Tag: Paganism

Poetry

A Dance with Death

The Royal Octopus

A poem about time, friendship, and the one chase we never win.

A young man walked on midnight’s breath,
And struck a deal with Lady Death.
She wore a veil of raven thread,
And smiled, “Not yet. But soon,” she said.

He craved the years, the wine, the flame,
To taste the world, to carve his name.
“I’ll give you time,” said she with grace,
“But someday, love, I’ll take my place.”

He danced through wars and fell through love,
Outran the stars and gods above.
Each time he tripped or neared his end,
She’d whisper soft: “Not yet, my friend.”

She toyed with him, a ghostly muse,
With hollow steps in worn-out shoes.
She’d touch his shoulder, draw in close—
Then vanish like a fleeting ghost.

She aged him slow with every chase,
Etched crow’s feet deep upon his face.
In every mirror, shadows stirred,
Her silence louder than a word.

He laughed at first, defied her game,
But years grew cold and none remained.
One twilight, tired beneath the stars,
He met her eyes, and dropped his guard.

“I’ve run,” he said, “and still you came.”
She knelt beside him, spoke his name.
“No shame in rest, in letting go—
You made the most of what you stole.”

And hand in hand, they crossed the hill,
Two friends, at last, both calm and still.
For Death, who waits and gently keeps,
Had come not cruel, but kind—to reap.

©️2025

Greek, Poetry

Concrete Heart

The Royal Octopus

They speak of stone and eyes that kill,
Of frozen men, forever still.
But none recall the girl she was—
Before the curse, before the claws.

A priestess pure, with braided grace,
She served the gods in sacred place.
But gods are cruel, and men are bold—
Her story’s often left untold.

Poseidon came with lust and spite,
Within Athena’s hall that night.
No sword to raise, no shield to part—
Just screams, and then a shattered heart.

The goddess burned with bitter flame,
And made Medusa wear the blame.
She tore her beauty, cursed her face,
And snakes rose up to take their place.

Now eyes that once held gentle gleam
Can trap a soul within a dream.
One glance, one breath, and all is lost—
A crown of death, at beauty’s cost.

They call her fiend, they curse her name,
But none recall who lit the flame.
Each statue in her garden wide
Was once a fool with sword and pride.

She walks alone, apart, unmoved—
By all the lies that men have proved.
Yet deep within, beneath the art,
Still beats a cold, concrete heart.

Not born of hate, nor shaped by sin—
But forged where pain and wrath begin.
A heart once soft, now locked away,
To keep the world and gods at bay.

So speak her name with care and grace,
And know the truth behind the face.
For monsters rise when wrongs go far—
And every scar becomes a star.

© 2025

Poetry

Liam and the Lamp

The Royal Octopus

Liam was restless, the sky hung low,
Life was dull, the days moved slow.
Behind his shed, through mud and vine,
He found a lamp with an emerald shine.

He gave it a rub with a shrug, half-bold—
Out rose a shimmer of lavender and gold.
A woman emerged with stardust eyes,
Her voice was soft like lullabies.

“I’m Lyra,” she said, with a wistful sigh,
“A genie of wishes—three, then goodbye.”
“Ask what you will, but choose them wise.
Not all that glitters is truly a prize.”

“First,” said Liam, “I want success—
Fame, fortune, all the rest.”
Poof! In seconds, his name was known,
A world of applause, a glittering throne.

“Second,” he grinned, “make me adored.
Friends by the dozen, fans by the horde!”
And so it was—his phone rang nonstop,
Praise and selfies, he’d reached the top.

But soon came the asks, and the desperate cries:
“Wish for my sister,” “My brother just died.”
“Can you fix the world?” “Make hunger end.”
“Wish for us, Liam—be more than pretend.”

Their voices clung like vines to his name,
Every call was coated in effortless blame.
He’d wanted joy, but now bore their weight—
A million ol’ hands reaching all through his gate.

And so, for his third, he looked to the sky.
Then back at Lyra, with tears in his eye.
“I wish,” he said, “for all this to be done.
No more wishes for me—not for anyone.”

Her smile faintly dimmed. “You mean…?” she asked.
He nodded once. “I wish for your last.”

She staggered back, her light turned cold,
A shimmer of sorrow in silver and gold.
“Liam,” she whispered, “I lived for the giving…
But you’ve wished it away—ending my living.”

Yet, she bowed. As was her vow.
With a final glow, she vanished now.

The lamp turned dull, the silence grew—
And Liam sat in a world he once knew.

Alone with fame, alone with gold,
Alone with a wish far too cold.
And deep in his chest, it softly aches—
The cost of a wish that a kind heart breaks.

©️ 2025

Poetry

The Stages

The Royal Octopus

Beneath the twilight’s dim-lit gaze,
I stumbled upon Death in a shadowed haze.
Cloaked in silence, a figure still,
Its presence burned, a frigid chill.

“No, not yet,” I cried, my voice a storm,
“This cannot be, it feels too warm.
The sun still rises, the world still turns,
Surely, Life’s flame still fiercely burns.”
But Death stood firm, no word it spoke,
Its eyes like mirrors, my hope it broke.

“How dare you come!” my fury roared,
“To snatch the dreams I’ve yet explored.
You thief of time, you cruel deceit,
I’ll rage until your grasp’s defeat!”
But Death stood patient, calm and still,
A shadow bound by fate’s own will

“Please,” I begged, with trembling plea,
“Take my years but leave them free.
Spare those I love, or delay your claim,
I’ll give you gold, I’ll bear the blame.”
Yet Death, unmoved, began to wane,
Its silence sharper than my pain.

A void engulfed me, vast and deep,
A bitter ocean where sorrows creep.
“What’s left for me?” I asked the dark,
“My heart, extinguished, bears no spark.”
And Death, though silent, seemed to sigh,
As stars wept tears across the sky.

Then light emerged, a subtle glow,
A whispered truth I came to know:
“Though Death may come, it does not sever,
For love and memory live forever.”
I reached for Death, no fear, no plea,
And walked with it, at last set free.

Through every stage, I met my end,
But Death, it seems, became my friend.

2025 ©️

Poetry

Loki

The Royal Octopus

Beneath the sky of shifting gray,
Where twilight dances, night meets day,
There spins a tale of guile and flame,
A trickster’s art, a whisper’s name.

Loki, born of frost and fire,
Weaver of schemes, unquenched desire,
With honeyed tongue and quickened mind,
He bends the fate of gods and time.

He walks the line ’twixt jest and spite,
A thief of truth, a shadowed light.
With silver lies and cunning art,
He sows discord in every heart.

A serpent sly, a fox’s grin,
His chaos spreads where he has been.
Yet in his tricks, a lesson lies—
To see the truth through veiled disguise.

For though his deeds may shatter peace,
And sow confusion without cease,
His clever hands reshape the way,
A spark that births another day.

Oh, Loki, wily, sharp, and sly,
A fire that flickers, never dies.
Your cunning path, both curse and boon,
A dance beneath the shifting moon.

2025 ©️

Poetry

The Silent Killer

The Royal Octopus

Beneath the sky, so vast, so blue,
She whispers vengeance, cold and true.
No armies march, no cannons roar,
Her quiet fury settles the score.

The rivers rise, a creeping flood,
Turning streets to paths of mud.
The winds, they howl, with spiteful grace,
Tearing apart the human trace.

Her forests burn, a crimson pyre,
Fed by greed and mankind’s fire.
The earth she shakes, her anger deep,
A tremor wakes where cities sleep.

The oceans swell, their waves take hold,
Swallowing shores both young and old.
The ice retreats, her final plea,
As waters drown humanity.

No words she speaks, no threats she cries,
Her silence shames the loudest lies.
For every tree and every stone,
She claims what man would call his own.

We took her gifts, we scarred her face,
We mocked her patience, stole her grace.
Now she’s a shadow, cold and grim,
Her quiet vengeance grows within.

Beware the calm, the lulling peace,
For it’s her rage that will never cease.
A mother scorned, her justice clear—
She’s the silent killer we ought to fear.

2025 ©️

Poetry

Scylla’s Lesson

The Royal Octopus

Upon the cliffs where shadows cling,
A creature waits, a cursed thing.
Her many heads, her gnashing teeth,
But sorrow hidden far beneath.

Once a maiden of grace and light,
Her beauty gleamed, her spirit bright.
But envy’s spell and cruel deceit
Turned flesh to bone, and joy to grief.

Now sailors scream, their faces pale,
As she emerges, fierce and frail.
They see the beast, the savage guise,
But not the tears within her eyes.

She strikes to live, not to destroy,
Her hunger void of wrath or joy.
Yet no tales told of her despair,
Just demon in her lair.

If only they could hear her plea,
“Would you not fight, if you were me?
Condemned to hunger, trapped in strife,
What choice remains, except for life?

This world is quick to name and blame,
To bind the lost in chains of shame.
But monsters, too, we bear a heart,
A shattered whole, a fractured part.

So pause before you cast your stone;
The fiercest fight is fought alone.
In every shadow, light may hide—
Look deeper in, see past the tide.”

2025 ©️

Poetry

The Patient Queen

The Royal Octopus

Upon the cliffs where salt winds wail,
Penelope weaves her endless tale.
Threads of gold and sorrow entwine,
Each stitch a prayer, a sacred sign.

Her heart a lyre, strung tight with grief,
Each day a moment, each night a thief.
Yet steadfast stands her patient gaze,
Through shadowed nights and endless days.

The suitors swarm, a ravenous tide,
Greed and ambition their only guide.
They feast, they laugh, they drink her wine,
Blind to the cunning of the queen’s design.

For in her chamber, cloaked in thought,
A secret challenge she has wrought:
The bow of Odysseus, mighty and true,
A test no mortal could ever undo.

“Let he who strings this weapon of kings,
Be he the man fate’s favor brings.
And through twelve axes cast his dart,
Claim my hand, and win my heart.”

Her voice is calm, her resolve like stone,
Though love for one man fills her alone.
She bides her time, she guards her name,
A queen of patience, a master of flame.

Beyond the sea, her hero roams,
Through storm and sorrow, through distant domes.
Yet in her heart, his image burns bright,
A beacon of hope through the darkest night.

O noble queen, your strength endures,
A legend wrought of trials and lures.
For love and wit shall pierce the veil,
And bring Odysseus home to Ithaca’s tale.

2025 ©️

Poetry

The turning of Yule

The Royal Octopus

Beneath the sky so dark and deep,
The earth lies still, in winter’s sleep.
Yet whispers stir through frost-clad air,
A promise woven soft and fair.

The holly stands with crimson crown,
The ivy winds where cold comes down.
Green guardians of the season’s cheer,
They hold the light through longest year.

The oak king falls; the holly reigns,
A cycle bound in nature’s chains.
Yet in the heart of darkest night,
The sun is born, a spark of light.

The yule log burns with warming glow,
Its embers dance where shadows grow.
A circle cast, a song begun,
To greet the waxing of the sun.

Oh ancient rites of fir and flame,
The gods are near; we call their name.
Brigid, Thor, and Frey draw near,
Their blessings light the waning year.

So raise the cup and feast with glee,
For love and joy shall ever be.
The wheel has turned; the light returns,
And in our hearts, the fire burns.

2024 ©️

Poetry

Santa and his Shadow

The Royal Octopus

In winter’s chill, when snowflakes fall,
Santa rides with joy to all.
With sleigh and gifts, he lights the night,
Bringing warmth and festive light.

But close behind, in shadow’s veil,
Krampus walks with frost and hail.
His chains they rattle, his breath is cold,
A tale of fright, both fierce and old.

For Santa brings the gifts and cheer,
To those whose hearts are bright and clear.
But Krampus watches, grim and sly,
For naughty ones who cheat and lie.

One with laughter, one with dread,
Together on their paths they tread.
For every joy, a lesson stern,
From kindness given, or harshly earned.

So heed the tale, both sweet and grim,
Of Santa’s warmth and Krampus’ hymn.
For in the season’s magic blend,
Both light and shadow find their end

2024 ©️