In the Pen Volume 1: #31: Ripe

In the Pen Volume 1: #31: Ripe

Moments in life
Are mostly just that
Most moments
Will bow to the relative scope
Of a life lived

With time and moments
A budding sprout
Can become a ripe fruit
Full of life
Despite what tried to end them early

In the Pen Volume 1: #30: Catch

In the Pen Volume 1: #30: Catch

With arms stretched out
Palms open
Fingers extended

He must bring it home
He must rise to this challenge
He must make the catch

In the Pen Volume 1: #29: Injured

In the Pen Volume 1: #29: Injured

No matter the time
No matter the patience
You carry the pain with you

Broken bones and bleeding skin
Once healed
Leave permanent scars

Once injured
Forever cautious

In the Pen Volume 1: #28: Ride

In the Pen Volume 1: #28: Ride

Each one has
A beginning
An end
And everything in between

Appreciate where they begin
Live in the in between
And cherish the triumph at the end

In the Pen Volume 1: #27: Coat

In the Pen Volume 1: #27: Coat

Here
You can have mine

I look forward
To seeing you again

Bring it with you
And we can take another walk

Together

In the Pen Volume 1: #26: Dark

In the Pen Volume 1: #26: Dark

Here we are
Near the end of this journey
This desperate clawing
Back towards the light

For what feels like forever
Even though it simply couldn't be
I have lost the light
The light I need

In this darkness
I can find at least one thing
The helping hands of those
That will always dive into the darkness

They dive and dig
Claw and scream
Love and support
And save me from the darkness

In the Pen Volume 1: #25: Tasty

In the Pen Volume 1: #25: Tasty

Made by hands
That hold my heart

Blessed by love
And made with care

Nothing beats
The taste of home

In the Pen Volume 1: #24: Dizzy

In the Pen Volume 1: #24: Dizzy

Plunging to my lowest
Dragged back to the middle
Shoved back to the bottom
Launched to the top
Balancing upon a precarious point
The next gentle breeze
Is all it takes
To put an end to the high
Life measured
By the number of crises
And their frequency
Hoping that at some point in life
Things won't be so dizzy

In the Pen Volume 1: #23: Ancient

In the Pen Volume 1: #23: Ancient

What you're doing right now
Yes, you
Yes, right now

This is as old as time
This ballet your eyes perform
This journey your mind takes
This odyssey your soul lives

Yes, all of that
All right now

This is you
And these words

Connecting in the oldest way possible

In the Pen Volume 1: #22: Ghost

In the Pen Volume 1: #22: Ghost

Boo!
Trying to be scary

Wooooooo...
Trying to be spooky

Bwahahahaha!
Trying to be downright frightening

Perhaps those scary, spooky ghosts
Are just doing their best?

In the Pen Volume 1: #21: Treasure

In the Pen Volume 1: #21: Treasure

Life is not cheap
It is the first
And the last
Precious treasure

Of course there will be times
When we lose sight
Of the glimmer and shine
Sometimes lost beneath a crushing lid

Sometimes someone else
Must find you
Your map and key
And sometimes, no one is on their way

Sometimes, you'll have to lift the lid
Of your own shrinking coffin
And face the new day on your own
And sometimes, lifting the lid wont seem worth it

Telling you that you are a treasure
Is not enough
Listening to your silencing voice
Is not enough

So I ask you
Please keep a small piece of treasure
Forever nearby
Shape it into your map and key

In the Pen Volume 1: #20: Tread

In the Pen Volume 1: #20: Tread

Tread softly
While wearing ankle weights
Across a shattered glass floor

Tread lightly
While dancing
In quicksand

Tread delicately
When leaving behind your steps
A path to be followed

In the Pen Volume 1: #19: Sling

In the Pen Volume 1: #19: Sling

You will not find my footprints
On the front lines of the battlefield
You may find paw prints
But never my footprints

Connected to the natural beauty around me
I keep my distance from threats
Knocking them in their bucket heads
And they tumble over their garb
Of decimated earth

If I must
I will
Represent these animals
Of the forest

Dressed not in their skins
But enveloped in their form
Granted their strength and ferocity
The power of their instincts

I am the druid

In the Pen Volume 1: #18: Misfit

In the Pen Volume 1: #18: Misfit

My fit doesn't quite fit
I often miss
Miss the mark meant for fitting in
Missing my chance to be a fit

Not fit to serve
Not fit to speak
Not fit to love
Not fit to live

These misfit monologue mind mines
Make it hard to carve the right piece

In the Pen Volume 1: #17: Ornament

In the Pen Volume 1: #17: Ornament

Christmas often arrives
Much too early
Before there is time
For the first flurry

Green and red and white
Taking over the landscape
Orange and brown and black
Forgotten until it's too late

Take the time
To appreciate today
Give each special memory
Its own special day

In the Pen Volume 1: #16: Wild

In the Pen Volume 1: #16: Wild

Unleash in me
The need to choose
Predator or prey
A choice to survive
Or to sustain

I shall kneel as prey
Meek, sorrowful prey
Devoured by the stronger
Serving my purpose as the weaker

In the Pen Volume 1: #15: Legend

In the Pen Volume 1: #15: Legend

Mythos made of blood and steel
Standing triumphant above the others
Staying true amidst the trials
Perhaps we honor these legends
Because they are everything
We cannot be
We are not legends
We are barely memories
And with time
We aren't even that

In the Pen Volume 1: #14: Overgrown

In the Pen Volume 1: #14: Overgrown

Word association is a funny thing
I hear overgrown
And my first thought is: my height
My second thought is: weeds
And my third thought is: my anxiety

In the Pen Volume 1: #13: Ash

In the Pen Volume 1: #13: Ash

A fitting end
For a life engulfed
In the flames
Of trial and tribulation

In the Pen Volume 1: #12: Dragon

In the Pen Volume 1: #12: Dragon

A monster, demon, calamity
A deity, divine, omnipotent
A legend, myth, story

This fascination
With a creature
Who never once flew
And never once breathed fire

What a wild dream
To find a fantasy in ferocity
A crazy conclusion
To find inspiration in their grandness

To dream of dragons

In the Pen Volume 1: #11: Snow

In the Pen Volume 1: #11: Snow

They say a writer
Should write what they know
Seeing as I'm from Southern California
I know nothing of snow

In the Pen Volume 1: #10: Pattern

In the Pen Volume 1: #10: Pattern

"Things get better."
Which means it must first be worse

"Move on."
Which means one must walk with scars

"Tomorrow's another day."
Which means today was a loss

"Don't forget who you are."
Which means the real me retreats when needed most

Up and down
Back and forth

A life made of the next challenge
Before the next breather
Before the next challenge

Eventually

There will come the final challenge

A permanent end to the cycle

In the Pen Volume 1: #9: Swing

In the Pen Volume 1: #9: Swing

I used to think
My greatest challenge
Was to find the courage to launch myself
At the highest height
Of the swinging swing

The true challenge
Is facing the reality
That you may have to search
Far and wide
For a place to land
On your feet
In a world set
On devouring you

In the Pen Volume 1: #8: Frail

In the Pen Volume 1: #8: Frail

An entire life discarded
By a lie regarded
As truth

A mind left shattered
When all that mattered
Was taken away

A heart left empty
By a hopeless treaty
Between death and despair

An ending made inevitable
By true pain untreatable
And its unending presence

Farewell to it all
An embracing of the fall
Another casualty of human frailty

In the Pen Volume 1: #7: Enchanted

In the Pen Volume 1: #7: Enchanted

A life lived
A thousand times over
And a thousand times again

Each new adventure beginning
Within the magic of the story

I have lived a life enchanted
One filled with stories counted
Among the pages I've wanted

Against challenges unending
An escape lays waiting
To a world unending

The magical mystery
Of the written word
Shall forever leave me
More than I was before

More than I could
Have ever been without

In the Pen Volume 1: #6: Husky

In the Pen Volume 1: #6: Husky

I can hear the howl
Piercing through the moonlit sky
Singing into my ears
An instinctual, beautiful cry
A call of the wild
Bringing proud music
To the silent night

In the Pen Volume 1: #5: Build

In the Pen Volume 1: #5: Build

With fury
With rage
With a pain unleashed

Shotgun blasts
Of anxiety
Of fear
Of never-ending scars

This is destruction

With help
With love
With a pain shared

Pinpoint potions
Of health
Of energy
Of community

This is how you build

In the Pen Volume 1: #4: Freeze

In the Pen Volume 1: #4: Freeze

Freeze within the frame
A memory everlasting
A dream never lost
A hope forever hopeful
Take with you
Your history preserved
Not on your phone
But in your heart

In the Pen Volume 1: #3: Bait

In the Pen Volume 1: #3: Bait

Hand-carved carnivore
Laying in wait
For hands gloved
In leather
In chain mail
In plates of steel
Both bait and trap
Is this beautiful gift
Dressed up fancy
To disguise its lethality

In the Pen Volume 1: #2: Mindless

In the Pen Volume 1: #2: Mindless

Number One
Bubble A

Number Two
Bubble A

Number Three
Bubble A

Number Four Thousand Two Hundred Seventeen
Bubble A

Some day the students
We tried to zombify
Will save the next generation
From the broken promises

In the Pen Volume 1: #1: Ring

In the Pen Volume 1: #1: Ring

With this ring
I thee wed

With these vows
I thee promise

With my heart
I thee love

With my life
I thee live

I live for you
I live for your love
I live for our future

5d20 Disadvantage

5d20 Disadvantage

Rebellions are always

The most bloody affairs

Sacrificial slaughter

To an abstract cause

His strength must remain

His magic run bountiful

Washing over the wounds

Of the devoted rebels

Fighting with farmer's tools

And torches

Against iron, steel,

And flaming artillery

It is one battle lost

After another

The ground gained, lost

Until there is none to stand upon

He stands in a mixed puddle

Of ally's and enemy's blood

No longer can he play the role of healer

Now he must be the fighter

His story continues...

Changing Perspectives

Changing Perspectives

With foreshadowed eyes
I see a future once unknown

With shrouded eyes
I look back at a life undone

With open eyes
I see this day before me

My eyes
My eyes

They see what I have seen
What I see
And what I will see

I look where I choose to
And see an incomplete picture
My eyes must see
With eyes of another

To find those eyes
With mind and mine
Is my vision
Of a new, more complete view

Of the infinite world around me

Memory Lane

Memory Lane

Turn the page and feel again
Read the words and wonder
What was it that happened that day
To make me feel the way captured in writing
I take this stroll
With a mind open to expectations

A New Day's Choice

A New Day's Choice

Make the world a better place
          By choice

Do more than survive
          By choice

Be more than alive
          By choice

Cast down your fear, violence, spite, and hatred
          By choice

Take care of your ability to choose

Treat this ability as the powerful gift it is

Live this new day
          By choice

Measured by Choice

Measured by Choice

I was not born in self-deprecation
I trained in the words
I use to hurt myself

I was not born in naivety
I was simply born
In the blessing that is being born

To be of pure existence
Coming from nothing more than presence
To be and only be for the sake of only being

I was not born in hatred
I was not born in spite
I was not born in violence
I was not born in fear

I was taught these things
Living life for the sake of survival

Survival is of instinct
And yet remains a part of the most civilized
The most consistently controlled

We survive
I believe
To get back
To when our survival
Did not count
On the end of others

A life of choices made
A life of choices weighed
Against our measure from birth

I was not born measured
I grew into my measurement
And continue to grow through choices

Imperfectly Perfect Potential

Imperfectly Perfect Potential

When in your shrouded doubt
Look in me
For the light imperfect

For perfection
Cannot be you
Cannot be me
Cannot be anyone

Without perfection
We are free

Free to fall
Free to rise
Free to doubt
And free to believe

To believe
In ourselves
And in our futures unknown
Look to the lack of certainty
As the invitation to live

4d20 Disadvantage

4d20 Disadvantage

He decides it best to be in
The one place he has ever seen the target
The smell of salt, swaying minds, and greed
Fill his nostrils, failing to distract his trained eyes

Exactly upon the hour he predicted
The man with motivations paid in bribes
Enters the perilous pub
Looking for the next installment on his lack of honor

Following the unsuspecting and unaware
Is the rogue's specialty
He follows the target all the way
Back to the central barracks

He can assume that a small army
And a fortress fortified
Stand between him
And this righteous kill

He can find no secret entrance
No way in without being seen
And while searching for his opening
He hears the voices nearby
          of the armored foes that have spotted him

His story continues...

3d20 Disadvantage

3d20 Disadvantage

The bandit presence removed
The bandit threat ended
The bandit leader chars in the rain
The bandits alive flee with haste

She feels herself a now empty vessel
The Lesser Goddess answered the call
And collected the toll
The War Mage's heart grows faint

The villagers cower
Leaving their hero helpless
When her need for help
Could not be more dire

This is a dad way to end
When one considers it doesn't have to be
If but one saved could step forth
Overcome their fear in name of their savior

Her eyes flinch at the raindrops falling upon her face
Her body grows colder than the storm
Her eyes stop flinching, now closed
Her body stops chilling, now still

Her story continues...

2d20 Disadvantage

2d20 Disadvantage

With her new power
Comes new purpose
She will spend the rest of her life
In servitude of the greater good

Divine judgment awaits her foes
A force to be felt from her blade
She swings it now at the command
Of a deity unforgiving of evil

She must now follow the call
Ringing in her mind
And pounding in her heart
Her life is no longer hers

This is a harsh reality
One she feels unfit to live in
She has been one to help
Of this, there is no doubt

However, she is also a spirit free
Unwilling to serve blindly
Existentialistic dread
Weighs her down, frozen in fear of unflinching fealty

Her story continues...

Dreaming of Love

Dreaming of Love

A sprinkle of angel's halo glow
Left there upon sleeping eyes
To set to sleeping mind
A dream from which
None would willfully choose to awaken
Not unless a reality
That must at least be matching
In the splendors of love's world
Behind closed eyes
Awaits the dreamer
Upon awaking

5d20 Advantage

5d20 Advantage

Acts of compassion
Acts of kindness and care
Acts of generosity
With both time
And energy given

While the prince
Takes and takes
The cleric
Gives and gives
Asking nothing in return

His benevolence gains attention
From an oppressed people
An oppressed people with wounds now healed
Strength restored and a new motivation to rise
To fight for their home and future

The cleric takes notice of this
Knowing he will be expected to lead
He does not fear the challenge
He has done this before
And has never failed

His story continues...

4d20 Advantage

4d20 Advantage

He's done playing the part of a surprised sellsword
He's been through too much to be surprised anymore
Or so he thought
"Listen you, me husband needs killin'.
Ya think ya can handle it?"

His continued silence changes in tone
From surprise to uncomfortable familiarity
His disinterest is kept in check
No sense in throwing away an easy payday
"When and where?"

She glares at him with no confidence in him at all
"The pub on the east end, tonight, right after sunset.
That's when he collects the bribes.
Don't care how ya do it.
Doubt you'll even get it done."

Now he knows what's going on
The corrupt lawman from the tavern
Beats his wife and takes his bribes
Enticed by the added opportunity
     for those hefty bags of gold
He now has zero reservations
     about killing this man

His story continues...

3d20 Advantage

3d20 Advantage

Unbeknownst to the raging bandit leader
The magic rain has done more
Than just replenish her strength
It gives her the power she needs
To tap into an ancient force

For this moment in time
She is a vessel
A weapon to be wielded
By the benevolent Lesser Goddess of the Storm
The bandit leader rages against a deity's wrath

The bandit leader charges forward
Thrust his three-pronged fishing spear
Only to have it caught in her bare hand
Energy flows through the spear
And into the now howling bandit

Unable to let go of his own weapon
Bound by the energy
That tears through ever cell in his body
It takes only moments
For the Lesser Goddes to rip from within him his life

Her story continues...

2d20 Advantage

2d20 Advantage

With her allies in steel by her side
Perhaps she would stand a chance
Ghouls are not faster than her
Ghouls are not stronger than her
But surrounded, outnumbered one to one hundred

Left with not choice but to swing her sword
And to raise her shield
Despite having the strength to cleave
Her festering enemies in two
There are too many to slice through

A bite here, a scratch there
Thank the Goddess for her thick armor
But they begin to pile upon her
The weight begins to be too much
When the darkness closes in

The Goddess answers her prayers
A burst of light explodes from her sword
The horde is burnt to nothing
She stands, now wielding a new power
She has ascended to the rank of holy knight

Her story continues...

5d20

5d20

Four full weeks have passed
Since he first agreed
To stay behind
And provide aide
To this beaten and battered town

Through necessity he has acclimated
Can't have the most sought after healer
Passing out from heat fatigue
Daily he heals wounds
Ranging from the minor to the lethal

It doesn't take long
For him to learn
The town is ruled over
By the harshest of tyrants
With no regard for the people's well-being

It apparently all changed
Once the benevolent king perished
And his selfish son ascended
Taking the throne
And the kingdom solely for himself

His story continues...

4d20

4d20

A chance to do the right thing
Stands before him, not higher than his waist
Tell the foolish boy
Tell him that his post was foolish
That this whole idea is foolish

Before thought can become words
The boy is joined by a woman
She has one eye
And more broken teeth
Than whole

Despite this, she has life in her
She can't be much older than the boy
Perhaps the older sister stands before him?
Was it her post?
Did her father do the damage to her?

"The boy asked you a question," she hisses.
The hiss created more by her teeth
Than by a malicious spirit
"Do you track better than you answer?" she eyed him up,
"Or are you a bum looking for a handout," and she eye him down.

His story continues...

3d20

3d20

The storm thunders
The roar scatters a few
Of the most cowardly villains
The leader goes from stoic
To grinning, perchance in anticipation

It makes no difference to the storm
Rain pours down atop the villains
And the villains only
Each drop cutting into their bodies
It takes only seconds for the bloody torture
          to complete its work

The water boils upon the leader's skin
He burns with the fury of his flame
He shows no remorse at the death of his minions
A true monster made whole
Only by the spilling of blood

His lack of fear
Is matched by hers
The storm serves its second purpose
Every drop that now falls
Replenishes her strength

Her story continues...

2d20

2d20

The final two are cleaved
And she marches onward
Noting how strange it was
To encounter ghouls
In this neck of the swamplands

Could it be that a hive has festered
She tries to recall the local population statistics
Indeed, a few small villages scattered about
Perchance her services against this plight
Could be needed by the villagers

With greater haste
She makes her way to the nearest sign of life
She finds the village in ruins
And completely infested by ghouls
Still feasting upon the flesh of their victims

They notice this all too eager hero
This foolish hero
In her brash mistake
Standing in fury of her mistake
Refusing to let this be the end

Her story continues...

Following With My Eyes, Dancing With My Heart

Following With My Eyes, Dancing With My Heart

It's in the way she moves
Each step deciding
The rhythm of my heart
The ferocity of my dreams

When with grace she moves
I find a calm resting deep in my soul

When with tenacity she moves
I find a drive once unknown

When with love she moves
I find a reason for my heart to beat

To beat on in rhythm
With her dancing feet
Her welcoming eyes
And her forever smile

I sit, a sap
Making the poet's typical commentary
On matters of the human heart

Oh, when will I learn
That no matter how long
I gaze upon my love
And her dance
The human heart is not to be understood
Only cherished

Summoner's War

Summoner's War

Kneeling at the altar
Taken to the plane
Wherein gods roam the land
Locked in struggle for dominance
A few raise their staves, flutes, and voices
They raise their tomes, scrolls, and volumes
To take command of deities
Takes a summoner's arrogance
To ally oneself with the deities
Takes a summoner's humility
Regardless of the summoner's path chosen
An exceptional wisdom is required
To do battle upon the Altar Plane.

As if it Were a Smile

As if it Were a Smile

My love is like a necessity
          A force to bring me serenity
My love is like the vast, open sky
          A presence that draws my gaze upwards; inspired
My love is like a teardrop's path
          A fall worth taking again and again
My love is like the final chapter
            Pages to be turned with the tale between the lines

Dreaming to Dream of Dreams Dreamt and Dreamed

Dreaming to Dream of Dreams Dreamt and Dreamed

I once had hope
In my future
In so many things
I worked for
Worked so very hard for
I now know that these dreams
Could never fit into
This forever poor man's hands
I have a new hope
A better future
Created by those
For whom
The sun may yet still rise
A new point past my permanent predicament
A place wherein those who destroyed the future
Don't get to be a part of it
The better future
Is theirs to create
And theirs to celebrate

Dark Imagination

Dark Imagination

I eat the souls
Of my conquered foes
For breakfast

I carry lethal potions
And tonics
In my backpack

Every afternoon
I make a trip
To the Shadow Realm

My best friend
Is a headless specter
From the Demonic Realm

I never go anywhere
Without my spellbook
Of debilitating hexes

I go swimming
In a lake
Of boiling bile

I have my pet spiders
In my room
At home

Yesterday, someone called
And offered me a chance to be scammed;
They won't be calling again

There is
A sacrificial lamb
hiding in my locker

Perspectives

Perspectives

My food was cold today
By the time I had a chance to eat it
My mind hurt today
By the time I was done teaching
My heart was exhausted today
By the time I was done hurting
I just hope it was worth it

Mr. Bray helped me during lunch today
It was nice of him
I learned something new today
Mr. Bray showed us how sonnets work
I wasn't feeling good today
But Mr. Bray let me chill in his room and that helped
I just hope he feels better

5d12

5d12

He thought he understood
What it meant to travel through a desert
He couldn't have been more wrong
Under the sweltering sun, his eyes are opened

The other hired hands are from this warm world
And mock the westerner for his excessive sweating
One reaches out to him in aide
In exchange for first aid, both magical and practical

The two strike up a somewhat rushed friendship
Assuming it would end once they reached their destination
But they find this place in need of help
More help than humanitarians can provide

His story continues...

4d12

4d12

Down dark alleyways
And around suspicious corners
A setting unsettling to most
Familiar to him

There have been times when he questioned
Whether he sees better in the dark
When he can't be seen
Making this next part uncomfortable

He knocks upon the door of the potential client
A small child opens the door
Without so much as a blink
He asks the sellsword, "Are you here to kill my dad?"

His story continues...

3d12

3d12

From each house come more
More of these bandits with hostages
The people of this village have been taken
All the more reason to stop holding back

She sends the swords skyward
Out of sight of all without a magic eye
The leader doesn't flinch
But his minions' hands get shaky

Storm clouds appear over the stalemate
Those shaky hands get shakier
And the leader stands more determined than ever
Unconcerned with his enemy's relation to the storm

Her story continues...

2d12

2d12

Slitting throats made easier
Thanks to those smoke bombs
Purchased from the sellsword
Easier, but awkwardly unfamiliar

Now in the open for the final two
Feels right at home
For a woman cast out of hers
A warrior who refused to stand down

She could have followed orders
And the peasants could have been sacrificed
But to her selfish and cowardly commanding officer
She pointed a sword and defied cruelty

Her story continues...

5d10

5d10

Ten miles on foot to an outpost for four-legged transportation
Nine miles more upon the back of a camel
Eight pieces platinum available for a protection post
Seven Sands to be crossed by a caravan of humanitarians
Six other protectors already hired
Five of them built purely for offense
Four days of non-stop travel
Three times the pay off than usual
Two eyes must be kept open at all times
One potentially dangerous agreement to be of service

His story continues...

4d10

4d10

Ten unclaimed bills posted on the Hit Wall
Nine others already crossed out
Eight patrons drinking their drinks
Seven days spent in this hole gathering info
Six nights sleeping in an underground room
Five visits from the captain of the guards
Four bags of gold given by the tavern owner
Three glares exchanged between corrupt lawmen and sellsword
Two feasible jobs remain after chasing down leads
One pays suspiciously more than the other

His story continues...

3d10

3d10

Ten degrees colder than any pain they've ever felt.
Nine more words spoken while they look on in frightened amazement
Eight swords gain controlled, independent flight
Seven screams as slashes soar
Six howls as stabs penetrate
Five crossbowmen lose their trigger fingers
Four beg for their lives
Three-pronged fishing spear drawn by their leader
Two hands holding tight to a blood-stained grip
One thing for sure: this isn't your usual lack of a welcome for outsiders

Her story continues...

Dinner for the Crew

Dinner for the Crew

To the big damn heroes
Wearing the notably unshiny browncoats
Standing in opposition to the purple bellies
Shining in their lies
Gold and silver bathed in blood

To the heroes of the 'verse
I welcome you
To a feast of far greater delicacies than protein paste
However, if the nutrient-rich protein
Is more to your liking
I can serve it up in every shape you request

Otherwise, I have planned for you
The freshest strawberries and other assorted fruits
The ripest tomatoes, accompanied by the greenest salad
With Mudders' Milk, fine wines, crispest ciders,
          and most delicious beers to wash it all down
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Abstract Opposites

Abstract Opposites

Sing in the serene silence of solitude
Crashing against careless canyons devouring
Writing willfully with wrath against the weight
Walls made of worthless words wanting
Wanting more
Always wanting more

Acrostic 2

Acrostic 2

Young man feeling oh so old
Advocate for education
Reliable friend to the very end
Believer in the next generation

My Writing Process: An Epic Penned Across the Compass

My Writing Process: An Epic Penned Across the Compass

I'm fascinated by a many number of things.  One of those things is the concepts of direction and journey-taking.  It's one of the reasons why I enjoy classic epics such as The Odyssey and The Lord of the Rings; as well as modern classics such as The Inheritance Cycle, and A Song of Ice and Fire.  Now, combine that with the inspiration I find in video games, and it makes perfect sense that I would be such a big fan of role-playing games like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest, and most recently: Fallout.  My interest in video game RPGs is not an exclusive one; I also found a great interest in table-top RPGs back in college.  That interest has followed me into my teaching career.  Fortunately, an incredibly awesome group of students I have enjoyed teaching just so happen to like table-top RPGs as well.  It was difficult to get a Dungeons and Dragons campaign going since attendance was inconsistent.  I was therefore required to be creative.  The thing is, I took that requirement to the maximum and created the foundation of a whole new table-top RPG.  I have named it Cataclysm and the students absolutely love it!  I was so happy they were having fun and to watch their characters evolve in conjunction with the game itself.  Improvements have been made to the mechanics, but the lore is in need of much more than is currently written.  Therefore, I've embarked on a poetic journey to tell four stories of particularly skillful adventurers from the world of Cataclysm.  I have already written quite a few poems in the series and I am very excited to keep it going; seriously, there's such a refreshing feeling that comes from writing for the fun of it; to create a narrative with my poetry, that which contributes to the even larger narrative of an entire world that I have created.  I'm relatively certain that this is the kind of rush the writers of those aforementioned classics felt and fell when creating brand new worlds filled with an assortment of fascinating people and a rich, diverse, and enlightening history.  I don't mean to compare the quality of my work with the greats of the genre; however, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that I hope to enter their ranks some day.  For now, I mostly just hope to enjoy the fun I'm having for as long as I can.

That One Moment of Many

That One Moment of Many

When that one bad day
Sets the sun forever
On all the good ones

When that one remark
Mutes in permanence
Every nice thing you've ever said

When that one break
Undoes all that hard work
And time you put in

When that one moment
That was less than awesome
Outweighs all the good times

Your smile must exercise
Put in some reps
At the introspection gym

"You're a good teacher Mr. Bray.
Know that. Believe that. Remember that
The next time a student needs you to be that."

Acrostic

Acrostic

Been waiting a long time
Even set aside other goals
Necessarily left behind
Just to get to this moment
Absent of further goals
Meant to keep me striving
Instead, I plan to stand
Nesting in my humble nest of success

Want Ad

Want Ad

Wanted:
An empty mind
With room to spare
For endless anxiety
Time to kill
To experience the negativity
Constantly knocking at the door to your day
Hope and hopelessness
Need not apply
To this war of attrition
Entropy eternal
And heart forsaken
No pay; no promotions; no retirement
I offer you nothing
Simply because I can't

Invite to the Ball

Invite to the Ball

My cauldron's pit knows no bounds
Find me the serrated nose of a drunken clown
Trim from the hangman's armpit some whiskers
And slap the pus right out of your blisters
Make the wolf howl and then claim its call
I swear, upon this night, I will attend the ball

Benjamin: Three Hundred Tries Later

Benjamin: Three Hundred Tries Later

A nerd who reads
A geek who sings
From his greatest highs
To his deepest lows

No more his, he, or him
This one's mine
About me
For me

I am the gamer
The geek
The nerd
The reader, writer, and poet

I am the one
Who shed my fears
My blood, sweat, and tears
To face a new day

This new day
Most definitely different
From years of feeling overwhelmed
I'm still battling; it's true

It's simply that
For the first time
I genuinely feel
I might win

I have two legs to stand upon
And I'm standing tall
I have friends, family, and love
To stand beside me

The time will come
When I write to express
The depths I fall into
As I have before

But for now I write
For fun
I write in celebration
Of what's begun

This new chapter
Is mine for the writing
A chapter
Of my design

The ideas from my mind
The feelings from my heart
The dreams from my soul
The life from my pen

All of it flows
Towards another challenge
But this time the waters are clear
The waters are strong

I am
Benjamin Robert Bray
I am
Loved, cherished, respected, and blessed

Thank you all
For helping me reach this point
At which I can stop crying every time I write
And start smiling at this chance I have to do what I love

Eclipse

Eclipse

Eclipse mine eyes
With all I've yet to see
Shut one eye to what is
And the other to what has yet to be

It's mine eyes that I own
And their recordings I've known
To be misleading in the past
Making me believe in a future that cannot last

So where to next with my contradiction
Of eyes both blind and yet can see
To where are my thoughts' journey to come to fruition
When will it be true that my eyes are me

2d10

2d10

Ten seconds to react to the ghoul attack
Nine inch dagger drawn in her right hand
Eight second fuse on the smoke bomb in her left
Seven seconds of especially dense smoke
Six stabs to the first feral foe
Five stabs to the smaller second screamer
Four seconds used to kill the first
Three seconds for the second; smoke dissipates
Two enemies left
One goal on what's left of their minds

Her story continues...

5d8

5d8

One new world through the wide-opened
Two eyes in awe of the wonder before him
Three light pieces of luggage leave the boat with him
Four volumes of advanced restorative magic spells
Five pouches of powdered herbs for healing without magic
Six yards of bandage wrap
Seven scrolls for warding spells
Eight-sided mace for more aggressive actions

His story continues...

4d8

4d8

One battle left behind
Two weeks time until another must be found
Three meals a day can be afforded for fourteen days
Four fewer days can be afforded should he choose to sleep indoors
Five pounds of gold coins can only take him so far
Six platinum coins thus far saved for a home of his own
Seven years he's taken jobs wherever he can find them
Eight times out of ten he doesn't have to kill anyone

His story continues...

3d8

3d8

One man speaks for the rest
Two options he gives to her
Three of them ready to escort her right back out of town
Four move into position; surrounding her
Five carry crossbows; ready to unleash the second option
Six windows can be seen open with onlookers transfixed
Seven swift words spoken strictly with necessary volume
Eight swords made of diamond-dense and diamond-sharp ice
     float around her with lethal intent

Her story continues...

2d8

2d8

One battle finished without a single wound
Two arrows in condition for recovery and reuse
Three hours pass without further conflict
Four ghouls now approach; surrounding her for the feast
Five sets of teeth between them
Six eyes staring at their next meal
Seven years ago, the first ghouls appeared
Eight dozen decades they hid away
     in the ruins of a once benevolent kingdom

Her story continues...

5d6

5d6

One giant body of water
Two captains, a brother and sister
Three masts thrice as tall than his childhood home
Four sides to the impressive vessel
Five days straight of sea sickness
Six days remaining until the dock;
     onward to the continent across the sea

His story continues...

4d6

4d6

One army won the battle
Two armies of soldiers lost the war
Three giant piles of burning bodies
Four dozen yards away from the breech in the West Wall
Five miles high, the smoke and smell rise
Six times now he sold his blade to the winning side

His story continues...

3d6

3d6

One must climb to heights unmeasured
Two degrees below zero, after only
Three hours into the treacherous hike
Four small buildings found tucked away
Five hours left until the next sunrise
Six heavily clothed and heavily armed men stand before her
          preventing her from entering the inn

Her story continues...

2d6

2d6

One step sinking deeper than the last
Two boots filled to the brim with sludge
Three wild gators looking for a meal
Four arrows to start things off from a distance
Five arrows more to thin the pack by two
Six times the last one takes a slash from her sword
          until it dies belly up

Her story continues...

2d4

2d4

One heads through the Southern Gate
          Into the swamps of strange new creatures
One heads towards the Northern Pass
          Up to the frozen tundra of unforgiving freeze
One heads through the broken section of the Western Wall
          Onto the war-torn remains of yesterday's devastation
One heads to the Eastern Docks
          Towards an uncharted ocean; sailing to the unknown

The story begins...

1d20

1d20

The legendary decider of chance
And skill
Battling for the decision
Over the fate of the adventurers
All in the same realm
Of chance over skill
Be warned that even the mightiest
Can critically fail
Have hope that even the meekest
Can critically succeed
Caution and hope
Or, is it hope in caution
So very many possibilities
Roll the die
By which dragon slaying, dungeon dwellers
Identify their fellows
And let the adventure begin

1d12

1d12

Dozens of dungeons,
Dragons, deities, and deaths;
Deaths in the name
Of Destiny deferred.
All dungeon diving adventurers
Are doomed to death;
So long as their drive
Falters under devastating defeats.
Defend yourself!
Defend your allies!
Defend your home!
Defend all that you deem worthy
Of your dedicated sacrifice.