prose

The Northern Crown

Corona Borealis amidst the glittering symbols of the sky
Forged by goldsmith Hephaestus, God of fire
Jeweled crown of Princess Ariadne of Crete
Studded with Vedic gems
Intoxicating botanic garland of flowers
Diadem with a heady fragrance
Charm Chief Polaris down from the heavens to dance on earth
And summon a council of celestial elders to consider matters of existence
Dispense messages to the Gods from The Mistress of the Labyrinth
She is the Star Goddess of Reincarnation
Under a Celtic Sky
Hypnotized in the bewildering maze-like Revolving Castle
Working Theseus’s ball of string with her wheel
She magically knits the tapestry of life, weaver of cosmic time and fate
As malleable as precious gold
The luminous crown of Ariadne glides
Guided by Arianrhod’s spectral silver wheel
Feel her power and grace amongst the stars
Patiently waiting for us to rediscover her

2018
12 x 12 x 1 inch
Mixed media on canvas

The Sailing Queen’s Daughters

Salt encrusted Oceanid nymph of Mount Cyllene
Grecian κόρη of southern Hellas
Pleione
Spirit of nature
Consort to Atlas
Bearing seven saline spiced daughters, companions of Artemis
Pleiades, protectors of the natural world
Briny Samaritans of the sea
Immortalized by Zeus
Catasterismi records the Nereid sisters embossed into the heavens
Pursued in the West across the night sky fleeing the mighty Orion
Seven doves translated into a constellation of winter stars navigate seafarers from misfortune

2018
12 x 12 x 1 inch
Mixed media on canvas

Call me a constellation

Born of fire, a survivor in the night
I come alive under the darkest skies
Connect the stars…
Stellar direction on an undulating druzaic path
Lunar reflections punctuated by meteoric columns of infinite light
Call me a constellation, culminating in breathless pillows of melancholic silence
Perhaps stars aren’t meant to be reached…
Maybe they are just there to light up the darkness of the night

2018
12 x 12 x 1 inch
Mixed media on canvas

The Tempest That Was Calypso Writhing in Her Coiled Chaos

Concealer of knowledge
Wily enchantress of Ogygia
Calling forth a thundering
Righteous path of destruction
Reeling round and round

An ocean of storming clouds spirals within me
Tattered souls, pieces of promises
A crippled heart, futures shattered
Calypso will consume you then throw you to the ground

2018
12 x 12 x .75 inch
Mixed media on canvas

Archipelago of Phantasmic Luminosity

Along the granular reefs spiny sea urchins creep in companionship with celestially aqueous entities.
Otherworldly collections gather and populate these ethereal islands sprinkled in a body of congealed nectar.
Galvanic coral ledges shelter volcanic mysteries requiring ciphers to unravel the fiery labyrinth.

2018
12 x 12 x .75 inch
Mixed media on canvas

Igneous Apiary: Enlightenment Through the Gilded Monarch

Aurelian helmets of gold lumber along betwixt perverse sylvan societies
Once a promiscuous blossom tender
Dusted with flirtatious flower spice
Regal in your golden glory, rich in verdant pleasures
Now build your cells, spread your wax among these apocryphal surroundings
A lavish counterfeit existence fabricated
to cultivate the confectionery you concoct
An unfortunate saccharine assault of your healing honeycomb

2018
10 x 10 x .75 inch
Mixed media on canvas

Residents of the Oort Cloud

Trans-Neptunian Objects

Rouge entity in vacant primal skies
Debris disc beyond the Kuiper Belt
Blacker than a hundred midnights
Spherical champion of light

Spectral mists across your dark icy shell waft
The stars were clustered about my head
And the earth was under your feet

Clouded with cometary fragments I find that the endless dark spaces between the stars have to mean something

2018
12 x 12 x 1 inch
Mixed media on canvas

Analog Rhythm in Glitch Reverberations

a sudden suffering
ERROR
…hopefully temporary
unusual malfunction
unforeseen irregularity

disruption of a signal
symmetrical symphony, undone
is it an accidental error or intentional...?
echoes of calculated corruption
time to decipher the digital dissolution

a beautiful illusion
foiled attempts to calibrate the fragmented abacus
fabricates an incongruent condition

dispatch manipulated electronic devices
only to broadcast a signal representational of some other time
some other place

errors for an aesthetic purpose

2017
12 x 12 x 1 inch
Mixed media on canvas

Druzy Wintertide Realm

Wild men rage against the dying day
A patulous mist cloaks the bones of our bejeweled earth
Veiling twilight laden with frozen vapors descends
Soft winds swirl collecting crystals
Farewell say the roads as quiet stillness envelops
Clocks ice over and time slows

The darkling Faerie Queen wanders wistfully in the dead of night
Aeons of majesty, royal rubies run through imperial veins
Her druzy eyes glisten like iridescent amethyst
She wishes on stars in the wintery opaline skies
Lavender quartz sparkles in the moon glow
While snow is falling and playing with the light

The scythe of hopelessness strokes her heart
A specter coalesces atop the aubergine crust
Eyes lock amidst an indigo glimmer
She was haunted by his voice in a dream
Melancholic tears of sapphire blue
Blossom as Forget-Me-Nots freshly new

2018
10 x 10 x 1 inch
Mixed media on canvas

Netherworld for the Servant Heart

Paradise buried in the dust of a broken-hearted person’s love

I don’t know who I am
So how I am supposed to know what I want
I take shelter in that pain

The hellfire didn’t stop me from recognizing your soul
the moment your eyes met mine
I welcome the decline of the day as the vesper bell tolls
The lugubrious underworld embraces
Everyone is a ghost around me
A gray eyed romantic who gives over to the shadows with frightful ease
I had too much to dream last night

They were playing our song
Looking in your eyes felt like flying
I’m much more me when I’m with you even if it was only an illusion
A delicious delusion
Have you ever left your heart somewhere you know you will never get it back?

Too many nights I dance with tears in my eyes
I’m all choked up and I can’t find the words
Maybe I’m a lost cause

You haunt my mind when I don’t know where my life should go

2018
10 x 10 x 1 inch
Mixed media on canvas

Uranography of The Chained Lady

Lady of the heavens
Visible on moonless nights
Luminous fertility goddess
Manifested as a glittering tessellation

Embed in the firmament by the Greek goddess Athene
Betwixt the constellations
The twin fish separate you and the briny behemoth
Pisces shielding you from your foe

Daughter of insipid King Cepheus and vainglorious Queen Cassiopeia
Oh, innocent Andromeda
With your kin culpable for your quandary
Misfortune befalls you on account of your matriarch

Cassiopeia whose pride knew no bounds
Possessed supercilious characteristics which led to her demise
Eventually the monarch’s hubris compelled her to boast
Foolishly declaring her daughter more beautiful than the Nereids

Antagonizing an exceptionally alluring group of water spirits
Saliferous nymph-daughters of the sea god Nereus
The arrogant African Queen of Aethiopia had finally gone too far
Gravely insulted, the ethereal sea maidens became irate

Outraged sirens petitioned Poseidon to punish Cassiopeia for her insolence
The wrath of the ruling god of the sea was fixated upon the kingdom
Unpredictable violence of the okeanós a mark of his disposition
Poseidon decreed that Andromeda be tendered as prey for the monster Cetus

In despair the feeble king consulted the wise Oracle of Apollo
However, no respite would be granted by the seer
Defending his kingdom demanded the surrender of his daughter
Condemned to be devoured

Only Andromeda’s sacrifice would appease the gods
Martyred to the aquatic beast
The princess was chained to a rock near the ocean
Andromeda the atonement for the sins of her mother

Navigating a chariot of hippocamps
Wielding a trident crafted by the three Cyclopes
Crowned with a shining aureole
The Olympian commanded the leviathan to devastate Cepheus’ kingdom

Thereupon Cetus was to ravage Andromeda as divine punishment
Unclothed and forsaken on an outcrop of coastal rock
Shackled to the bluffs the princess was left to be consumed
Set to be a tithe to satiate the serpentine fiend

Fearfully awaiting Cetus
On the wave-lashed cliffs The Chained Lady trembled
Pale with terror she wept pitifully at her impending fate
With bitter remorse the wicked queen watched

The Gorgon defeated
Astride Pegasus the champion reveled
Intoxicated with his exploit of beheading Medusa
Triumphant Perseus flew by the kingdom of Cepheus

With trophy in hand
Our hero happened by a marble figure of wonderful beauty
Obscured by the salty swell she was mistaken for statuary
Suddenly a brackish breeze ruffled her hair

Rivulets of warm tears streamed down her cheeks
Somber whimpersrevealed she was human
His heart was captivated by the frail maiden in distress
Perseus fell in love with her at prima facie

Perseus inquired about her bewildering state
Though awaiting a horrible death
Shy Andromeda did not at first reply
Mortified she desired to dissolve into the craggy facade

Perseus relentless in his questioning
Eventually uncovered the particulars of her predicament
With a vow of marriage to compensate him
Perseus pledged to slay the monster

Wearing Hades's helm the wing-footed lover approached Cetus
The sea-dragon’s slavering jaws emerged from the ocean
Invisible Perseus drove his diamond sword into the serpent’sback
Subsequently turning it to stone with the Gorgon’s head in the end

Having slew the monster
Perseus set Andromeda free
Despite being promised to her uncle Phineus
They were wed

The aftermath upon her
Cassiopeia feared Poseidon’s unstable temperament
The volatile sovereign of the sea sought vengeance
Retribution for her arrogance

Cassiopeia was exiled to the boreal welkin
Banishment the consequence for enraging Poseidon
Perilously perched upon a throne of torture
Forced to wheel around the North Celestial Pole

Maniacally enjoying her hand mirror
The looking glass a symbol of her narcissism
Viciously grasping her dais as to not fall off
Cassiopeia’s spends eternity clinging to her celestial cathedra

2019
12 x 12 x 1 inch
Mixed media on canvas