Ken Allan Dronsfield is a disabled veteran and poet who was nominated for 2 Best of the Net and 3 Pushcart Prize Awards for Poetry. His poems have been published world-wide in various publications throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. He has been published in The Burningword Journal, Belle Reve Journal, SETU Magazine, Blue Heron, The Literary Hatchet, The Stray Branch, Now/Then Manchester Magazine UK, Bewildering Stories, Scarlet Leaf Review, EMBOSS Magazine, and many more. Ken loves animals, thunderstorms, walking in the woods at night during a full moon, and spending time with his cats Willa, Hemi and Turbo. Ken loves life!
As Great Birds Circled
It was a coolish night in late September
a breeze was blowing from the North
we sat by the pond with gin and juice
retelling stories of the summer’s past.
we sang while the old man strummed.
Laughs from the right, screams echoed left
as the levee broke, we’re lost in the deluge
and the weeping willow’s laughed that night.
Tender are the soft sounds of footsteps in
the dark upon the moss covered rocks.
Leaves shimmered in the purple twilight
the levee broke then tears cascaded down
the breezes died to a whispering chant
windowless walls of earth and rock moved
crumbling into the water’s great swallow.
A thousand eyes watched in a harsh horror
while great birds on the wing circled slowly
the levee broke and the music faded away.
Chords were wrapped in swaddled hues
of blistering soulless peppermint candies.
Quartz crystals resonated a timeless waltz
rusty colored waters moved lofty gravel hills
while great birds on the wing circled slowly
weeping willows laughed and danced tonight
as the great levee broke we were still there.
Mythos of the Cthulhu Monster
An oak branch danced to a serenaded minuet …
neither wind nor music could be heard as
throbbing hearts were beating like a drums roll.
The Cthulhu monster inhales and shadows bend
all along the high mossy wall of the great castle.
The keep wipes cascading sweat from his brow;
a murder of crows send ‘meet and greets’ as the
the monster of the mythos looks toward the sky
black tea steeps and cream drips slowly from a
silver spoon bequeathed upon his year of birth.
An oak branch danced to a serenaded minuet …
the Cthulhu monster exhales once again, and
dark shadows bend whilst long wailing screams
drift and echo repentant as twilight fades and joins
this black starry night whence the monster walked.
In the light of a flurry of torches, his octopus like
head swung left then right, feelers test the winds,
scales on his manatee looking body reflect colors,
prominent claws on his hind and fore feet dig in
and his long narrow wings fluttering like a fairy.
An oak branch danced to a serenaded minuet …
those in the castle quake and quiver in repose.
The Cthulhu Monster is awake once more.
(Inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft)
To view more from this author pick up a copy of the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of The Stray Branch.