When the final toll sounded from
the tiny white-washed church,
it climbed up along the hillside
struggling through the hawthorn and the birch.

The moonlight hit the monoliths
standing ringed ‘round the hill
it cast no single shadow, though,
and no sound disturbed the still.

Presently a whimper came
through the dark and moistened soil
out crept a tiny skeletal mouse
and the ground began to boil..

From the vicious churning pit
in the center of the stones,
clawed out more slaughtered animals
long dead, no more than bones.

First spectral hens and hunted game
then fleshless goats and sheep,
came bone by bone from the earth
and called to those asleep.

The strongest had not yet come,
and the soil frothed with might,
A pair of huge and headless oxen
soon were bourn into the night.

The bestial skeletons stumbled back
as they shook mud from rotten coats
the cut marks stood out fresh and white
upon their ghostly throats.

They pawed the ground and from their necks
came a hollow deadened loe.
They cast themselves upon on the ground
as in life, their blood began to flow.

Finally, as these beasts stood round,
a ring within a ring,
deep inside the earth there stirred
a dark primordial thing.

And as those rudely formed eyes opened
Every animal’s bones began to shake
their lifeforce again drifting from them
Into the he now presently awake.

The surface broke with a mighty crack,
and so crumbled each beast’s limb
Their ashes made him grimly smile
For they had been sacrificed to him.

He loomed alone on the hilltop
Surrounded by his ancient adorer’s stones.
He cried “I’ve slept for two thousand years,
Now I’ve come back to claim my throne!”

At last we meet again, my love
My oath was true, I kept my word
Not Hades' depths nor God above
Could keep me from your presence.

You're still a beauty, valentine
Your voice a melody unheard
Too long by these poor ears of mine
That suffered so in silence.

Oh how I've yearned to touch your cheek
And run my fingers through your hair
But now I need no longer seek
Such simple little pleasures.

For here I am, my darling lad
My love to once again declare
Now we'll resume what we once had
And share eternal treasures.

Why do you tremble so, my prize?
Can it have been so long since we
Last gazed into each others eyes
With love our hearts a-rending?

Just know that in the time since then
I've learned things, most importantly
Despite the stubborn thoughts of men
That death is not an ending.

My spirit frightens you, I know
But stand your ground, please do not run
Just know that I have found a way
To keep our love unsevered.

For now I have you in my grasp
Do not resist, my pretty one
For as you breathe your final rasp
We'll be as one... forever.

It was a bright day, and she shielded her eyes,
The sun, bright and warm, drifted in the blue sky.
She got in the car quickly and began to drive,
All the time knowing it was her day to die.

She turned up the radio and sang along,
She knew they'd be playing her favorite song.
He had told her they would; he was never wrong.
The light began fading, it wouldn't be long.

The long road was dusty, the gravel was loud,
The trees hid the light, a natural shroud.
She turned down the volume and gazed around,
He would be here, she knew; he had given his vow.

The shadows grew deep as she stepped on the trail,
Her steps never faltered and she never failed.
The woods were old, haunted, according to the tales.
He had showed her the way, in her dream, through the veil.

The wind whispered softly, calling her name,
The branches were menacing, trying to maim.
But she stayed the course, and onward she came,
Though the wind cursed her deeply, she never waned.

A clearing ahead, and she made out the tomb,
Majestic yet fallen, where once it had loomed.
He was there, pale and beautiful, despite the gloom,
She placed her hand in his, thereby sealing her doom.

Lying on the altar she could see the night sky,
Her courage wavered and tears slipped from her eyes.
He said, “None have been ready; we try to deny,
But our human spirits must keep hold of the lie.”

He stroked her cheek softly. “Now my love, it is time.”
His fangs gleamed briefly, she saw lust in his eyes.
“We'll be together forever once this body dies.”
He bent over and fed, heedless of her cries.

Her car was soon found, and they searched, but in vain.
They remember her smile, they cope with their pain.
She remembers them faintly, though she isn't the same,
In her death she loves truly; in this realm she reigns.

Lying restless, tossing, turning
In my dreams a fire burning
Burning, with a hellish light
Casting shadows in the night.

I see shapes of demons, swirling
In the fire, rising, twirling
I move closer to the sight
As if drawn, though weak of fright.

As I'm closing in I'm hearing
Voices in the fire, shearing
Through my brain like red-hot steel
I take flight, the pain feels real.

Still I hear the voices calling,
Suddently I stumble, falling
Hearing sounds of breaking glass
Landing hard in dewy grass.

Lying bleeding, broken, battered
In the grass, on shards that shattered,
Realizing with a scream-
This is real, it's not a dream!

I look up, and see a flaming
Window frame, its remnants framing
Ceiling of my bedroom, burning.
I laid sleeping, tossing, turning,
Inside just a while before.
I don't want to sleep no more.

When darkness falls on Halloween
There comes a time of in between.
The dead and living, side by side;
The tender have no place to hide.

All those who have so long been cold,
And corpses not as yet unsound,
Will find the border unpatrolled
That keeps them ever underground;
Experience a new rebirth,
And wander free above the earth.

The living know that, on this night,
There’s no effective main or might
That can protect us from the curse.
No magic spell that will disperse
The undead hordes that roam about
And prey on wicked and devout.
The most that you and I can hope
Is to evade the zombie’s grope.

If we fall prey to their foul grasp,
Our limbs caught firmly in the clasp
Of beings who mean ill, not good,
Our fate is not misunderstood.

To lie immobile in the grave
Until the coming Halloween,
While time and darkness both deprave
And decay renders us obscene.
But on that night we can arise
In perfect form to terrorize!

To my lovely bride

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
No other bride
Compares to you.

Your lovely skin
A shade of green,
A color that’s
So rarely seen.

I feel your hand,
So cold and smooth.
With your touch,
You calm and soothe.

An eye of blue,
An eye of green,
So fitting for
A beauty queen.

You never age,
You never sag.
The stitches hold,
My loving hag.

My blushing bride
You’ll always be,
For none can steal
Your love from me.

And if they try,
I promise this –
They will taste
Death’s sure kiss!

She walked along the quiet lane,
A hard day’s work now o’er.
She thought of home, and quiet hearth,
A simple night of pleasure.

As twilight crept across the land,
She walked with growing quickness.
The night grew dark, and cold, and still
As sunlight turned to darkness.

The harvest moon rose in the sky,
A bright and glowing ball.
Its silver beams lit up the lane,
And cast long shadow’s pall.

And then she thought she heard a sound,
Coming from the trees.
A rustling – but wait, it stopped.
A mouse or gentle breeze?

But then she heard the noise again,
Moving ever closer.
No breeze or mouse would sound like that,
A horror overtook her.

She ran along the quiet lane,
Pursued by unknown terrors.
The tree’s long shadows mocked her flight,
Their branches reaching for her.

She ran ‘till she could run no more,
Her lungs ready to burst.
She paused, then took a chance and turned
Preparing for the worst.

The shadowed lane was silent,
Her heartbeat filled her ears.
Then she saw the glowing eyes,
The sum of all her fears.

It took a step into the lane,
The moon lit up its face.
She looked into the eyes of death,
A wolf in human shape.

She turned and tried to run away,
Escape the evil beast.
She felt its claws sink sharp and deep,
Followed closely by its teeth.

The pain then overwhelmed her,
She fainted with a sigh.
And in the werewolf’s fierce embrace,
Her soul did slowly die.

Now when the moon shines bright and full,
She wanders down the lane.
Beware! For if you cross her path,
Your fate will be the same.

Three old bones lie
in wait, on a shelf.
Across from a pendant
alone by itself.

It sits on a chair
that rocks back and forth,
without soul or feet
set firmly a'north.

All this in a house
in the shade of a hill,
where the sun never reaches;
perpetual chill.

A man in a coat
stuck out in the cold.
finds shelter inside
this haven of mold.

One glance at the shelf
and unseen dead rocker,
this man's eyes grow big
a yellowing gawker.

His body filled up
with the black gout of fear,
his movement to cease
in the space of a year.

Now three old bones lie
in wait, on a shelf.
Across from a pendant
alone by itself.

Except for a coat,
wrapped 'round death, all inside.
Bones dead of shock,
lost in life, old and dried.

(A Halloween Sestina)

The night is bright with the full moon
And the air is thick with death
Demons rise from the pits of Hell
To feast on the warm flowing blood
And humans became the sacrifice
As evil walks in the flesh.

The stench of rotting flesh
The eerie radiance of the pale moon
Waned over the chosen sacrifice
The fear is not of death
Nor the rituals of blood
But of burning eternal in Hell

You will soon discover Hell
As the demons gnaw your flesh
And drink your blood
In the light of the moon
You will beg for death
For you are my chosen sacrifice

And my poor scared sacrifice
Be enough to appease the Lord of Hell
Will the Death
Of your Flesh
Cause the Moon
To weep tears of blood

The final drops of blood
Drain from the flesh of my sacrifice
As the waning of the moon
And the gates to the pits of Hell
Reject your useless flesh
And your soul yearns for death

But you are not claimed death
Although your body contains no blood
Your spirit is trapped in your flesh
Because for those who are my sacrifice
Are doomed to a undead Hell
To awake only with the moon

You have become death beneath the moon
The only desire is blood and flesh
And to find the next Sacrifice to Hell

Waking up itchy in a bed of spiders
or losing body parts to a shark
are just a few of the nightmares I’ve had
since being afraid of the dark,
and now that I’m an adult
my nightmares are even worse
things like cannibalism, drowning and murder
are only the first
ideas in a line of skeletons crawling out of the cupboard

Ever since reading Soylent Green
or David Suzuki’s 'Survival'
I’ve been listening to scientist’s tales -
awaiting Armageddon’s arrival

Who knows if the necromonicon really works
or if witchcraft is sincere?
I’ve seen the Amityville Horror
and it made me sweat with fear

I worry for my children;
abductions, drugs and pain,
paedophilia and justice gone wrong -
today’s reality is insane
I worry for my future;
I’m broke, tired and depressed
with nowhere to live and no one to care
growing old is a fearful mess

I’m scared of being scared
that all this extra stress
causes me to prophetise,
self-fulfilling nightmares