Issue 2 of Raven Cage Zine
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Issue 2
Issue 2 of Raven Cage Zine
Dark / Horror Poetry
Invaded
Dreams
And again this night he
invades her dreams,
Nearly a week now and
she knows not what it means.
A new town a new house,
a new life, a life on her own,
But she would get used to
it soon it would feel like home.
She fears sleep, she
feared him she knew not why,
Only she did fear
perhaps it was his hypnotic eyes.
The deepest brown but
filled with such torment,
She could see it, she
could feel the pain emit.
Hair the color of a raven's
wings hanging loosely amid his back,
A silver sword held
tight poised for defending an attack.
He was tall perhaps six
foot three a little less maybe a little more,
Eyes searching always
stopping as they reached the door.
Never once were words
spoken between the two
It was as if he didn't
know she was there or what to do.
He could not be real
only a phantom from her mind,
Conjured by her
loneliness she thought had been left behind.
She tossed and turned
blankets twisted sheet hanging loose,
Unnoticed by him for
still only his eyes moved.
Hiding in the farthest
regions of her mind she peeked through,
Sweat glistened upon
her body as she searched for clues.
What if it was help he
needed? But what help was she?
Perhaps the attic held
secrets; maybe it could provide the key.
She gritted her teeth
and shut her eyes tighter against his pain,
Sharpened steel sword
streaking through her brain.
A sleeping daze she
rose slowly from her wrinkled bed,
Slow steps, no control
as she walked the path of the undead.
No, wait she was not
dead he could not take her again,
But try as she may
there was no strength to fight this man.
So her walk continued
through the lost pages of time,
Her basement had become
a dungeon; of prisoners, there was no sign.
But the blood. Long
since dried but the stench lingered on,
Echoing in the distance
a heart-wrenching groan.
No one was there how
could it really be so,
She did not want to
walk it again, but his eyes made her go.
Looking she saw him
held fast in a small cell.
Open cuts oozed blood a
nightmare from hell.
A serrated gash split
his head his blood soaked skull in view,
A jagged scar upon his
cheekbone and tissue showing through.
His tortured body
though not dead was almost lifeless
And his eyes dazed,
color untold remained sightless.
The groan lingered as
it had in each dream
Why then did he bring
her for it was a repeated scene?
Eerie, so eerie this
same dream each night,
Soon she would awaken
to dawn's first light.
This she knew for it
was always the same,
Her fear, her anger,
his nightly game.
She thought she had
found peace at last,
But no her dreams had
led her to the past.
Part 2
A constant ring she
shook herself it was the alarm clock,
She groaned aloud
reaching for the cut off to make it stop.
Her arms stretched wide
she so much wanted to sleep in,
Another dreary day she
thought hearing the rain bombarding the tin.
Well the bills don't
get paid if no work is done, and she rested her feet upon the floor,
She squinted her eyes,
hmmm something I was supposed to be searching for.
Oh well, it will come
to me, a cup of coffee to start the day.
Once she awoke to the
light of day her dream would always fade.
Once in her car she
turned the key, damn she cursed it wouldn't start,
She raised the hood and
her motor was torn apart.
The battery was gone,
and all the wiring hung loose,
Oh hell, she would be
late now what was she to do?
She ran back into the
house rain dripping from her, soaking the floor,
Startled she jumped for
upstairs she heard the sound of a slamming door.
Terror struck her soul
no one should be here for she lived all alone.
The bedroom window was
open it had to be the wind and she reached for the phone.
Nothing left to do but
call in to work let them know she would be late,
Perhaps she would stay
out all together it was already a quarter past eight.
No dial tone, no
static, no nothing perhaps it was the heavy rain,
She hung it up wiggled
the cord and tried it once again.
Still nothing. Until
the rain slacked there was nothing to be done,
Well, she could get out
of her wet clothes. Going into the bathroom she searched for a towel but there
was none.
Strange she thought
should be towels in both bathrooms upstairs and down,
Something weird going
on and her face marred with a frown.
A deafening scream
shattered the early morning peace and her body shook,
She should call
someone, damn no phone, so alone she was afraid to look.
The shattering of glass
caught her attention and a woman's cry for help,
Oh, she had to get out
of here but the door would not open. Oh, God footfalls on the steps.
She twisted and turned
the doorknob but it would not release its tight hold
Stuck in this house
with no one knew what and she shivered from fright as well as her wet clothes.
Over the house, she ran
trying both windows and doors while upstairs a battle raged,
So still she stood as
she watched her house begin to change.
Part 3
She was floating
through the air so fast her head began to spin,
Her golden hair slapped
her face mightily from the force of the winds.
She had no control to
guide where this terrifying path led,
Faster and faster and
faster she spun till all thoughts fled.
Her eyes held tight
against the twisting, turning scenery,
But then the power of
her ride took her will to see.
Hours and hours passed
before her journey was complete,
And she landed none to
gently on her feet.
She swayed this way and
that trying to recapture some stability.
Many voices echoed
through her brain as she escaped reality.
She opened her eyes
with a moment's hesitation,
And a spine-chilling
scream escaped as she viewed her destination.
In a corner was an oak
dresser with broken glass reeking of gin,
The liquid pooling upon
the top then trickling over the end.
Shards of glass upon
the floor from a broken vase,
Upon the bed lay a
woman blood covering her whole face.
Slashes in between her
eyes her right cheek cut to the bone,
And over and over from
her bloody lips came an agonizing moan.
She tried so hard to
move her right arm but it hung limply,
She slowly turned her
head and she had no eyes the sockets empty.
Her right leg was
severed from her body and her heart lay bare,
God help me leave this
nightmare I have to get out of there.
The moan continued over
and over but until he let her she could not go,
And she began to shiver
her skin pale as deaths cold.
Tears flowed she
covered her face with her hands and she fell to her knees,
What do you want from
me? Tell me, tell me, please.
A lone tear escaped his
eyes and he shook his head,
His eyes disappeared
met with an eerie quietness and she knew the woman was dead.
Part 4
Turning over in bed she
felt the hot sun shining through the window,
Oh damn, she must have
hit the snooze, ten after ten the clock showed.
No time for a shower.
She brushed her teeth and her air and rushed for her car.
It was a good thing she
didn't have to go to far
The air-conditioned
building felt good after the heat from outside,
Okay, what excuse could
she give for being late? Well, it would have to be a good lie.
Her boss hated the old
sleeping through the alarm excuse; it didn't matter if you did,
Thomas Masters met her
at the elevator, Hey where ya been, kid?
They had been friends
since they had met two years past,
In fact, he had helped
her land this job so fast.
He had been here for
about six years never missed a day,
Oh, shoot Thomas I had
a nightmare and I slept late.
That doesn't work with
me and sure as hell don't work with the boss,
He's ready to fire your
ass, but then that's your loss.
Oh, Thomas really. He
might write me up, but I don't think he'll fire me,
Cara, you have been out
three days and never even called in just wait and see.
But Thomas I haven't
been out at all and I'm only two ours late,
She gasped in shock as
she noticed a calendar on Tammy's desk with the date.
She had lost two days
somewhere along the line,
Damn what had happened
to those two days from her life?
Well Thomas was right
she got fired and did not even know why,
After arriving home she
lay on her bed and began to cry.
Was she going insane?
What was the matter with her?
Oh God, the last two
days were such a blur.
Part 5
Not again, no please
no. She no longer cried but could still hear a soft cry,
But no they weren't her
tears this she knew and from her emerged a ragged sigh.
Why did this have to
happen to her? She should run now before he came,
Just escape from this
house before she became completely insane
She rose from the bed
her mind made. She was leaving this place, NOW.
There was no time to
pack. Nothing was worth her sanity. She would get by somehow.
Taking the steps two at
a time, escape, escape, escape, was all she could think,
Nothing could stop her
tormented cry as the floor turned to blood and she began to sink.
The more she thrashed
about the farther underneath she was drug,
It seized her tightly,
choking, suffocating, and inhaling the rotted blood.
Her mouth and nostrils
filled with the crimson liquid and each time it took her breath.
She was drowning, and
she could no longer fight her impending death.
There he be, me
laddies, get him, get him, we canna let him escape,
Blood everywhere. At
least ten men swords drawn a battle cry raged.
She was in the midst of
a small village a thick fog easing in from the sea,
They were dashing
towards her, she could reach out to touch them, but they were only spirits,
She did not see the
small rowboat being propelled out to sea but she could hear it.
She spun like a top and
the scenery began to change. A small hut, the oak dresser with spilled gin,
Oh God no, please no,
but she knew. It was time to relive it all over again.
Lying on the bed just
as before, the blood, the sightless eye sockets, the rancid smell,
I want to wake up,
please let me wake; I can no longer take this life in hell.
A soft whisper from a
time so long ago surrounded her drawing her near,
A man's voice,
passionate in his plea, a heavy accent spoken in her ear.
His words continuous as
if he was really trying to make her believe,
Aye milady until you
help me this locality you shall never leave.
You are much needed
here though my words you do not take note of,
I need you to put to
rest the soul of myself and my ladylove.
I beseech you, his
voice echoed from a distant time slowly fading please help me
You are the one, the
only one that can bring our soul's peace.
Part 6
She really thought about
seeing a shrink concerning these nightmares,
Her reality had merged
with bloody phantoms drawing her into their lairs.
Moving away from her
childhood home thinking them at an end
But no they had
resurfaced here more vivid in the messages they sent.
Was she really confined
to the inside of her house not able to leave?
Even as she turned the
knob on the door she knew she hadn't been deceived.
How could this be real?
No escape, no way out, no, no don't let me panic now,
If I do he will come
again, he knows when I fear yes he knows, somehow, somehow.
So what now does he
have in store to play his tricks with my mind?
I have the key he says.
But it's something I have to find.
And just who does he
think he is anyway scaring the hell out of me,
Calm down, calm down,
she told herself counting to ten trying to breathe.
But too late, he knew.
He had felt her anger, the rage inside, the pain,
Yes he had felt them
for wasn't he feeling the same.
Though he was no longer
among the living he was destined to remain in his cell
Only his eyes saw all,
knew all, he had brought her down several times brought her to hell.
Forever and ever and
ever fate had placed him in the world below
Holding him so tightly
refusing to release his soul
And his ladylove? What
of her? An eternity of lying there, sightless, heartless?
Am I really being
selfish? No, no, I really do not think I am being selfish
Damn, why would she not
go to the attic? A week past he had given the clue
And still she would not
go; she had not taken the hint what a fool.
She could have made it
easier on herself but now it will be done the hard way,
Well, milady prepare
yourself, things might get rough, For Storm O'Malley has come to play.
She felt his eyes upon
her. He had heard her words; he had felt her rage and this she knew,
And in return, he took
her from her world and placed her in his and she knew not what to do.
He thrived on her
terror; blood lust seemed to drive him on,
Oh God, pull me back,
pull me back please, but too late she realized she was alone.
Part 7
It was cold here, so
very cold. A dampness surrounded streaming from the caverns walls,
Rubbing her arms
frantically against the chill she heard a thunderous explosion and rocks began
to fall.
Huge boulders rolling
the path she had taken, nearer they came, and she ran and ran and ran,
On and on and on,
finally finding a place to jump from the path, but she did not land.
Instead, she descended
into a world unknown, spinning round and round,
She could hear screams,
so many louder and louder echoing from the ground.
Yes thank you thank you
she silently whispered for she knew land was close,
But as she hit she
decided this should not have been the path she chose.
Undead. A shuffling
walk as they drag their feet across the sands of time,
Walking, forever old
searching for any substance they could find.
They preyed on each
other for until now there was no human flesh here,
Hundreds of sightless
eyes turned towards her their walk similar as they drew near.
She could hear the
screams again, screams filled with terror, screams filled with pain,
They were her own, as
she fought skeletal fingers; their agonizing moans filled her brain.
But why? Usually in her
dreams though terrifying she never really got hurt,
A splintered bone left
a big gash on her leg, finally, overpowering her she realized it was real she
was being torn apart.
And she fought. The
only girl amongst five brothers she had been taught well,
But what good would her
knowledge be against these occupants of hell?
Ouch she screamed, as
her hair was pulled so hard she felt her scalp pop,
Blood oozed from a deep
gash upon her neck as well as the rest of her flesh then they stopped.
As before they walked
their shuffling walk across the sands of time
Nothing misplaced,
nothing different similar steps, walking blind.
But her blood was real
and she had lost so much, too much,
She fought it, she
really did, but she could not hang on. A feather? No, it was his light touch.
Part 8
She was floating Silken
wings towards the starlit sky,
Seeing but then perhaps
only an illusion as she rode with the fireflies.
Wings of gold shadowed
through bodies so transparent,
Even a slight touch to
their wings could tear it.
But should they feel
harm from anyone in this place,
No, it was so peaceful
here, so beautiful so safe.
Amazing; the brightest
colors of the rainbows hue,
The clouds so
translucent she floated on through.
And floated and floated
releasing her mind of all thoughts,
Lying somewhere in
between a daze and the peaceful sleep she sought.
Enveloped in clouds, no
sound, quite so quite,
Relaxing in her
temporary respite.
Was it hours or only
minutes in the passage of time?
Before she felt his
pain run through, ahhhhhh, she screamed feeling the jagged edged knife.
His eyes pulled her
through the clouds aimless path,
Twisting and turning,
spinning lightning fast.
The halt was abrupt and
she felt herself plummeting towards the ground,
Head first and her
terror spread, try as she might she could not turn around.
So fast her heartbeat
the veins could not keep up with blood's flow,
And a savage wind
captured her inside holding tight from its blow.
She could not scream in
fact her very breath came in gasps,
Neither unaware nor
caring anymore how quickly time had elapsed.
Round and round and
round like a child's spinning top,
Praying over and over
that her newest nightmare would stop.
And it did. Straight up
in mid air her harrowing journey ceased,
Taking several breaths
of air and enjoying the release.
Looking upon a cloud
blood covered trail,
He would be at the end
this she knew, she felt his pain, and yes she could tell.
His eyes pulled her
across the void reaching his final destination,
Sitting in his cell,
hands covering his face, and she felt this weird sensation.
Something was not quite
right he looked the same as the first time, almost,
© Cynthia Fender Clark
RELIGION ANGEL LUCIFER
Building beautiful castle
Writing wonderful epistle
Preaching amazing peace
Teaching confusing piece,
Singing melodiously to God
Living harmoniously to sword
Praying earnestly for doom
Hoping entirely for gloom,
Working assiduously on blood
Sweeping men like flood,
The book of quiver
The litany of fever,
Religion, angel Lucifer.
Unkind to mankind
Ugly like a bully
Hater and cheater
Blindness for godliness
Wayward and untoward
Deceiver and betrayer,
Wicked and crooked
Protester and waster
Heartless and meaningless
Rebel and Babel
Killer and destroyer
Harmful and lustful
Religion, angel Lucifer.
Chained, a slave
Cuffed, a suspect
Locked, a prisoner
Bound, a captive
Stranded, a stranger
Hopeless and helpless
Wreckless and restless
Confused and conquered
Wondering and wandering
Guilty and unpretty,
Hunted and haunted
Taunted and tormented
Weird and absurd
Religion, angel Lucifer.
© Ngozi Olivia Osuoha
Lithium Barbie Doll
She's a razor sharp dish
Wrapped in a kiss
Everything appears so fine
Won't be long
Before you see something wrong
Those voices in her head at night
She'll lead you in
To her den of sin
Steal your soul for the night
Better buckle your belt
Cuz it's one helluva Roller coaster ride
Wild eyes, a mile per minute
You love me you hate me c'Mon
Which is it?
Didn't know what I was getting when I took her home
A Lithium Barbie Doll of my very own,
Percocet princess so sweet to see
Dr. Jekyll & Ms. Hyde
Bellevue beauty queen
Never know who she'll be tonight
Wild eyes a mile per minute
You love me, you hate me
Now tell me what is it?
Had no idea when I brought her home
I had a Lithium Barbie to call my own
© Jason Cueto
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