Endless Night (Directors)

Night is a cold and lonely time,
when no one's there to share the wine,
to break the bread, to sing the song of the dead.

Alone we walk through mist and blood,
without a task through shifting mud,
it always seems to move, no ground to prove,

Standing in the way of ourselves,
looking at the musty, dusty shelves,
that hold the curios of our lives and knives.

Searching through those knack knicks, and wares,
parcel out the sorrow in shares,
a board of lonely directors in the light of Endless Night.

She Comes

Solitary, in the Darkness,
no minutes on his phone,
Hope has left, replaced with anguish,
confused, afraid, alone.

The path that led him here,
was confused and full of fear,
and nothing could prepare him for the loss;

The loss of one's own spirit,
and loss of courage, hope.
And here he sits in despair,
hanging from his own rope.

But out in still and silent air,
beyond the cries and mournful tears,
there comes a light that shines aglow,
and banishes those fears.

Like shards of glass, painted and paned,
they fall away and he is left
without their ominous stains.

They can't hold up, as her light shines through
and so they melt away,
and he is brought from darkest night,
into the light of day.

Just when hope seems out of reach,
someone reaches out.

She comes and heals, repairs the breach,
and removes all his doubts.

When
She comes.

The Chase Begins (Rhemy's Tail Part V)

Loping slowly, through the trees,
Rhemy had to halt.
He was now filled, with vague unease,
something here was wrong.

Within the silence of the wood,
the birds had ceased to sing.
O'erhead there was no sign,
of feather or of wing.

And Rhemy knew, within his fur,
that this would not bode well,
there were always dangers, within the wood,
that one may never smell.

His sight was keen, and in the green
and leafy wood he moved,
slowly now, with caution's song,
and creeping below thickets,

The dark was midnight, the sun had set,
and this was the most dangerous time,
when cheerful rabbits,
like our Rhemy,
should be in hole, abed.

But Rhemy wasn't at all afraid,
tho' his tiny heart hammered in his chest,
he was simply full of doubt,
that continuing was best,
in moonlight's glare, he'd have no warning,
if fox or wolf should find him first,
and his mother'd be left mourning,
her tears would slake earth's thirst.

And as he moved, so slow and cautious,
there came a sudden snap,
followed by the growl and barking,
of foxes on the hunt.

Emo Jack, Ch. 2

"I don't know, Jack. Just ... something about it was wrong." Serenity put down her cup and stared out the window. Snow was falling, slow and silent on the street outside.

"What do you mean, it was perfect. Nothing even resembling a mistake." Jack looked quizzically at his partner and lit a smoke. The waitress passing by refilled their cups and Jack watched as Serenity stirred a single packet of sugar into her cup.

"The hit was on the mark, yes." She placed her spoon back onto the saucer. Jack admired the grace with which she did so. He admired the grace with which she did everything. He'd often marveled that her every movement was poetry, a dancer's movement. From something as small as placing a spoon on a saucer, to something as complex as assembling and firing an AR-22k sniper carbine, everything she did was fluid and graceful.

Jack dumped a generous amount of heavy cream and sugar into his own cup before answering. "Then what's the problem?"

She didn't answer, just kept staring out the window. Jack put his hand on hers, and his Inner Eye could see the pulse beneath the skin, could feel the flutter of her heart. He could feel what she felt. Consternation, doubt, vague and nameless, it hovered at the edges of her mind. He thought back to the hit, and knew there hadn't been any technical foul-up. But he had learned to trust Serenity's instincts over the years. Since they had first been paired up by the Conglomerate, Jack had found her hunches to be just as reliable as his own Extrapathic senses.

He waited, trying to convey peace and comfort to her while she thought about what was bothering her.

"Braxton was a banker, Jack." She talked it out. "He wasn't anything important or special. He had low level access to moderate funds, no Sec-8 clearance, and nothing even resembling a grudge against him from what I could hack on him."

Jack shrugged, knowing she would come to her own conclusion, but couldn't help adding, "We don't ask the whys, Ser. You know that. If we did, we'd never be able to sleep at night." He stubbed out his cig and sipped at his coffee. It was weak.

"I'm the one usually telling you that, aren't I? I know better than to question assignments, Jack. But this is different. Something ... " She stared out the window again for long moments. "Something is wrong with this one."

Jack clicked his zippo in his free hand, the other still covering hers. He stared at her for long moments. He could feel the certainty within her. He could feel the nag of some hunch pounding at her now, and knew it would only be a matter of time before she demanded they do something about it. Something foolish, no doubt.

Jack lit another smoke and smiled. "Then we'd better start digging, don't you think, Ser?"

She turned from the window and looked back at him. Beneath an exterior that appeared as cold as the snow covering the cars outside the cafe, he could feel the wave of warmth and affection flowing from her. She was grateful that he trusted her so much, and moved that he had made the first dangerous statement of purpose.

"Going into CHQ with questions on our lips is a bad idea, J." She said, a half smile playing on the corners of her lips. "And if we get caught messing around where we shouldn't be ... "

A full beaming smile spread across Jack's homely face. "Then we'd better not get caught."

Emo Jack, Ch. 1

It was hard to see through the crowd. People bustled back and forth across the square, bags in hand, wallets emptied. Christmas was the worst time of the year for Jack to work. There were always crowds everywhere, and most of the time they just got in the way.

Jack stubbed out his cigarette on the concrete chimney next to him. Looking down on the busy square, the top of the lit Christmas tree barely reached as tall as the roof Jack knelt on. The multi-hued glow from the tree glared on his eyes, and he adjusted his shades to compensate. He continued to scan the square visually for long moments, before he finally gave up and switched to his Inner Senses. Closing his eyes, he could now see the square in front of his mind's eye, his Inner Eye. Each of the shoppers and other pedestrians milling, crossing, and generally cluttering up the square below him was a dim grey ghost of a glow in his mind now. The dim glow indicated they were not the one he was looking for. He was attuned to the target.

"Jack?" came a soft voice in his ear. The subdermal implant vibrated the bones directly connected to his eardrum and made sure he and he alone could hear the voice. It was a soft, sugary female voice, but there was a hint of steel in it that perhaps only he could recognize. "Any sign yet?"

Jack whispered, knowing the mic in his jaw would send his voice just as clearly to the speaker. "Not yet, Ser, keep your panties on." Jack lit another smoke and smiled as he continued scanning the town square below with his Inner Eye.

"You should be so lucky to even know if I'm wearing any at all," came Serenity's voice in his ear, the hint of steel a bit stronger but still softened, as it always was with him. "Quit toking and pay attention to the target zone, Jack."

Still smiling, Jack took a long drag from his cigarette and said nothing. He'd worked with Serenity long enough to know exactly which buttons to push to annoy her without actually getting her angry at him. His knees were beginning to hurt from kneeling behind the low wall that went round the roof, but he remained still, in position, watching and waiting. Jack was a lot of things, most of them disreputable, but he was always good at his job.

Finally, after what seemed like forever and a day, there was a soft crimson glow in his mind's Eye, moving slowly and cautiously across the square. The color of the glow told Jack this was who he'd been waiting for, the and dim strength of it showed that the target was trying hard to conceal himself. Jack smiled wider. The target was an extrapath, just like Jack was, but nowhere near Jack's strength and skill. The target may as well have been jumping up and down, screaming 'here I am' as far as Jack's senses were concerned.

"Ser, he's there. By the tree. He's trying to Conceal but I've got him. I'm sending his image now." Jack concentrated on the link between him and his partner, sending her a mental image of where the target was.

There was a very brief pause, then Serenity's voice came back to him, "Got it."

Two heartbeats later, the crowd round the tree scattered, screams and wails of panic filling the yuletide decked square. There was a dead body at the foot of the huge Christmas tree, a small hole spouting blood and oozing other fluid where his left eye used to be. Jack smiled, stubbed out his smoke, and went to meet Serenity for their customary after-job coffee.

Declined (Rhemy's Tail Part IV)

"What is there about you,
that makes you think you should,
be the one I jump with,
in all this lovely wood?

Is not the fox, covered in his red,
faster, smarter, less easily lead?

Do not the humans in their human way,
prefer the comp'ny of dogs,
that prance and bark and beg?

Why should I pick you?
so scrawny, and afraid?
what can you offer me,
that I cannot get from them?"

Rhemy tugged his ears and sat and thought on it.
and tho he gave forth effort, he'd no answer at first.
But finally inspiration,
struck him on the pate,
and words that volleyed forth just then,
would seal and decide his fate

"i'm not a fox, and not a dog,
but i'd do most anything,
for one whose love comes from within,
and leads my heart to sing

there aren't enough of words unkind,
for those who lie and cheat,
for those who promise to remain,
and leave an empty seat.

i've met them all, and they have seen,
the woeful tapestry,
that comes from listening to things,
like 'the best of you and me'

so here i'll leave you,
as i can see,
you've not a bit of heart,
you ask of me,
what cannot be,
and so i will depart."

She watched him go,
disdain on her
and oozing from the trees,

but Rhemy knew,
beyond a doubt,
that he'd made the right choice.

He hopped away,
on journey still,
and adventures would appease,

the feeling hollow,
in his chest,
and venom in her voice.

The Glade (Rhemy's Tail, Part III)

Rhemy walked, and then he hopped,
into the morning sun,
dark clouds gone and morning long,
would greet his fear undone,

for passing out of old and known,
he found a glade where the sun had shone,
for ages yet, and more to come,
would light his fear undone,

cautious now, and creeping low,
he pushed between the thorn
and the rose

and there to him the wood would show,
what his fate had borne;
what he chose

sitting in the noonday sun,
grooming fur and ears,
looking up at every sound,
twitching nose at fears,

alabaster coat and devilish pink eyes
enticing him with scent and grace,
shocking, twist, surprise

and so toward that elegance,
he stumbles toward this vision,
this place of peace and radiance

she looks up, startled, at his appraoch,
and makes to bolt, her legs achurn,
his voice calls out
"wait don't go!"
she hesitates, eyes aglow
fear in every beat

"my name is Rhemy," he said, urbane
and she replies with not a word

"i'm new here, wand'ring" he says
and she relaxes not at all

"i saw you from the thicket,
and tho i know you not,
i had to make an entrance,
and entreat you to a thought,
of you and me and sunlight calling,
of bounding through the field,
of caring not for fear or hunger,
or steel that humans wield,
is this not right?
tho' all afright,
you sit and stare at me?
can we not be
more than just strangers?"

she stood for moments long,
and at last gave a yawn,
then opened her mouth to speak ...

Run Away (Rhemy's Tail, Part II)

the clouds would gather,
dark and serene,
moving across the sky

as Rhemy moved across the land,
searching for what,
and knowing not why

within the dark wood,
sinister eyes and gleaming fangs,
did follow his every move

and he wouldn't know,
how everything was coming down,
until the rain poured and proved

that even tho' he,
courage bound and forward sped,
was walking the line of doom

the break in the wind,
the cold sun was dead,
and he fractured his only tomb

into the fray and into the fight,
away from the day and without the light,
to darkness he's bound,
despair he will find,

but that wouldn't keep him,
from living his life,
from seeking adventure,
and searching the new,
and someday his corpse
would rot in the dew,
of morning come late,
and dark, ugly fate

because he refused to run away

A Start (Rhemy's Tail, Part I)

Rhemy left his hole one day,
one afternoon of sun
he wanted to see the horizon,
and so his adventure's begun
"goodbye" he said, to family and friend,
"perhaps" he mused "one day i will be back"

"why?" said his mother "why must you go?
everything you want is here in the hole,
so nothing you seek can be so glorious,
as your home and your dinner,
as the comfort of us"

amused, Rhemy was, and he shook his long ears,
"i'm not so sure mother, but over the years,
i've looked out the hole, at grass and at knoll,
i've seen other animals passing us by.
i've smelled of their coats, the sheep and the goats,
and all i could think then is 'why?'
why must we stay here? safe and secure?
why must i be nice, polite and demure?
why can't i go see, what o'er the next hill lies?
why do we hop, and run and disguise?
i want to see more, than what we have here,
and i hope you'll remember that i hold you all dear
and when i return, we'll talk of these things,
of what i have seen and the presents i'll bring."

His mother was sad, but she knew she could not
keep him from going, from living his lot
and so lunch she made him, and sent him along
she told him "be careful" and wept all day long

As Rhemy waved to his family and friends,
he looked back once, and knew this was not the end
but a beginning of fun, of adventure, and glee
of danger perhaps, of times when he'd flee
but most of all, he knew, in his small furry heart
that a story with a happy ending always requires
a start

Shamed

if every little slimy thing
that walks on legs or soars on wing
and cries and calls and waits alone
would drop dead now i'd not bemoan
the lack of sound, the hole of life
that's left behind, the lack of strife
it would be nice to feel and be
without those bastards
stepping on me

they watch and wait, they find the bait
and dangle it before my searching eyes
they hold it out, catcall and shout
and draw me on with their lies
that they care and that they share
and keep me on the floor
i'd break my knee from courtesy
before i find the door

and when i snap that will be that
and lack a meaning at all
for if being me is just a pain
then all i want is surcease

if i am kind and sweet of mind and keep me from being rude
can't they see that it's for the good of all of us?
i try and be what i'd like to see, manners without crude
but when it's pushed into my face
that worthless is all i am
then all i want is the end of days
and be a solitary man

Choice

"Choice"

staring out the window
at people passing by,
wondering why the devil
is in my heart and eye,

wondering why i sit, with thoughts that start and flit,
and make me ask such questions without reason,
is it true that we cannot be more than me and you,
or is there such a thing as healing season?

i won't give in to that evil touch
of paranoid and twisted inky thread
the thoughts that leave me shattered
and fill my spirit with unintentioned dread
if such a thing as truth exists,
it cannot be so far,
that we are yet unable to find this,
no matter where we are

so here i sit, staring and sigh,
working myself out of a high
that was brought by my own hand,
and gave me to that promised land,
invented by my own and yours,
the window too small,
the room with no doors

on nights like this
i truly wish
that You could hold me near
but so far apart are we,
separated by land and sea
and air that can't be borne or breathed

beyond the sinful sights
of wearied, weathered nights,
of winter's bones and chill,
of harvest's starving rumble,

i try and make the future bright,
to seek the dark and shun the light,
to find that surcease of will,
and submit to a last tumble,

for in the hands of fate,
i've placed my final call,
this pain will not abate,
as through the glass i fall

beyond the plaintive cries,
of hidden, seething lies,
of fear that petrifies,
there is one simple voice,

it mourns aloud, and scares the flock,
and sends the dreams that burn and shock,
and makes the last and final

choice

Unsung

Pieces of Eight,
Barrels of Hate,
and a windward ship called only "Zephyr"

one hundred men dead,
or wounded in bed,
and a bow that is broken and tethered

the Zephyr sails on toward the rising dawn,
and her galley is full of all worthless

each of them hung, and no song left unsung, when the sunset has finally come

but one stands alone, within his own bones, and wearied from searching for more

the everlong winter, of begging for dinner, has landed but never on shore

the sails they snap and the lines will crack as every hand turns now against him but he will not break and tho he will quake within the walls of his prison,

the afterimage burns, of the One whom he spurned, ripping through heart and through spirit

piercing he cries, and reviling dies, he sinks to the depths below

and from this sad scene, comes the spectre unseen, and carries away bones and soul

to Hades and Hell, beyond this life's veil, a binding is what he will know

for every one moment, and every lost lament, he'll break out in sores and blisters

from now till no more, the game has no score, and he has no brothers or sisters

it's time for the end, time's purse o'erspent, and sing does the Zephyr;

no more

The Wood of Trust and Truth

"The Wood of Trust and Truth"



Not too long ago,
and not so far away,
he would sit and wonder,
why she'd gone away,

and hidden by the night time,
sheltered from the day,
he would try and keep Her,
at arm's length; at bay.

but shadows will be melted,
and questions go astray,
when answers do not matter,
the Heart will have it's say.

within his castle, so strong,
and circled by their stone,
he shivered and cried anguish,
merely flesh and bone.

the walls were raised in terror,
their mortar was his fear,
and no soul could ever climb them,
and none inside could hear,

his song was sung unheeded,
his Heart made cold as steel,
and yet he held to Passion,
and Love his high ideal,

he thought he'd found that in her,
and happily was lost,
his Heart he thought had melted,
the steel removed of frost,

but truth cannot be forged,
and Love cannot be won,
Passion is not contest,
and two cannot be one.

her speech had yet bewitched him,
within his castle, high,
and poisoned blood would follow,
her every word a lie.

yet far from him there was hope,
in the woods beyond his home,
She was fair and loyal,
and love was all She'd shown,

to him it was still hidden,
this Keeper of his Heart,
but She would still protect him,
and play his reason's part.

for clouded by her weaving,
of illusion and of scheme,
he couldn't know her leaving,
would reveal the hope unseen.

he could not escape reason,
nor hide inside his dome,
the Truth would sell his freedom,
and lies he'd not condone.

for tho' she'd left him empty,
helpless and bereaved,
the True Key would yet turn him,
away from heartache's sea.

She had always been there,
and not once approved of her,
and She had sought to hold him,
protected from the lure,

the lure of falsehoods uttered,
as if they were yet true,
She sought to keep him painless,
and sought to love him too,

and tho' he could not see Her,
beyond his self-raised wall,
She had ever been there,
and listened for his call.

the call She was expecting,
with Heart and Soul in hand,
and never once suspecting,
his wings would ever land,

but land they did at last,
and blindly he sought Her out,
knowing not his reason,
with sorrow in his shout,

the clouds had at last lifted,
and shown him for a fool,
having wanted Passion,
he'd been, himself, a tool,

by which she had amused self,
and which she had put down,
when finally she vanished,
in memory he'd drown.

he was cursed, of that he was sure,
and it was his own fault, for hearing her lure,
but nothing new is ever done,
by those who walk under the sun,
and poisons grow where they will,
without a care for good or ill,
beyond the time when we are blind,
there is still more that we can find,
it's called True Love, and it is real,
but only when we WANT to feel,
can we find that which we seek,
the Heart to heal, from foot to peak,
of mountain tall, and valley low,
not too far or long ago,
beyond the veil of lust or tooth,
within the wood of Trust and Truth,

(flesh and bone and mind are all,
very well and useful,
but only one who hears the Call,
can bear the Love that's truthful)

She heard his call and answered,
when he was torn and bled,
She knew he had yet suffered,
and feared his Heart was dead.

But when he came upon Her,
waiting for him still,
he knew at last the answer;
her memory he'd kill.

for she had oft betrayed him,
and stated good intent,
but never did she answer,
when his song he sent.

Always it had been Her,
forever and a day,
She would never cut him,
or hurt him in that way.

She'd tried Her best to warn him,
to keep him from this pain,
She'd held him when he was broken,
loved him time and again,

as friend and lover, in passion and comrade,
as concsience and as armor,
in good times and in bad,
She had always been there,
She had always cared,
She had rejoiced with him,
and soothed him when he was scared,

seeing now his scars, and crying for him too,
She knew that She could heal him,
if he would let Her do,
what She most desired, he would come to feel,
when Her true Love for him,
would melt his Heart of Steel.

and honest this time was he,
with himself and with her now,
he knew that he had been wrong,
and wondered She at how,

how he'd come to find Her,
at last among the wood,
how he had seen Love here,
and wondered if he could.

could he care for Her now,
could it be so true,
couldn't he be fleeing,
from the pain imbued?

but time will cure our ailments,
and time will heal all lies,
and time did show Her answers,
True Love within his eyes.

it is not decision, nor wholly abject fate,
but somewhere in between them,
is where True Love will wait,
just as She had waited, in Her heart and mind,
so now She was rewarded by his love in kind.

he knew beyond the shadows,
he saw beyond the wall,
he felt within his Spirit,
that She would hear his call.

and call to Her he did now,
and answer him She would,
and all at once their sorrow,
did vanish where T/they stood.

and now the pain has left T/them,
and now T/they let it go,
and now T/they are not grieving,
for what T/they have to show.


Once in walls, and once did roam,
the two of T/them together, yet alone,
Upon the chance of Union,
T/they will bet T/their lives.

From present day 'til Kingdom Come,
What was sundered and undone,
Behold! Rejoice! At last!
the T/two;
made One.

Long Romance

"Long Romance"

If i could track it all back,

i'd do it right now,

but i don't know the when,

and i don't know the how,

of where it all began.

it's not that i have ever,

believed in "now or never",

but once and again,

i've felt the loss of heart,

not lack of courage,

but the suffering part,

and tho' i never gave up on it,

i have to wonder as i sit,

if there really is and end to now,

and will we be alone somehow,

without the call of distant sons,

within the arms of loving ones,

who speak to us of long romance,

of lives that come and go.

they wait for us in time and chance,

and we can't really know,

but when they come into our lives,

and wash away all the lies,

the loss, defeat, and fear,

they will fly from here,

and we'll be left,

with just us two,

in the darkened night,

of me and You

so speak to me of long romance,

of those that come and go,

i'll wait for you in wish and chance,

and time will only flow,

beyond that hill that keeps us two,

that stalls the time of me and You,

and on this rock of faith i'll stay,

until the sunset breaks across day,

forever isn't such a long time,

when waiting for the divine,

the love that lasts isn't "now",

it always will be and has been,

so the mortal soul can only try

to avoid that faithless sin,

that we call despair,

we wait, we share,

we love and hope,

that "once upon a time",

they spoke,

we'll sing to all of long romance,

of times that came and went,

and the patient love that came to us,

and say it's heaven sent.

without a chance,

there's nothing kept,

so sing and hope,

and know you've wept,

and waited once upon a time.

and you'll remember long romance,

of lives that grew and died,

and in the end it was worth the wait,

and knowing that you tried.

sing of long romance.

Mine

"Mine!" She says,

and he cries out,

a whimpered, battered, ragged shout,

"yes" he coos,

and She is still,

Her hand upon his collared will,

the lights are dim and sounds are soft,

the praise and pain keep them aloft,

and no one knows outside the walls,

how fast he comes,

when Her voice calls.

Some Demotivational Posters I Made