The Tale of Death and the Green Eyed Man

The green eyed man didn't know what happened,
A flash of pain and all was black,
When he came to, he was in the sky,
Standing on clouds,
Facing a man in a black cloak.
Where am I?
The green eyed man asked,
The man in the cloak lifted his head,
Revealing a terrible, skeletal face.
The green eyed man drew back in shock,
You are between life and death, the cloaked man said,
Not quite dead,
Yet not quite alive either...
But that is about to change, he said, sinisterly,
For I am Death and I shall take you to the otherside!
The green eyed man was shocked,
He couldn't believe he was dead,
Death held out his skeletal, spider-like, fingers,
The wicked smile on his face showing his cruel intentions,
He was going to destroy the green eyed man's soul.
As he smiled, his red eyes looked into the man's green ones,
Waiting patiently to see the fear in them,
The same fear that engulfed all of his previous victims,
The same fear that would destroy him from the inside out.
It had always been that way,
His victims begging for mercy,
Pleading with him to spare their pitiful lives,
But he always took them in the end,
To where no one could hear their pleas...
But as red and green met one another,
The smile on Death's lips faltered,
As the green eyed man smiled, raised his hand, and shouted,
Take me then for I am ready to die!
Death was shocked and he whispered quietly,
You feel no fear?
The green eyed man smiled more broadly still and said,
I once knew a man that said,
Death smiles at us all,
All a man can do is smile back...
You are smiling at me now Death, he shouted,
So I shall smile straight back at you,
For my time has come and I'm ready to die!

They say the shriek of Death could be heard everywhere,
In forests, mountains and valleys,
As for the first and only time,
Death was cheated out of his prey,
By someone who tried to embrace him,
Instead of trying to flea him.

Turn of the Tide

The tide is in,
The waves lap happily over each other,
Gently around my ankles,
Everything in the world is content,
The sun blazes above,
As I breath in the refreshing sea air,
And take in the mesmerising view.
Things in life are going perfectly,
Everything is in harmony with each other...

But then the weather begins to shift,
It becomes stormy and violent,
Things in the world are changing,
They are becoming unbalanced,
The waves crash angrily over each other,
Will they still be around next year?
I have experienced close at hand already,
How much difference a year can make,
Who's to say it won't happen again?

Even now I can feel things changing,
Just as the tide begins to turn.

The Stranger

At the age of twenty-five,
She walks along a familiar path,
Home from her boring job,
Back to her boring house,
With the rainy weather mimicking her feelings.

The old days of fun are long gone,
Friends of old are long forgotten,
Yet, as she reminisces about the past,
A hooded man approaches her,
Claiming to be one such friend.

She denies it vehemently,
This man is bearded and broken,
And there was no glow in his eyes,
She knew no one of the like,
Never had and never will.

You are a stranger, she said defiantly,
Leave me alone, never bother me again,
And with that, she went home,
Leaving the stranger outside in the lashing rain,
In a state of utter shock...

As well as feeling very hurt,
Because he was no stranger, he had been honest,
They had been good friends once upon a time,
But a combination of unfortunate circumstances,
Meant he had lost contact with her...

When he didn't really want to,
And as the stranger stood alone in the pouring rain,
Head bowed, heart broken,
He too reminisced about things long gone,
While marvelling at how things change so quickly.

The Moment of Truth

This is it,
It all comes down to this,
A fleeting period to impress,
It seems long,
Yet, it isn't long enough.
My future depends on this,
As it's the difference between certainty,
And the unknown,
Between having a path to follow,
And wandering, wildly, into the wilderness.
This is where I have to stand up and be counted,
This is the moment of truth.

The Jinx

The Jinx,
A thing of evil,
Like a horrible parasite,
It clings to the soul of a group,
And destroys it,
From the inside out.

It feeds off the slightest of dislikes,
Turning them from mere dislikes,
Into serious problems,
Causing one person to hate another.

Clear-the-air talks would be held,
But the so called peace meeting
Would descend into bickering,
Then the bickering would descend into fighting.

A neutral of the group would try to stop it,
But then the fight between two,
Would turn into a fight between three,
And before long,
The entire group would be at each other throats...

And as their friendship falls apart around them,
The Jinx would move on again,
Content that its job had been done,
While being ready to strike again,
At the core of another unsuspecting group of friends.

Train of Inspiration

He stands alone on the train tracks,
While people on both platforms scream at him,
A train is coming!
They scream for help from the stewards,
Get him off the tracks!
But they are too afraid to do it,
The train is too near, we'll be killed!
While all this was going on,
The train thundered unrelentingly toward the man,
And he willed it to do so,
To go faster,
It's the only way, he told himself,
As he watched the smoke billowing from the top of it,
And as he listened to the train's horn carry through the air,
This is the key to unlocking it...

He could hear the shouts of the people no more,
The noise of the train's horn,
Was the only thing he could hear,
The sight of the speeding train,
The only thing he could see.
He was so close to it now,
His reason for being on the tracks,
And as the train edged closer to him,
He edged nearer to getting it...
Hit me, he willed it,
HIT ME!
Then the impact,
All he could see was white,
And then it really hit him,
And he smiled...

He woke up,
And he picked up his pen.

Old Friends and Strangers

Buildings loom large over me,
Faceless people pass me by,
I search endlessly for a familiar one,
But to no avail.
All of these strangers,
Laughing and joking together,
Make me vulnerable and alone,
As I miss my own friends,
The ones I know I can trust.
Before I looked forward to the chance,
To meet new people,
To make new friends,
But now I realise,
The only friends I really need,
Are the ones I left behind...

Things Inside

People constantly overrate me,
Judging me on what they see on the surface,
Thinking I'm a wonderful person,
But not taking into account the things inside,
The things that no one on the outside,
Ever get to see,
But if they did,
They would be shocked and appalled,
And they would finally see the real me.

People I know haven't yet learned,
That people can't be judged on exterior alone,
That things on the inside,
Aren't always what they seem on the surface.
I am battling the things on the inside,
As I can't live with them in there,
And I can't lie to my friends anymore
As I want to feel like I've earned the image,
That they have of me...

But I feel I'm fighting a losing battle,
The time has come for drastic action.

Bright Nights

The disappearance at night of your wonderful bright light,
Doesn't stop your entrancing voice whispering to me during the night...

During those dark times my hearts calls out to you,
Even then, I see that magical smile belonging to you...

It's not the dusty bed sheets that I smell when lying there,
What I smell is the scent of you and of your luxurious brown hair...

Even when I hug my pillow so tight to me,
I imagine it's you squeezing me just as tightly...

So when I wake up hoping to see your beautiful face,
I'm always sad to find only a pillow in it's place...

I hope one day that it will be you who is lying next to me,
Then my nights will be just like days, shining just as brightly...

(Bright Nights stands for two things - the first sign of change in my style of writing, and as an example of my supreme naivety upon entering college).

The Gladiator

He stands tall in the depths of the Coliseum,
Sword in hand, armour strapped on tightly,
Ready to do battle in that hallowed arena,
Ready to fight to the death,
For his right to be free.
Even there, in the far reaches of the Coliseum,
Where he's closer to hell than to heaven,
He can still hear the chants of the Roman mob,
Willing each Gladiator to make that killer blow,
Willing the Emperor to give the signal of death.
As the gates begin to open,
And he glimpses the sun for the first time
In what feels like an eternity,
He's urged to take what others call,
His last steps into Satan’s waiting arms.
He stands tall still,
And even the sight of many men with weapons,
And of lions and death traps,
All out to end his life,
Fail to shake his firm belief,
That he will win his freedom,
And he will see his family again...

The gates are open,
The Gladiator takes his first step towards freedom.

The Dream

We walk down a familiar road,
Arm in arm,
A hint of a wandering hand,
I hear laughter and turn,
Expecting to see you,
But am shocked to see another,
A close friend,
Someone I wouldn't have expected to see,
On my arm,
Smiling back at me,
Shock is replaced by desire,
And we move closer together,
For the goodnight kiss...

Then I wake up,
Very confused.

Something to Prove

I feel I have something to prove,
Not to those who cheer me,
Not even to those who jeer me,
But to the one person was never convinced,
The one person who always criticised me,
No matter what I did,
The one person who never thought I was good enough,
The one person who never believed in me...

Whether I play well or not,
There is always something for him,
To look at and lambast,
But if I can prove to him once and for all,
That I am good enough to play alongside those,
Who are perceived to be better than I am,
Then I will go on and show the ability,
That everyone already insists I have...

I must prove to myself that I have that ability.

Old Feelings Change

The fears have eased away,
The vulnerability is no more,
All of a sudden,
The large buildings aren't so big anymore,
The faceless people of before,
Are now instantly recognisable,
As some of the wonderful new friends I have made.

Our group has become unbelievably tight nit,
In such a short space of time,
We all care for each other so much,
Despite only knowing each other a week,
I now feel really secure,
Amongst this tight nit group of friends...

My old feelings have changed for the better.

Luck of the Draw

I've been told that I'm a nice guy,
I've been told that I'd be perfect,
I've been told everything,
But everything has always been followed by that word,
But...
Everyone around me seems to be a couple,
Everyone around me insists I need to be patient,
Everyone around me reckons I'll be great,
But no one around me wants to give me the chance I crave,
To prove the supposed greatness I possess.
As everyone around me couples up,
I'm left on my own,
With the same compliments ringing in my ears,
Followed by that same word over and over again,
But...

That, I suppose, is the luck of the draw.

Inner Strength

She smiles and says she's fine,
A look into her eyes tells a different story,
They wear a look of exhaustion,
While her body language suggests,
She is extremely run down,
Showing that the burdens she carries,
On those tender shoulders,
Are meant for others who are more experienced in life...

The burdens she bears,
Are heavy enough to ruin most people,
Yet not only does she carry them,
With tremendous inner strength,
She carries them with a glorious smile,
A smile that says,
I can take what life throws at me,
It won't drag me down...

One can only admire her for this,
I have so much respect for her,
I hold her in the highest regard.

Lost Opportunity

 ..... ........ .. ... .. . ............

The words flash up at me,
Confirming what I've dreaded for a long time,
The one thing I wanted,
Taken away,
The opportunity to have it,
Dashed...

I've known for a long time
That I'd never have it,
I've known for a long time
That what has happened would happen,
But it is still heartbreaking
To see it there in writing.

I Had a Choice

I met the both of you,
During a wonderful week away,
Now that I have a choice between you two,
I don't know which way to sway.

I feel I need some help,
From somewhere up above,
My head is spinning this way and that,
Love split two ways isn't enough.

Both your smiles are equally glorious,
I realise I do not deserve either,
Around yee, I get too anxious,
Start to crowd yee, causing bitter anger...

I have a choice between two,
I don't deserve either of you,
I have a choice between two,
I'd be lucky to have just one of you,
I have a choice between two,
Even though our friendship's still new,
I have a choice between two,
And I really don't know what to do...

Yet, even if I made a choice,
I have already lost both of you,
In the same tone of voice,
You both knock back my advances toward you.

I really can't understand,
This sudden change of heart,
Especially since yee both said,
Yee loved me from the start.

Now my heart is broken,
The wonderful dilemma, taken away,
All I have now is this token,
A newspaper cutting from that day...

I had a choice between two,
Then I lost the pair of you,
I had a choice between two,
I don't understand, what did I do?
I had a choice between two,
Now our friendship's all askew,
I had a choice between two,
Now I don't have either of you...

Goodbye (Version 2)

The old writer heads to his type writer,
He's in the middle of writing his memoirs,
Life and old age have made his features harsh,
Success has brought him no happiness,
Just resentment and bitterness,
His stories always had gruesome endings,
He hated the typical fairytale ending...

He saw no point in lying to everyone,
In giving people false hope,
He always wrote about the real world,
The harsh world,
The one he had lived in for nearly 80 years...

His memoirs could've been passed off as one of his books,
Such was the hate and bitterness that filled it,
His life had been tough,
He fought addictions and life threatening diseases,
Yet he had come through all that,
But those experiences had made him a shadow of a person...

But just as he approached the end of his memoirs,
Something odd happened to the old writer,
He was hit by a sudden epiphany,
One that told him his life had given him much more,
Than he or anyone else could've asked for,
His life had given him love and loss,
Aswell as a constant battle,
And, as bitter as he was towards everything in his life,
The old writer realised for the first time ever,
That he was happy with how everything had turned out...

So when the police found his body the next day,
Slumped over his type writer,
The words they found typed there were the last of his memoirs,
And they read...

"I have died a happy man...goodbye to a wonderful life."

Gone

I have ruined everything between us,
Our friendship was a strong bond between us,
But I have shaken that bond to it's core,
As I have allowed my feelings to change,
Change from being happy as just friends,
To wanting you to be mine forevermore...
The startled look on your face was indescribable,
When I told you how I feel,
You were happy to remain as friends and nothing more,
And the big fear for me now is that,
You decide to hate me and refuse to talk to me,
But that hasn't happened yet,
As you say we can still be friends,
But, even though you say our friendship is still strong,
I know that things will be always be awkward between us.

The friendship we had before is gone,
And it is never coming back...
Because I couldn't control my emotions.

Fleeting Meeting

It hurts so much,
I don't know why,
We spoke only briefly over two days,
But now that I haven't seen you,
My heart pines for you,
Now that I haven't spoken to you,
My heart needs you.

How can I become so emotionally bound to you,
When our paths crossed only so fleetingly,
I do not know,
All I know is,
Your lack of a reply to my message,
Hurts almost as much as a slap to the face,
Maybe even more...

I just hope you talk to me again,
So I can find out if my heart is playing more tricks.