against the talons with all his strength, Algasnta managed to break lose, as the golden blood dripped. He roared in the venom of demonspeak "Wait! Hear the rest!" Ulkaru roared back in reply, "What can you possibly have to say at this point?" Thinking quickly, Algastna said, "There is something about the millennium soul you may have overlooked. It prevents the mortals from destroying itself." Ulkaru interrupts "I already know this. That is why I want it here. What care I if the mortals destroy themselves?” Algastna continued, "If the mortals destroy themselves, we will have no purpose, and we too will cease to exist. The fact that this soul exists at all proves that point. I saw that soul and I know what it is capable of. Others have tried to take it for you and have failed. I agree that it would make a very handsome trophy for you, but at what expense?" Ulkaru became angrier at that statement, and again grabbed Algastna by the throat. Holding him inches away from his deadly horns, as they adjust themselves to within inches of his face. Ulkaru scowled, "No demon has ever defied me before. You seem very concerned with those mindless mortals. I do not happen to share that concern.” Algastna boldly stated, “Forget not that you have tried and failed to acquire this soul far more times that I have!” Ulkaru roared in outrage at Algastna’s remark “Right now, I can think of at least a thousand ways and a thousand reasons to end your existence. You have disobeyed me, you have dishonored me, and now you try to trick me with your sly words. I have ended the existence of demons far greater than you for far less than this. But that would be to good for you. Your fate shall be worse than nothingness. Your fate shall be of the worst I can make. If you like the mortals so much, I now condemn you now to walk with them for the rest of time itself. You will be stripped of your power, except that of immortality. You will feel what they feel. Ten fold! You will be subject to all the natural ways of their world, and you will have to do it over and over and over for what will seem to you forever, because it will be. You will see just how long a thousand years can be. You will see that it is a long time to wait. Their misery will become your pain. Their death will become your envy and you will unable to take your own life! You will come to loathe these mortals. You will take many of their lives in exchange for your outrage. You will hate them and they shall hate you. It will be worse for you to be there than it is for them to be here. And at the end of it all, I will still be here to destroy you at the end of the thousand years.” With a sudden lunge, Ulkaru snatched Algastna by the throat and dragged him to the altar of his throne. There, the seven sacred stones reside. A stone of white, the Lightstone. Holder of enlightenment, knowledge, wisdom and all of light itself. One of black, the Nightstone. Possessor of night, darkness, shadows, fear, ignorance and doubt. A stone of green. The Earthstone. Possessor of fire, water, rock, wind, thunder and lightening. One of red, the Lifestone. Possessor of healing, rejuvenation, desire, strength, and fertility. One of gold, the Timestone, possessor of beginnings, ends, points between, age, distance, and all the various realms of reality. The violet one is the Deathstone. Holder of sickness, sadness, grief, misery, and hate. And one more. A stone so unlike the rest. One last stone kept separate from them all. A stone forged by the angels and stolen from them long ago. A stone of translucent sapphire blue. The Wingstone. Bestowed with freedom, truth, inspiration, love, joy, laughter, grace and blessed with the power of flight in the mortal world. Ulkaru selected the Earthstone and held it in his giant claw. He extended his arm. To the side of the altar, a churning maelstrom of sand, fire, and time swelled from the dark abyss. The hollowed sound of air taking a breath tornadoed past them. At the center of the maelstrom, a dark threshold shimmered open. Algastna, wide eyed in fear and rage, struggled to break free. Ulkaru reeled back. With a final roar, casts him through the earth window. In a frantic final scramble, Algastna reached for something... anything to hold on to. He grabbed the Wingstone, just as he was thrown through the aperture. A crack of thunder rolled throughout the three worlds. The angels shivered. The demons convulsed in atonement. Continents shook. The waters of the great oceans rolled. The sun fell into eclipse. Mankind had just received a new dark legend. Never before had a demon in corporeal form, stood upon the earth.

Untitled .. 2010

Beneath the shade of the past
Under the tree of yesterdays
We find the eyes to see today
This time we mustn’t blink
...did you see it then?

In the realm of times tides
Ever waning, ever waxing
We lap the sands that time demands
Tasting the shores of a gentle future
...can you see it now?

All around the skies will fall
The ground shall rise, the grass grow tall
Its not my rule... Its just because
Behind us now is what once was
… will you see it tomorrow?

Can time heal wounds that can’t be seen?
Does time even know what the hell we mean?
In the azure eyes of dawns blue skies
Her eyes fight back the night inside
Whispers overheard in yesterdays ears
Cheeks still wet from ancient tears

******* Act II *****************

I’ll tell you something no one knows
The first time that the full moon rose
The lovelight lit, inside it glows
I need you….

Tomorrow brings a brand new day
No one knows just what to say
So often it’s the price we pay
I want you….

Inspired thoughts within my head
With no one there to read what’s read
Its often heard but never said
I love you….

All the X’s. all the O’s
For this poem I must now close
Its what’s inside its not what shows
Forever…..

******* Act III ****************

Heartbeats … Sighs … Planets orbit… Comets trace the midnight sky …
Arroyo of love.. fire.. and time…. A burst of light.. Chime of angelsong …
We are born to yesterday.. once more. The calm soothing mist of eternity drapes across
the eyes of peace … All is as it should be.. fade to sunrise … Good morning

I love you ..
The End……

"Wingstone" ... page one

Summer, 1978
A soft, warm breeze blew gently from the south across a lake somewhere in Michigan. The sun had all but set, and the western sky was still blue. A few wisps of pink clouds refused to give up the last sinking sunrays. Frogs, birds, and other nocturnal creatures came alive to welcome the moon and stars with their nightsong. Not far from the shore of this lake was a small and picturesque summerhouse. The screen door slammed shut behind the footsteps of a beautiful young girl of about four years old. Her reddish blond hair shimmered in contrast of the fading light. Her fair skin stood out against the impending darkness. She took a deep breath and sighed, happy to be away from the loud music of the small party her parents were having. She really liked coming here, though. It was safe, fresh, and all very interesting to her youthful curiosity. She smiled as she looked out across the calm lake, never knowing that what she was feeling was the joy of life. She stepped off the porch into the sandy ground. The sand, still warm from the summertime sun filled the little spaces between her toes. From the window next to the porch, her mother peered out and spoke above the music, "Tina, you have a half hour before bedtime. Stay close to the house. Stay away from the woods and don’t go into the water.” Tina looked back over her shoulder and said, "OK, Mom." She walked toward the shore, and picked up a small stick. She walked along the shoreline, dragging it in the moist sand poking and splashing the stick into the water. The cool lake water felt so nice, as its' ripples licked against her hot, sandy little feet. There she stood, away from the loud music, listening to the nightsong instead. Just then, a small silvery fish leapt from the water in front of her. She was fascinated. The fish jumped again, and again, moving farther and farther away from the shore with each little jump. Amazed by the jumping fish, Tina waded into the shallow hip deep water. She took a number of steps away from the shore, deeper toward the jumping fish. The hip deep water became chest high. With the small fish, almost within reach, she took one more step. She stepped on nothing. The lake dropped to over twelve feet deep. Down she went. The lake rushed into her mouth. She bobbed up, wild eyed and gasping. Unable to swim, she went under again, swallowing water as fast as she could. The frantic splashes could not be heard from the summerhouse. From beneath the surface of the water, she saw a shadow from above, as she slipped into unconsciousness. Above the surface, the beat of mighty wings caused rhythmic ripples in the water as two large talons thrust below the surface to gasp the body of this child. She was pulled from the lake, with trails of water, streaming from her clothes and hair. Her limp body was gently placed in the soft, warm, dry sand at the shore. A large talon gripped her around her chest. Her shoulder and left arm clasped between two of four digits. A deep, hollow, resonate sound echoed across the lake and all through the woods. Frightened birds scattered from the trees. Two teenagers on the other side of the lake, lying in the sand in passionate embrace, quickly stood and looked around. Chills ran through them like sharp frigid electricity. In a few seconds, all was quiet. No breeze. No light. No nightsong.
What seemed like a second later, Tina opened her eyes and took a gasping deep breath. She sat up in the sand, and coughed, only to realize that there is nothing wrong. She quickly looked around. She thought she remembered what happened. She remembered the silvery little fish. She remembered the cold deep water. Maybe she was wrong. Her clothes and hair were dry. All around her in the dry sand were ridges and ripples caused by the powerful sound waves. She got up, still confused by her experience. She took another deep breath and was about to cry, but her fear was abruptly displaced by a warm, calm, joyous sensation. A feeling she would never forget. Off she ran, guided only by the porch light on summerhouse, at the Shore of Devils Lake.