\nAnd the mastiff hounds howl \u2018pon the moor,
\nHeralding a prophesy of a return of him
\nWho once with strength and anger did deplore
\nThe unjust decrees of a distant heaven
\nThat had robbed him of his life\u2019s single joy,
\nLeaving him empty, bitter and deadened
\nLittle more than uncaring Destiny\u2019s broken toy.
\n
\nThe Children of Lost Hope anxiously do wait,
\nAs across the vast moat of blackest dreaming,
\nOld Charon does ferry a Herald of direst human traits,
\nAn unmade priest, lead voice of a choir for screaming.
\n
\nCrossing the Styx, the waters of night filled with souls,
\nThe Ferryman brings \u2018cross the Traveler, solemn and dread,
\nUnconcerned with Justice or for whom Truth\u2019s bell tolls,
\nOnly knowing his duty, to carry the lost shades of the dead,
\nJourneying \u2018twixt the worlds of the Light and the Dark,
\nAsking no questions and hearing no tales,
\nSeeing only the movement of Fate, cruel and stark,
\nAnd hearing the songs of torment the unholy wail.
\n
\nWithout shame and in regal distress he would return
\nThis princely cleric of tattered soured belief,
\nAnd words of his cold gospel would again burn,
\nIn hearts and minds of those for whom Faith is not relief.
\nLight turns to shadow and the echoes of howling fade,
\nAs from the dreaded ferry he does finally stride,
\nBringing a legacy of broken promises to trade,
\nAnd the highways of nightmare he is anxious to ride.
\n
\nPensive at the castle\u2019s gates she stands,
\nWrapped warm \u2018gainst the wintry night,
\nThe dry remnants of a waxen rose in hand,
\nMemento to lost bittersweet delight.
\nOn the hill, the moon behind the oak is dull,
\nThe trip was long and the night chilled,
\nThe Lady holds her secrets close, memory full,
\nAnd she waits entry to a home of mysteries filled.
\nDreamt she on her journey of her strong beloved,
\nA knight, a knave, a paradox of moods,
\nAnd her sadness grew, fitting soul like a glove,
\n\u2018cause on his untimely demise she did brood.
\n
\nThe Dark Lady of the Midwinter\u2019s Night,
\nA cheerless child her father named Angelique,
\nWaited in tearful solemnity, to the Devil\u2019s delight,
\nTo go home one last time, her tragedy unique,
\nAs alone and bathed in starlight cold,
\nShe tried to quiet the voices in her head,
\nSome just brittle whispers, most angry and bold,
\nFor it was because of her that her Knight is dead.
\n
\nAn empress is she, royal and majestic and grand,
\nA queen of the evermore fallen eve,
\nHer cold fragile heart clasped in a pale undead hand,
\nHer life the dire web of a spider\u2019s weave.
\n
\nThe Ferryman unsmiling did bring her across,
\nShe followed a Pale Priest of Dead Hopes,
\nAnd into Charon\u2019s hands two coins she did toss,
\nTaken off sightless eyes at the end of Life\u2019s rope.
\n
\nThe Ferryman is tired, yet his labors never cease,
\nRich and poor, weak and strong, all he does carry,
\nWhile the Clock of Life shreds Time piece by piece,
\nThe line of travelers is endless and he cannot tarry.
\nSo a Saint of Flesh and Shadow, he returned to the living,
\nAnd a gentle Lady of secrets and red despair,
\nToday second chances at redemption he is giving,
\nA hollow hope Love and Memory can be unburden\u2019d,
\nYet well he knows that of this Life all is prior written,
\nAnd though triumphantly from darkness have ye returned,
\nBy poison fangs of Destiny, All has already been bitten.
\n
\nWhen at last he returns to his nightmare shore,
\nEndless eternal day\u2019s task momentarily ended,
\nHe spies a thing of beauty, naught could shock him more,
\nA bouquet of black roses, left alone and untended,
\nA gift of Grace from some fractured unyielding soul,
\nKnowing that they yet reside in Hell,
\nBut daring to set forth an honorable goal,
\nOf thanks to a ferryman for a job done well.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n![\"1196372998383oj4\"](\"http:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/1196372998383oj4.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n
\nBIO<\/strong>
<\/strong>
Joseph Armstead is a suspense-thriller and horror author living in the United States’ San Francisco Bay Area. Author of a dozen short stories and ten novels, his poetry has been published in a wide range of online journals, webzines and print magazines. A mathematician, Futurist and computer technologist, Mr. Armstead’s poetry often defies easy description, but frequently includes neo-classical imagery, surrealist viewpoints and post-modern themes.<\/strong>
\n
\n
\nrobin@artvilla.com<\/a>
\nPoetryLifeTimes<\/a>
\nPoetry Life & Times<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n