The Never Bird

 I'm not discussing Mr Poe's raven

Who so distinctly shared his Nevermore.

Instead I bring you the feathery fellow 

Who abides beyond my balcony,

His name is Never.

Why? Because he proclaims,

He alerts, he squeeks, he gossips,

He shouts, at a steady hours long 

Rant. To declare, and inform, from his 

Watchtower ceaselessly without taking a breath 

Or a break in an endless constant not 

Pretty symphony of mind numbing noise.

I call him Never. Because he never shuts up.

kel

V'rain, The red Dragon, the story continues...

  V'rain, the red Dragon, visits me during my dreams, and lurks like an unfinished nightmare during the hours of daylight. This was not always so, especially since dragons live no more in this realm.
They cannot come unbidden, there is always an invitation.

   One dark night, as I sat starring into my small fire, I pondered the stories that had been passed down to us, some meant to scare small children, and some meant to glorify a kingdom, an image upon a unfurled flag.  I pictured a huge beast, with eyes like molten gold. Then shuddering at the thought, I brushed it aside and lay down to rest.

   In the darkest hours of the night, 3 bells tolled, and my dreamscape unrolled before me. There, wandering some dark and ancient hall, stood I, frozen to my spot and listening. "Whump-whump-whump," that echoed down the hall and vibrated my ears. It repeated, "Whump-whump-whump," like some giant bird hovering above the hall in which I stood. Suddenly I heard other sounds, the cries of fear, the running of feet, and the crowd of others were running around me, past me, almost knocking me over. "Whump-whump-whump!" Now I looked up, feeling the hair on my head blown back by mighty gusts of wind.

  What I saw, red glistening scales that went on forever, I could not see the whole of it, it was simply too big. I slowly turned in a circle gazing upward, until I came to two molten eyes starring down at me. I forgot to breathe, I stumbled backwards, trying to keep my footing..and the thought "RUN!" trembled through my body. Turning and running as fast as I could for the shadows that might conceal me...until I heard

"You, cannot hide little human." again, the deepest of rumbling that I felt through my entire body.
" I was invited, do not be rude."

  I stopped almost falling, feeling the shock, still the vibrations that filled me. Turning I looked up
with my mouth wide open, as foolish looking as a fish.

"Yes, little human, You called Me."

"No, no, no, not possible!" I managed to sputter.

"Tsk, tsk, I heard you." rumbled the beast.

" I said nothing!" I shouted.

" No, but you thought upon me." rumbled the dragon.

" A thought?" said I, "A thought? How can that bring you here?"

" I am not of your world any longer. Thoughts and dreams call me back. Your thoughts little human."

" Who are you?" I asked.

" Why, I am V'rain, the Red Dragon..I bring fear to all that see me, and so shall you little human."


*To be continued.*

*******************************************************************

Jolted awake by the threat in my dream, still breathing heavy as if I had run down dark halls.
A cold sweat following the memory of molten eyes and rumbling voice that felt as though my very bones quivered in response.

Slowly I turned seeing the fire only faintly flowing embers, and quickly cast my eyes someplace that did not resemble a dragon's eyes. A crack in the shutter showed early morning light, and a sigh of relief escaped me.  No dragon's here..and I prayed it was so.

Tumbling off the bed, stretching and feeling sore muscles that should not have been. I could not have really been there, I mean that would be impossible. I snorted at my own foolish notions and set about getting ready for the day.

Refreshing the fire to break my fast was far harder than I could imagine. Red mixing with gold, and me jumping at each pop of the wood catching. Grabbing a pail I headed out the door for water and personal needs, fussing at my self audibly. There was a fine mist swirling over the ground, something I had not seen in quite some time. Something my old Granny had called "Dragon's Breath." The sound of me growling at my own fancy's echoed in the still quiet woods surrounding my home.

And so my day continued. Every so often my mind would dip back into the dream, recalling the sheer terror that I had felt. feeling the ice cold of the old hall, hearing the 'whump' of giant wings, I came close to smacking myself a few times, desperate  to shake the images and sensations from my head. I dug myself into mundane chores and assured myself that it had just been a nightmare, a right nasty one at that.

I must admit that I set out to sweat the vision from my head. I chopped wood, tended to my small menagerie of animals, feeding the chickens and milking the cow, fussing at the cats wandering around the shed. Then I jumped into tilling and weeding my garden, gathering ripened produce, watering and sweating as much as was possible on a cool spring day. After wiping my brow for 100th time the thought of a cool dip in the pond carried me out of the homestead and down a path towards running water. The woods were still just awakening, small tight bright green buds adorned branches. The bird song joyous and varied, and my mood lightened.

The shock of winters chill still clung to the pond, and I quickly decided that a short bath would be quite sufficient.Splashing, swiping water from my face and hair, and jumping out almost as quickly as I had gotten in. Drying off I found a warmer sunny spot on the bank and sat down to rest for a spell. I closed my eyes, listening to the wind, the trees and the birds, feeling the sun warm me.
I had not meant to doze off, but a night without rest and hard work made me drowsy, and so I nodded into sleep.

October

*I simply cannot let my favorite month slip by without mentioning the thoughts and feelings it stirs. :-)*

Tonight the moon is full and glowing
and the wind sends full gusts of frosty air,
scattering fallen leaves into whirl winds
of skittering sound;
a million tiny clawed feet
madly dashing across flat roads.
It's the time that I feel the most alive,
the most energized,
it's the time of change.

Perhaps it is old blood memories
of a time before
when October meant urgency
to gather and store for a harsh winter ahead.
Maybe my blood also sings of
old beliefs and superstitions,
of the Wild Hunt
and hiding near a bright fire
with the first of the Jack-o-Lanterns
scaring dreaded beasts and the dead
away from the threshold.

Then to be out on such a night
would cause the bravest of souls to freeze
in terror at every sound that might be a footstep.
Now our imaginations place
monsters and ghosts a foot.
behind bushes and trees,
as we gather little monsters
to call on neighbors and beg for
sweets.

So many share this feeling
of anticipation to be frightened,
to be surprised enough to scream out loud,
then laugh at our foolishness,
that it has to be that we all carry blood memories
of those long lost days, of a much simpler
time, of days and nights spent in
celebration of the changing seasons.

Autumn's Samhain, celebrating the end of the harvest,
and honoring the dead.

~K

Not a good day

Trapped
that ol' black hole has swallowed me. 
It's been a while, and I do not welcome it back.

Decisions
made with best intentions that turned out wrong.
Wish I could stop doing that.

Self pity
oh yeah, I hate it, but sometimes it's hard to get rid of.
I cannot wait 20 years to fix this.

Direction
really not sure which way to go, the prognosis is not clear.
Only certainty is that it cannot remain static.

Day dreams
only make it worse, imagining wonderful times to be had.
Then I wake up and reality just is not cutting it anymore.