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Sweet Sacrifice - Writing: A Timeless Celebration

Do you know how it feels

When your spirit soars?

You do?

Good

Then you’ve probably written before

This isn’t some crackpot theory

Or unscrupulous form of chicanery

You can go anywhere

Do anything

Know what it’s like

To be alive

A vibrant dreamscape awaits

This private universe inside

Come

Join me now

Let yourself go

You are always welcome

Always cherished

And your words mean something here

Why would you

Even for a second

Think of going away

Leaving the fruits of your labor

To die on the vine

This kingdom

Built of dreams

Unlike any other

Abandoned      

Falling back into the void

From whence it came

Do not cower from destiny

There are no mistakes here

Evolve

As other creatures have

In this vivid, wondrous land

If you’re worried

About being yourself

Swallow your fear

For you are your words

And your words are you

Together

Inseparable

One

The world wants to know you

Not some rehashed tale

Or soulless tripe

Churned out

By the ivory towers

And paper mills

Of the northeast

Your readers love you

Because you are you

Unique

Real

Someone they can relate to

You are their hope

For better things to come

Validation

That the human soul exists

Let your voice

Desires

Dreams

Be heard

This is your world

Share it with others

In turn

They will gladly share theirs

Go forth

But be quick about it

Come back soon

So that we can hear about

All you’ve discovered

And revel

In this timeless celebration

Of the human spirit

Known as writing

Sweet Sacrifice: Choose To Win

Did you win today?

Did you conquer the day?

No?

Then ask yourself:

What are you doing?

Where has your time gone?

Do you have anything to show for it?

If it’s worth the fight

Do it right

Put your butt in the chair

Take a breath of fresh air

And write

Peck away at the keys

Tell us about the girl and the fire

And that faint summer breeze

For you are a writer

If you choose to be

Begin again

You know how

Choose to win

Right here and now

--S.E. Gordon

Without You - Chapter 9: Designs

I dig through the shelves

At a murderous pace

If I’m in here

So must he

I tear apart each shelf

Dumping the contents

On the floor

Finally

Something I’m good at

Drops of blood

Dab the faded pictures

And I realize

That I’ve failed

To patch the wound

That led to my capture

Always been a slow bleeder

But a wound to the chest?

Even I’m not so talented

To quell the rivers

Flowing from me

I find a thread and needle

Dig out the bullet

With my fingers

It takes every ounce of focus I can muster

Somehow I manage

To sew myself shut

While the walls rattle around me

Hard to tell

How extensive the damage is

Surely I will feel it

In the coming days

The old man patched me up

To some extent

Before he lost his head

Leaving my wound exposed

Beckoning flies

And legions of fowl things

To lay their hatchlings

I dump the remainder

Onto the floor

Mountains of books and paper

Difficult to navigate

But I can barely walk anyways

No harm

No foul

I try to shake my disappointment

As I endure the last of the photos

He is not here after all

I will have to shoulder his memory

A while longer

In my heart

I sift through the files

A worthy distraction

Papers marked ‘Classified’

Awash in acronyms

I cannot comprehend

I stumble across early designs

At first I mistake them

For plans to dust crops

But what I hold are

The seeds of annihilation

Not thermonuclear designs

But small impact

Cluster bombs

Meant to carry

Living organisms

To sow the land

The very ones

Chewing these walls

The deeper I delve

The less I am aware

Of my plight

A series of internal memos confirm

They were not meant

For a common enemy

But the local populace

The liberties of the masses

Can be a nuisance

For the ambitions of the few

Collateral damage

Regrettable

But always deemed necessary

The mites transported the virus

That I am certain

The plague

No coincidence

But an evolution

Of our species

At least that was the idea

Sold at the highest levels

The desired outcome achieved

Their intent sparks my curiosity

For these creatures can tap

The nervous system

Reanimate cadavers

If they so desire

Like the poor fool

On the other side of the wall

All of us puppets

More than any of us imagined

I fear there is more to them

Than I care to know

I look around

Spot a microphone

And communications equipment

In the corner

And I realize

What this place really is

‘Tis not just a bunker

But a station

Meant to warn others

Of the impending holocaust

No doubt many died

For the files in my hands

And many more will perish

To get them back

Without You - Chapter 8: Hideaway

Insects ping

Against the walls

They want in

One and all

No ventilation

No risk of penetration

Locked

Inside this metal box

Please

Please

Let me be

Just go away

Go away

I say

Fluorescent lights

Cast a ruddy hue

Over this cramped space

Loaded guns beckon me

What’s the harm?

Contaminated

You are already

Take one

Pull the trigger

Truly there is nothing

Left to live for

Nothing

I say

But this

I hold up

The tiny orb

Stirring the ashes within

The castle sparkles

And quickly reels me in

Sadness fades

Ever a reminder

Always

There are better days

The banging on the door

Intensifies

Like popcorn

Electrified

A fist pounds

The titanium door

That wayward soul

Back for more

Joining their foolish plea

But you will not get in

Even if there is no air

Left to breathe

Steel shelves

Married to metal walls

Floor to ceiling

A perfect cage

Books overflow their partitions

Printouts held together

By rusty staples

Tucked into cracks

Wherever space allows

Yearning to reveal

Their secrets

Etched onto yellowed pulp

Though damaged

I can still comprehend

Their disdain

Perhaps they can shed light

On how we went astray

I grab a stack

Promptly drop them

To the floor

Like a child

Grabbing wet fish

Clumsy

Bumbling

It’s happening more and more

I lean over

Fall to my knees

It’s easier this way

I tell myself

My body does not move

As it should

In truth

I can barely feel a thing

Amusing

The pain you wish for

As it releases

Its grip from you

I scoop up a folder

Spill the contents inside

Dozens of pictures

Paper the floor

I paw at them

Brush them aside

Familiar faces all

Can it be

I know them

Or is it just another

Fading wart of memory

I stumble across one

I cannot mistake

Bringing chills

To this icy frame

I pick it up

Stare into her

My God

How is it

I was here

Without You - Chapter 7: Legions

Torn from my dreams

As our spirits touch

Cruel

Unfair

Dumped back into

This dirty stinking lair

Impossibly

The corpse rises

This bleak new world

Offers few surprises

He staggers

Knees wobble

Creeps along

With a hobble

Casting a long deep shadow
Over me

He paws at the cranium

On the floor

A sinuous shadow

Scatters inside

He scoops up his crown

Placing it aright

Turns to me

Blood running down his cheeks

Tears of knowledge

Now aware

How little resides

Over there

All along

Salvation but a mirage

An empty song

He ambles forward

Surely he cannot see at all

Driven by a hunger

I know

All too well

Mites scatter over

His scalded form

Needles for legs

Racing over

His mangled core

Hiding cleverly in his folds

Hellish parasites

Of the netherworld

He reaches out

Trembling fingers

Crooked jaw

His throat swells

As he opens his mouth

And one of the beasties

Slips on out

It clings fast

To his tongue

And then shoots out

As if from a gun

Hardly quick

I shift aside

Before it can prick

Or burrow inside

This fading flesh

As I rise

I feel another

Graze my side

I peel it off

Bite off its head

The blood is toxic

Good thing I’m dead

I limp away

They fall in droves

Pouring out

From the vents above

It’s a slow retreat

An escape

That can only be described

As bittersweet

With legions gaining

My energy waning

I reach for the metal door

And slam it shut

Darkness finding me

Once more

Tortured breaths

Escape me

Where are the moon

And stars?

Indeed this portal

Did not get me far

Someone please

Awake me

As my hand stumbles

Across a switch

I flip it over

And make a wish

Without You - Chapter 6: Keepsake

I hold the world

In the palm

Of my hand

Everything I hoped for

Everything I dreamed of

Bound

In this tiny piece of heaven

I shake the globe

Ivory flakes

Spin round and round

Before

I thought them snow

But snow I have not seen

Since The Departure

Only the frost of night

Comes and goes

Before the morning arrives

No longer

Will I mistake it

Such ethereal rain

‘Tis no more than ash

Swirling round

Silver and blue spires

A castle crafted

With fairy tales in mind

Such stories

Long forgotten

In the shadow

Of my past

Once upon a time

I spun my own stories

A princess lived there

I cannot deny

She was I

And though creatures

Of every shape and size

Tried to push their way inside

The shield protected her

From every intruder

And dark intention

Throughout the countryside

Suitors came and left

But no one could crack

The barrier

Around my heart

Till you arrived

The walls peel back

The veil above is stripped away

Stars spin around me

Crystals in a winter storm

Perhaps

They are not ashes at all

But shooting stars

I gaze into the globe once more

And I remember

The part of this

That is yours

You came for me

My love

But did not try

To pierce me

Instead you offered

Your home

Protected

By the same shell

‘Twas not bigger

Smaller still

A tiny cottage

In the woods

Holding the heart

I longed for

Deny myself

I could not

Any longer

Had I grown

Out of touch

Living in a castle

Made of silk and stone

‘Twas too much empty space

Not a whit of life

In its embrace

Came out of my shell did I

Traded yours for mine

Two fireflies

Intertwined

A humble nest

The best of times

I close my eyes

Hold you close

Though a castle

Not a cottage

Rests in my hands

It is the closest

I’ve felt you

In quite a while

And as I nod off

I begin to believe

There are dreams

Still worth dreaming

And a life

Still worth living

Without You - Chapter 5: Muddle

He tells me

He loves me

That I look

Just as I did

Before the flash

That took the skin

From his hands and face

Dare I tell him

He looks worse off

Than me?

He offers a mug of dirty water

And scraps of moldy bread

But I do not touch them

Nor anything

In this disheveled lair

Carved into the hill

He asks how I am

What I’ve done

Who I’ve been with

I am not your dog

You creep

But the words come out wrong

The only word

His pea brain discerns

Is the one

That has eluded me

For so many nights

Sleep?

You wanna sleep with me?

He grins

I was hoping

You would say that

He unbuckles his belt

Leave me alone

I back away

His blood boils

Loneliness

Ekes from every pour

Sparking him in ways

Unintended

You cannot afford

To get me on you

Though I doubt

It will mar

That ugly face of yours

I am unsure

What he heard

Perhaps something

About a whore?

He strips off his pants

With glee

Chases me around the room

Enthusiastically

Speed is not to my advantage

In spite of our shortcomings

Zombies do one thing well

And one thing only

Even if they break every tooth

In that thick cranium of theirs

They feed

As he inserts his deformed member in me

I take a chunk of his neck

And spit it back in his face

He clutches his throat

Staggers back

As I take another from him

Rich though salty

I could not stop there

Nor did I bother

Not until I tore his head

Clean from his shoulders

I could allow myself

To indulge any further

The only soul I had known

Since The Departure

My only hope

However perverse

Just a pile of meat before me

He must be buried

With haste

Lest attract the scourge

Of the mites

Acid

Fire

Tidy tools

To sterilize this hovel

All forgotten

Once I stumbled upon
That part of me
Lost
But now found

The Spawning

Dancing
Whirling
In the fire
I am the ember
Who does not tire
Across the cabin
Roof
Beds
My spark
Is contagious
Mine to spread

The prance
Continues
Into night
From afar
They join me
Muses of light
Radiant
Spinning
Wicked
Brash
The guests falter
Then turn to ash

And from dust
A crystal
Rises in wake
Mine to slumber
Yours to take