Monthly Archives: October 2015

Once Upon a Halloween… (A short story by Chris Graham)

Good to see a story from Chris who is always so generous in providing help to others. Kevin

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A short story by Chris Graham

The light of the full moon reflected off the stark branches of the ancient oak, dead for the past six centuries, yet still standing, brooding alone on the hilltop.

A sweet looking young girl child with long curly blonde tresses stood, tied securely in front of it, the moonlight making her appear ghostlike as it shone onto her pale face and long white nightdress.

She was looking towards the village she had been brought from, each cottage showing candlelit windows surrounded by interwoven strands of garlic and a large consecrated wooden cross nailed to their doors.

As the last toll of the church midnight bell echoed into silence, she heard the first distant howl, then another, louder one in answer.

They were coming.

She had been discovered lost and abandoned in the nearby woods just the day before, so the village elders selected her to…

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England On The Eve Of World War I

Sun dappled lawns.

The vicar yawns

As Colonel Trickett

Defends his wicket.

The sound of bat on ball

mingles with a blackbird’s   call

that floats

amidst ancient oaks

and the Colonel’s son takes Lucy’s hand

as the sun sets on Angleland.

Wear High Heels

Were high heels for they make you tall

But be careful lest you fall.

Situations are slippery as eels.

The ground feels

firm

but the worm

may turn

and swallow

the hollow

you.

Were high heels for you are pretty

And the citty

Is full of witty

Men

Who employ their pen

To record every slip

And trip.

Watch the pavement as you walk

For people talk

And reputations are brittle as bones

That break on stones …

Raining

I awoke to the rain

drumming on my window pane.

Opening my lattice I let it in

the purifying water that washes away sin.

The hypnotic sound

of rain falling all around.

All my life I have listened to the rain.

The same drumming

of water coming

from the sky

falling on you and I.

The rain has no end

But you and I my friend

May listen for a while

Smile

then pass on by.

This Above All, To Thine Own Self Be True

I must confess to being a little disappointed on receiving the below reply, in response to my submission of several poems to a magazine.

“I read the poems with interest but nothing takes my fancy”.

It would have given me pleasure to see my work featured on a platform other than my own. There is within the heart of man, deny it though he will, a desire for the approbation of his fellows. I am no exception to this rule. I receive a warm glow every time one of my readers likes or comments on my work. Likewise I derive tremendous pleasure on reading reviews left by my readers.

The approbation of others is not, however what drives me to write. Despite the swearing at my computer and the shaking of my fist in frustration when the words fail to come (at the machine I hasten to add), I can not stop writing for I have an itch which needs to be scratched, scratched and scratched again. Thoughts run through my head and must find expression on the page. I can not help myself. I must put pen to paper and leave it to the gods to determine whether or not my words find a place in people’s hearts.

 

I would like to close by thanking all my readers for following me at newauthoronline.com and reading my work.

 

Kevin

 

 

The Autumn Of My Years

Now that I have reached the Autumn of my years

and the grey has chased the brown away

shall I forget the undiscovered rose

whose perfume

hangs in the air

on a spring night

replete with pure delight?

Should I wear sensible shoes

And lose

The joy of walking

Barefoot on grass?

Shall I seek the fairies dancing

Or insist

They do not exist?

I must persist

In my search for bliss

For to be alive

Is to strive

for something more

Than to achieve the title “saloon bar bore”.

I am not a bee in a hive

A mere part of the whole

Lacking a soul.

Joy is my goal!