Inklings

Inklings

For teens, by teens.

For teens...
... who want to inspire others and establish a voice in our community.
... who want to be published.
... who are aspiring authors.
... who are artistic, creative, and have nothing better to do.
And because, let's face it-- Inklings just rocks!

POETRY

Asipatra

A bird is a creature of light not of dark

Born in the shadow banks by the darkness of the river Styx .

Born to the screams of those whom grouped through the gathering depths of their cobalt fate. Who pressed themselves up to the surface of the water like fish famished of air.

Imagine how he tumbled wet and shivering from his egg and glimpsed the first scene of his dark life. When did the inkling of his own ruin and slavery slither serpent like into his tiny mind. Did he hate the place he learned to live in did he long to stretch his wings and soar through the distance of the sky.

What was it like when he flittered through the gloom to alight on a jagged peak? To upturn his head and see through the dark abyss, a tiny ray of sunshine which, though he tried and tried he could not reach.

Did he long to force himself through the small crevice and smell the fresh Lupine and dampen his plumage in a towering storm cloud.

Or did he not dare to imagine such beauty for terror of going mad with envy.

How could sparrows live in sunshine and in light when he king of all birds was locked away in a place far from theirs? He could only taste brimstone and hear the howls of Cerebus, but he could never peck a flower, or snatch a fish from a rippling, radiant, aqua marine lake.

Oh, Asipatra how cheerless must he have been with only the steady stream of the dead and the three headed dog for company. Did he gaze deep into Styx at his own reflection? Did he whisper to himself in the tongues of his ancestors and cry incantations to the chasms of despair? Did he open his throat and try to sing some melody only to discover his voice a hoarse instrument of anguish? Did he fly to the edge of his world to find greater grounds in which to live out his days?

When his feathers finally grew long and jagged did he slice himself on their razor edge, did he understand his making when he discovered his beak a sword of decimation?

Did he cry when he found he could not stroke a living soul for fear his talons would rent them in two?

And at last did he grow bitter like Cerebus and snap or at the breaching souls as they floated past? Did he become as resentful as his companion and quarrel with the heads of the great beast that already squabbled amidst themselves. Did he rake the dead with his claws did he cut them with his wings, was he bridled by Hades when at last he attained adulthood, was he tied to a serrated rock that gave him no room to preen his Tourmaline plumage, did punish those whom misbehaved in the obscurity and the grief.

And after all his hopes were spent, every shred of love snuffed out, did he lay down his monstrous head as he slept, did he let his great jasper eyes close to his world.

Did he dream, of the mocking bird did he dream of the jay, or did he dream of the warped darkness of his own passing day.

Haikus:

Footprints in the snow
They help find other people
Temporary signs

Trees sway in the wind
Witnesses of time itself
Still, silent watchers

Fears of the forest
Crying out their songs of rage
Battling always

All inner demons
reside in a soul's corners
lurking silently

Tankas:

Leaves on the pathway
So are all the lies of man
to be brushed away
Listen not to evil cries
Filth upon all our pure souls

Watching from afar
Their eyes glitter in the night
See them watching now
Hating us for our success
Rivals of humanity

Personality
Our ability to be
whatever we want
Humanity's greatest strength
Individuality

A soul is a love
Going further in you find
things you never had
Search endlessly for these things
to see what is within you

The blinding darkness
It surrounds us forever
Oppressing judgment
Silencing truth and justice
So is bigotry and hate

Wind in War

The weather here is currently fair
as the wind moves my hair
the wind blows petals of a rose in the air
I wait for you here
at this beautiful place
wishing to see your cute face
But how are you on your deadly chase
Why did you have to go to war
you helped make people able to have fun
under the bright yellow sun
I wait for you here
at the place we met
days past and then came the fear
you made my heart set
I’m going to see you
And we will be together
Forever

Tree

I am tall and I am proud,
Like a fine gentleman extending my hand to my ladylove, the wind.
As we dance, I show her the waltz.
Slow and supple are my movements.
She grows impatient with me and twirls around in a free and fiery dance.

I am a constant pillar of hope and comfort.
For weary travelers who seek solitude and rest.
I give them food and shelter from blowing wind and pounding rain.
In payment they honor me with pictures and poems.

I view my world with the silence of a scholar;
Watching life, death, and other various happenings unfold before me.
As I keep my silent vigil, I see the sun and moon, rise and set.
I know that I will see these happenings for a while,
Yet I also accept the knowledge, as only a wise one can, that my time will end.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Together Forever

There once was a beautiful princess, pretty as can be. Her hair was red as crimson, her eyes a blazing bronze.
And as I sat upon my stool, righting a liturgy, she looked at me with pleading eyes and said “how could you do this to me?”
I looked into her eyes of gold and hair of burning rose wood. “Oh capricious princess, you look at me so sad, you think that you’re the one who’s bound in chains and cuffs. But truly it is the opposite, for my hart is bound titer still.”
She looked at me with sober eyes then said this thing to me. “If you truly love me, and your hart doth beat true, let me look upon the waves so I may bid adue.”
So I perched upon yon windowsill and watched her walk abreast, and in one shrilling note, she yelled a happy cacophony that wound soon turn to terror. “Oh trifling fool, you are so dim, to think I can not swim!”
And as she jumped I watched in horror, as I remembered this. The chains with witch I bound her, were still upon her wrist. I saw her flail, and fight the waves that soon swept her up. And as I wept I heard her voice sing a tremulous song. “Oh woo be me for now you see I am no longer living.” I sighed and smiled as I walked on back to my dreary desk. then I took a knife and put it to my chest. “I’m not so foolish cant you see, for now together forever we will be.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Despair

A whisper, a whimper, a silent scream,
Calling for someone to listen, but knowing no one's there.
Sadness, pulling me deep into the depths of sorrow,
Suffocating the life from me.
Tears of blood falling to the ground, like rain under a silent moon.
Tears sliding down my face as I see everything slipping away.
Trying to grasp it, to hold it, to make it linger just a moment longer.
Standing there watching it disappear into the distance.
I'm trying to hold just the picture in my mind,
but that too is slipping away.
I'm lying here alone in the dark, hoping someone will come,
but knowing no one will.
A quiet dream, a silent prayer,
and a hope that time will heal what life deals out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Fall

Leaves, falling to the ground like multicolored rain.
Fluttering to and fro in the gently blowing wind.
Gathering in restless piles hear and there.
Promising to insulate the sleeping greenery against the winter snow.
Birds flying away like precious jewels in the sky,
Leaving old homes to find temporary new ones.
Taking their songs to leave us in cold, white silence.
Signaling to all that the summer has finally come to an end.

Promise Me

There was so many words
that have not yet been spoken
and there are so many reasons
to just have stayed broken

I have but one favor,
I must ask of you,
before you move on,
this is what you must do.

Make me a promise,
that where ever I go,
that you’ll be the ocean,
and the grass that will grow.

Promise to guide me,
to places you’ve gone,
so I can be with you,
before you move on.

Just promise me you’ll be,
every star in the sky,
and my blanket of strength
when I feel I must cry.

Won’t you promise to me,
to be the wind in my hair,
and my comfort to support me,
when I’m needing you there

Promise me you’ll be
every mountain I pass,
and that you’ll slow me down
if I’m living too fast.

Will you be all the seasons,
that pass through the years,
comforting my worries,
and suppressing my fears.

If you grant me this promise
I will try to stay strong,
for if I carry you with me,
you will never be gone.

I put love into the calculator today,

and only got zeroes back.

Come on, he’d said;

Even you can get on board with

this kind of math.

I shake my head and sigh.

When you have

two

things in the world

that don’t make

sense

(math plus love equal

in which x

is the unknown)

it’s only common sense

you don’t

add

them together.

I shake my head and sigh.

Love equals--?

I only see zeroes.

I make the mistake of multiplying

when I should divide.

Flashback in a Tunnel

Shattered light flickers

hesitantly

frantically

across the contours

of your face.

You are old;

the spider web-thin lines

etched into the corners of

your mouth, your eyes,

give you away,

your brow

slightly furrowed

as if you’re in deep thought

even in your sleep.

We hurtle into a tunnel

with a defiant roar

as if the more noise we make

the more we can convince

the world

and ourselves

that we exist.

And in the darkness,

for three split seconds,

you’re back to the way I knew you

until we fly screaming

out of the dark

and my memories are shocked

and rattled

as sunlight blinds my eyes

and the smooth, tanned features

and long dark lashes

are gone

and once again

you’re old

and so am I.

Earth's Splendors

I don't know bout' you,
But I Love this earth through and through.
Enough to appreciate all its facets,
The flaming seasons, the yellow jackets.
Yes, even the yellow jackets.

For you see, it's Important to respect every life,
From the bobolink to the Indian Pipe.
From Soil salamanders and Rocket flies,
To Weather worms and ergot rye!
For in all creatures great and small,
there resides all purpose without flaw.

Fragrant pools of magnesium frogs,
Calcified eggs in opaque ponds.
Ancient tree roots, fungus flowers,
Lengthened raining, singing showers.
See the greens the reds and blues!
Preserve this earth's multi-hues!

An opulent morning, fresh and crisp,
Charlatan birds inWhirling wisps.
Morning petals and oaken faces,
Laden buds and feathered races!

Overtures of Flaring notes,
Hark the trembling, gentle throats!
Seasonal ballads and cumulous ripples,
Eagle trumpets and mushroom thimbles!
Widowed spiders and newborn thunder,
God bless this earth in all its splendor!

Sunflower

At first it’s a speck

In the mud it goes

Green as it grows

Disappears when it snows

Then one day

It opens up wide

A dark muddy brown

On the inside

A bright sunny yellow

Is all around

It grows high and all

Above the ground

Known for facing

The light every hour

A big and beautiful

Yellow sunflower

Seasonal Haikus

Winter

Snowflakes pouring down

Little diamonds from above

A soft white present

Spring

Flowers bloom, trees grow

Green appears, creatures awake

Nature is reborn

Summer

Footprints in the sand

Days longer, sunshine brighter

Three months of freedom

Autumn

Orange, yellow, red

A rainbow falling to earth

Oh lovely autumn