***
Note: Also a true story.
Snow White
Over the water, she shuts her eyes and sees
Sticks and silver, craves peaches and wine.
Groggily, she opens her eyes a crack.
Spears standing and a shield buffed and shined.
Spotted cat skin is draped lovingly,
Candles are lit to give a soft glow...
"But, who has been taking care of me?"
Sorrow; She'll have to die to know.
And she is wrapped in a fur blanket.
Her hair is trimmed and groomed like a queen.
Overseas, she opens her eyes and wonders,
"What could all the attention mean?
They feed me mare's milk and blood
And guard the place where I sleep.
When I return to them to do my duty,
Will I rejoice, or remember and weep?"
Overseas in the tundra, a maid is at rest
And lies awake in another land, waiting
For time and distance to coincide into one
And come full circle; angel in the making.
Dance Of The Spheres
Gracefully turning in their ponderous minuets,
The gods stay linked in their eternal dance.
Those hot with temper flare with passion,
While others swirl gently, awaiting their chance.
Heard in the ethereal symphony, speech is rare
When the greeting gods chance to align:
Mars gossips about Gaia's enviable fertility.
Neptune reminisces of when they numbered over nine.
Hopelessly they part, back to their orbital dream,
Turning round in displays of eldritch splendor;
Circling the instrument of their captive song,
Ancient beings of astronomical lore.
Princess
This is my song, transcending time and thought to memory
My song that sings and permeates through the cells of my mind
Into my heart, where I hold him closely
“Be still, little one, wait softly for the time is night.”
He, a lad in the garden behind a wizened scroll
Soft eyes the color of oceans, curling locks…
A burning ballroom, and a rebellious heart wanting only freedom
That met him in the green fields, by the blood cup to be bound
Soul to soul and through promise and deed;
A fate kindled through the overpowering will of others.
Violet eyes wanting the skies and nothing more.
“Your breath is my breath. Your death is my death.”
After things fell, the two were parted for time out of mind
The great wheel was spun, the skies beckoned, and the little one flew
Days never forgotten, they beckoned as when she came home
And he wore a different face, had a different place
When silver eyes met those of undetermined hue, whispering,
“Trust me, little one, for I am ever your friend.”
Unknowingly entwined, contact made tighter, the wills of others
Called forth from the past, caught souls unawares
Pushed together and blended beyond control, to depths no man should take
Two parts were made whole, the desired union held.
“My heart beats in time with your soul. My body is tuned to your mind.”
When things fell, the little one watched her twin fall at her feet
A mind split asunder, a burst into the sky... Let me die!
Violet eyes wanting only her mate and nothing more.
The skies remained lonely, eons spanning forward, she remembering
Caught in the hated loop, unable to end the misery forced upon her.
Whispers in the night, in each life, seeking, conquering in the name of love
Hiding behind undetermined shades of eye, lurking in the halls
Behind walls, and stepping forward in a never-ending loop of sorrow.
“My wounds scream in agony. My peace cannot be without you.”
Star-crossed lovers, bound by politics and a need to tame,
When things fall, destiny places them on opposite sides
And she, eyes open and aware, must ever watch in grief
As the final strike falls on her lover, always
A loop he chooses, despite her efforts to turn the tide.
“My breath is your breath. My death is your death.
My heart beats in time with your soul. My body is tuned to your mind.”
I cannot live without you. Please trust me. I am
And I always have been your friend. Ocean eyes.
Defeat
The sands are billowed
Into myriads of different patterns.
The aging sun sinks
In the west of the dying world.
Life has died many
Years ago in the last great war.
Only the planet's heart
Still beats with fierce determination.
The sun struggles hotly
To live for just another moment.
The world is determined
To live until the end.
The sun swells
And slowly it bursts.
The world accept the end
Gratefully, rejoicing in defeat.
About the Author
K. J. Joyner was inspired by such greats as Marion Zimmer Bradley at an early age, so her father bought her a typewriter. And another typewriter. And, really, she can’t remember all of her typewriters but she loved them every one.
You can visit her blog where she reviews webcomics or blabs about writing at https://www.apocalypsewriters.com
Work by K. J. Joyner
~For General Audiences~
A Chance Encounter of Two
A Troll’s Tail
Akashik
Battle of Angels
Beloved
Black Wolf, Silver Fox
Eternal
Exiles (with Dandelion Studios)
The Golden Ship
It’s Never Romantic to Wash the Dishes
Kaeli & Rebecca: Other People’s Pain (Dandelion Studios)
Kaeli & Rebecca: Reflections (Dandelion Studios)
-ologist at LARGE
Slingshots
Strings Below
The Scent of Wild Heather
Whimsical Words and Dramatic Affairs - A Book of Badly Written Poetry
~For Children~
Why the Firefly Blinks
~For Adults~
Going Under
Heavenly Bride
Only the Innocent
The Page of Cups (editing for Tim Belcher)
Trait of Honor (in progress)
~If She Only Had a Brain~
The Future of Powwow Dancing in Native America