Famine

Famine consumes me

My soul bereft of nourishment

I starve

Thirst

Seeking an oasis

Running down a mirage

I fall

Every time

Dry grit at my knees

When did I lose my way?

When did the land become barren

And sun, relentless?

Burning heat parches me

Inside and out

My husk

Taking step after step

A black silhouette

Swallowed by dunes of beige

Stretching beyond my vision

I have given up hope

Still

I walk

One foot in front of the other

Afraid what shadow walks in my stead

As I chase down illusions

Far from alone in my quest

I see others

Weathered before a judging sun

They cannot acknowledge me

Lost in self-pity

Together,

We lose ourselves

Muted hooves pound the sand

We look up

The greatest shadow of all

Is His

A dark,

Strong,

Healthy horseman upon a withered steed

The animal hungers

Thirsts

As we do

The rider forces it to rear

Bulging bones

Strained muscles

Transparent flesh

A neigh tearing our desert asunder

Sand sprays

Like water

In a tempest

Granules stinging our skin

Ripping us apart

As we join the particles

Amidst the vast nothing

Our soft tears

Become an oasis

To vanish

Before another wan traveller lost

Hi again, all!

Thanks for reading this poem I did for the flashfiction community, 200-Word Tuesdays. I selected April’s other theme of “Soft Tears.” I took inspiration from one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse this time around, focusing on a spiritual famine.

  Thanks and take care!

Larysia   

No idea where this picture came from. If you’re the owner and want me to credit you, please let me know and I will happily do so!

Ad Infinitum

It fills the night

With the prominence of the sun

Stretching its wings

Of fire

Aerial immortal

Envied by alchemists

For infinity is theirs

Adorned in gold

With accents of

Cadmium,

Amaranth,

And crimson

The phoenix climbs

Spinning

Like a pinion of flame

A final dance

To begin again

Air ripples with heat

As the firebird becomes brighter,

Hotter

Stars watching,

Envious

In their still void

Light

From within

Burning like a forge

On the precipice of war

Illuminates its soul

At its eternal core

Like a supernova

The flier of fire erupts

Sky quaking as kaleidoscopes of colour

Soundlessly join

The aurora borealis’ undulating rhythm

Ash

Emblazoned with the spark of life

Drifts among the clouds

In waves of hues

Cresting with every trough

Until finally!

Gravity greedily claims them

Embers

Of gold,

Cadmium,

Amaranth,

And crimson

                                  

They fall gently

With the luminous grace

Of fireflies

Clustering

With the focused purpose

Of sentries

Unafraid to die

Embers land

Kissing earth

A heated sensual embrace

On the cool forest floor

With a growing hunger

A ravaging wanting,

Needing

More, more, more

Acrid smoke

Joins the Northern Lights

As the lush greenery burns

On the wings

Of a phoenix rising

Once more

 
Hey everyone!

Thanks for reading this poem I did for the flashfiction community, 200-Word Tuesdays! I selected April’s theme of “Embers” as I was inspired by the mystical phoenix, a fantastical immortal of beauty and rebirth.

Thanks and take care!

Larysia 

Artwork by Frank Koran.