The Surreal Marriage in Hell #art #poetry #horror

 

 

I was married in hell

to the man who rolled dice

who dependent on the number

slept with women “oh how nice”

*

Their bodies were the cure

for misogynism so it seems

he loved to dissect them

carry parts off in his dreams

*

turn the crank

do my bidding

you there woman

naked only, where you’re sitting

*

a tree branch is as successful

at eating sweet cake

but where I come from in Kansas

what you’re doing is rape

*

” there is consolation in this”

things seems to be warming

I stand off and I smile

but you’re heedless to the warning

*

I’m looking askance

as you devour that body

you will choke on her flesh

your face reflects haughty

*

cockroaches seem not to mind

when a pit is ahead

warm places to breed

in the bodies of the dead

~mdw

Are you familiar with the artist Hieronymous Bosch? It’s been a long while since I looked deep into his paintings.

I have to admit I was always uncertain about his message. I do know that he painted many pictures of Hell.

Different art historians looked at his work and message quite differently: from nightmarish dreams, to the inventor of monsters, to a Dutch painter who painted from the medieval  notions contrasting good and evil.

I believe Bosch was a solitary figure only 7 paintings bear the signature of the artist. There are more in his style that are attributed to the artist, but there is a belief that there are more works that he is not given credit for.  His late 15th century art conveys  an early sense of the surreal much like that of Salvador Dali who would paint unforgettable (but still hard to understand) images 400 years later.

I hope that Bosch leaves you a bit uncomfortable. I believe that was his intention.

Nightmarish dreams works for me…

This painting is by Dutch painter Gerard David a contemporary of Bosch. The paintings of the day were flat nativity scenes and portraiture.

Bosch was definitely ahead of his time and maybe uncomfortable with his artist genius.

Please join me next week as I’ll spend the week creating a mosaic of dark art and contemporary horror writing. Tis the season …

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In Tune #poetry #kindness #devotion

There’s a star in the sky

 one you’ll never quite see

but it shines all the same

perfect voice tuned to “C”

*

you can’t hear what she sings

but the song is her own

she calls the disheartened

to draw near home

*

I met this fair one

not long ago in a dream

she called in the dark

I was lost so it seems

*

Radiance poured on a path

one that I’d never used

and I stumbled in the dirt

over unlaced running shoes

*

on my knees I looked up

and I saw a bright light

it came with a song

what a beautiful sight

*

“you will make it

I can see

not too far now

past those trees

take a left

then a right

you will find hope

past the night”

*

Then I saw it in a smile

someone waving all the while

open arms rescued me

finally safe, darkness free

***

“It is always darkest just before the day dawneth.” –  Thomas Fuller

Have you ever stumbled in the dark? It seems most of us do.  Have you ever been picked up out of the dirt? I have and am grateful for those gentle smiles that graciously moved me on my way.  If you have ever stumbled and been helped back up, remember to look for others who can use a simple act of kindness to help them continue on their way.

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ² Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:1-2

Sharing with the Poet’s United  Poetry Pantry because they are such a welcoming bunch and Godinterest cuz it’s a place I share thoughts.

Friday Feature #writer #publishing #horror

Welcome to Friday Feature a new (or rekindling) of a weekly blog that features writers, artists, poets. I hope you enjoy these weekly articles and the talented people featured here.

Trent’s grandfather vanished without a trace many years ago and now his brother has been found dead. Mutilated in a field. And the dead man’s son is missing. A fishing trip gone terribly wrong. Trent soon discovers that the guilty are beyond the law—light-years beyond the law. His quest takes him, his brother’s wife, and a small band of close friends to a haunting world he knows nothing about, to strike an impossible deal with the very monsters that tore his family apart.

About Erik: This author thinks bow ties are “groovy” and obviously grew up in the “70s.” He is married, has two grown daughters, 3 cats, and a little “fluff” dog. He holds a doctorate in psychology and spent 20 years serving in the Air Force. Presently, he teaches psychology and is the regional coordinator for a non-profit helping people with intellectual disabilities and brain injuries. His goal is help these folks lead richer, fuller lives.

Erik likes to write about carousels which I think is cool as there is so much potential symbolism. He has a number of short stories featuring carousels and is in the process of publishing a series about them. The Carousel in the Sky is a book based on a carousel that revolves around the roof of a huge mansion out in the woods.

I asked Erik if any of his “monsters” wear a bow tie? :”I haven’t written a story featuring a character or a monster sporting a bow tie yet, that is not a bad idea. I started wearing them after Doctor Who made them cool.” 

People who write love to know how others got bit with the writing “bug.” Here’s how Erik got started:

“I first got excited about writing in 2010.  My wife suggested I try the NaNoWriMo challenge and I went out and gave it a shot.  I loved the challenge and more importantly, I loved writing!  What I ended up with was a draft of Fall Leaves and the Black Dragon.  I also wrote in high school (over 25 years ago, I guess.  Wow that was a long, long time ago).  I had fun writing short stories but never did anything with them.  I put them away and forgot about them until after NaNoWriMo.  I pulled a few back out, most were terrible!  But a few had hope with tons of polish.  One in particular,”My Lover, My Garden”, was popular and I wrote that in high school.”

 

I asked Erik why did he choose “Horror” as a genre:

“I grew up reading Stephen King and the other giants in horror, so I gravitated toward that in my writing. I was also a fan of (no one probably remembers this) “Up All Night”with Rhonda Shear, a TV show featuring cheesy horror movies. Lately though, I have been shifting away from horror and working on dark fantasy. These dark novels and short stories feature carousels imagined in a whole new terrifying way. I spend a lot of time volunteering at the antique carousel in town and my daughter is the manager there, so I get lots of ideas. The first idea was a dream I had featuring a mansion out in the woods that had a carousel that revolved around it like a crown.”

 

If you like dark, creeping fiction and carousels then Erik Gustafson’s novels are a must read! Keep an eye out for his carousel series starting with The Carousel in the Sky.

The Dark Trek Home is a dark sci-fi adventure with a compelling plot built in an amazing world featuring zombies and aliens.

You can find it here on Amazon. 

You can  also find Erik

on Twitter @eriktiger

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorErikGustafson

His personal blog: http://erikgustafson.wordpress.com/

Erik is a Visionary Press Author

If you are interested in being featured contact me: 4moondustdesigns@gmail.com

Got Milk? #PEN #horror #poetry

Shivering

my blood froths til it bubbles

chilling horror

Check out my latest piece of horror over at   Pen of the Damned .

Hope you leave with a chill running down your spine 🙂

The Bowl

The Bowl.

The Ancient Alley’s Story #flashfiction #poetry #amwriting

Aged marks the alley

A way traversed by man

many feet have covered

more years than that  have spanned

Aged marks a history

where crimes in stealth occurred

running for a hidden place

but they had been observed

Aged marks a story

the stones that cannot speak

holding back the knowledge

not told on any street

Aged yes and crafty

we carry many scars

were you to know the secrets

you’d gasp and be alarmed

Seek not for the answers

we whisper in our drink

this alley holds much darkness

they’re coming

for you

we think

*

Thanks to Rochelle and Friday Fictioneers  for another week, another great prompt, and an entry into an alley where there may be no exit.

I took the liberty of editing Kent Bonham’s shot just a bit. I wanted the focus to be on the stones of this alley.

Gateway to Death #poetry #photography

Bolted twice and once padlocked

Hairs rose on my back as I passed

“what can fools fear here”

the crows mocked

death’s never taken its last

*

Boney fingers in a long, far reach

striving against iron grate

“warm healthy blood

I offer one taste

 no fear there’s the strong, sturdy gate “

*

blood rose and poured out my mouth

foaming it took out my teeth

“release me”

I cried to no one

up drove creped horse with black wreath

*

Unbolted twice and unpadlocked

Hairs rose on my back as it passed

“you are a fool

to have come here”

death’s reaper has taken his pass

***

This is just a taste to wet your lips. Go to Pen of the Damned and get a full coarse meal of death.

“Feast at my burial. I’ll bring the beer.”

Photograph: “Hell’s Gate” © L. Moon 2013

Reap what we sow #dark #poetry #PEN

Empty Fields

the green place that I’d known
had been watered red and died
nothing was left to atone
the sun on that day must have cried

Come on over to Pen of the Damned where there is an unusual reaping. Reaping the Harvest  my newest dark poem seems oddly appropriate for the day our government in the United States has shut down.

Photography: Pen of the damned icon by Bernini

Harvest in sepia © L. Moon

Entrance to the Damned #flashfiction #pen

Enjoy Pen of the Damned today as we have a treat for you. Each of us has written a flash fiction (100 words) based on the picture prompt (above). The words I have placed below is dark compilation.  Come over to the Pen and feast in our dark banquet hall.

The weeping was for all who, on small feet, come, hands overflowing with offerings; the dead screaming in their endless burn. They prowl the shadows, “You cannot flee, ” says a voice that is not his own.  Husks of comforting strangers fill my head with their thoughts.

“I always laugh last.”

~ and so they are all damned

Small Sacrifices ~ Nina D’Arcangela

Damnation ~Dan Dillard

The Ruin of Man ~ Tyr Kieran

Palace ~ Joseph A Pinto

The Lost Message ~ Leslie Moon

Ghoul’s Last Laugh ~ Blaze McRob

THE OTHER PLACE ~ Thomas Brown

Dementia ~ Daemonwulf

Photograph: “Monument” © Copyright Dark Angel Photography.

Weekly Photo Challenge “In The Background” #photography #B&W #poetry

Lurking in the background

just beyond my sight

is a shadowy presence

 evokes in me much fright

*

will darkness creep still slowly?

passing through the gate

what is it dark is holding?

I gasp at what’s at stake

**

Please bar the door – protect us

do not unleash the beast

can’t you hear it gnashing

thinking me its feast?

*

Lurking in the background

just beyond my sight

is a shadowy presence

 will I last the night?

This week’s prompt at WordPress’ photo challenge is “In the background”

There are always wonderful stories just out of reach for the viewer In the Background. Please enjoy delightful photography from the weekly photo challenge.

Do you enjoy a dark fiction? Pen of the Damned offers some exceptional writing in the dark/horror genre each Tuesday

Photograph” “Between the Lines” copyright L. Moon 2011