Explore the Crypt

I sit patiently by my beloved’s bedside And there I will remain with no one to confide She twitches in agony with each twist and turn It will not be long before she will start to burn Now, more dominant on her face are the freckles No longer does the handkerchief have red speckles I pray that I could ease her suffering and pain Her moans grow louder and are driving me insane Another red eruption, she calls out my name I know when I see her face, it won’t be the same I wipe aw

It was at the end of 1978, and the Caffertys were in the process of adopting the newest member of their family. Eric was excited as he would have a playmate, the parents’ other son. The two things that they knew were that the mother and father couldn’t afford to keep him, and that his parents were crackheads. They knew that the poor child was going to go through withdrawals, but other than his mother being a piece of shit, everything on the ultrasound was coming up aces for t

A grove of weeping willows in decay The impending doom fills all with dismay Guarded by an ominous black steel gate It definitely knows no time or date Always gloomy is this foreboding place Such a relief to see an angel’s face From a distance, they’re imperceptible You’re welcome, for all are acceptable You can always find the ones you’re seeking Silence is golden for no one’s speaking Knowledge coming from the deep impressions None holding onto worldly possessions All shape

It all started with the Mogul horde When they were mysteriously floored Throwing their dead right over the wall This act would be the start of it all All the way to Italy it came For history is never the same Way across Europe, it quickly spread Thousands of people would soon be dead Extending from the rat’s parasites The church leaders refused to give the Last Rites No one’s safe, not even the royals Each of them was marked with blackened boils Physicians at that time racked

Eric wasn’t a stupid kid, not by a long shot. He was tying his shoes and reciting the alphabet, both in English and in Sign Language, by the time he was four. There were several times when he became bored in class, as he had already learned what was happening in kindergarten. His teacher, Mrs. Harris, was a proud black woman, and it was the late 70s. One thing she didn’t like was the smart-ass white kid who shouldn’t have been in her class to begin with. However, he couldn’t

You say love was never your token That your heart was severely broken Never liked the odds to be so plain In a world filled with oh so much pain Playing craps with the six-sided bones Looking for more carbon copy clones Don’t regret the risks that might have been Wondering if you’re living in sin Hoping to God love is in your fate ’Cause all good things come to those who wait One day, your prince will come with his ring In jubilation, your heart will sing You’ll look gorgeous

Bullet tears like knives through butter So much pain, his heart starts to flutter He never signed up for this strife Slowly, he loses his crimson life The country had lost its glamor Once the bombs started to hammer The medic tries to do his best But soon he’ll take his final rest Try as he may, the blood won’t stop Cleared away from the napalm drop Some morphine was given to him Pain is gone, and the light grows dim He only went to Vietnam To serve his much-loved Uncle Sam H

He kills for sport, or to be cruel— disposing of inconvenience.   He seeks out a target to shoot his anger at. Does not see that sometimes he’s the one who should be aimed at, instead.   He needs to lock onto something, or someone, at all times. When all else fails, the arrow always finds me.

Eric Cafferty was born at the end of May 1974 to Deanna and Eric. According to them, he was wanted; however, the way they acted towards him made it clear he wasn’t. While the pictures of his humble beginnings showed a happy child, his memories began when he was four years old. Sounds remarkable, but his earliest memory deals with him in Florida with his maternal grandmother and his Uncle Lewis. They were feeding ducks; however, Eric went to feed the baby ducks. The mature duc

She sings to me from an outstretched arm Can’t help being seduced by her charm Don’t know why she converses with me I love her tone indefinitely She fills my heart with complete desire While it’s burning like napalm fire Like a diamond in a piece of coal The hypnotic sound engulfs my soul Something out of a wonderful dream Just like lying on clouds of whipped cream I’m basking in a sunlight cascade As festive as a Christmas parade Waiting for the treasure to begin The gentle

He clasped a choker around my neck in a dark restaurant. A leather symbol  of the words he whispered: I own you.   In the light of day I did not dare wear it.   Collecting dust, I learned I was too eager to be claimed. The pleasure was his alone. I learned this by how quickly it ended.   Buried in a drawer  after I became a mother,  belonging now to three was far too much.   He’s become impatient— quick to yell. And the children, demanding more than I can give.   I wear a sim

What does it mean to be somebody? Isn’t everybody a somebody?   I tell myself it doesn’t matter even though it does. He insists I’m already somebody, but I don’t believe it. A grain of sand among many, I do not command attention nor shape the beach the way ocean waves do— no ripple at all. When I speak, the room stays steady; the wind of my voice never shifts it.   I’ve been insignificant all my life— the last-picked coconut cream bonbon in a heart-shaped box, a participation

This week's Character Corner features Temur Beg. He is the Mongolian warrior who raids and pillages the village where Draco Lavanov's...

The grand ballroom is completely filled to the brink Each and every one of the them I would surely drink Their white painted faces make...

He resents buying her “baubles.” His note on scratch paper when he forgot her birthday stating he would have  bought flowers, chocolate, and a card after work but stores aren’t open 24 hours anymore— should be enough. New pots and pans for Christmas— appreciated,  already scorched by him and the children— So thoughtful.   The wedding rings  with the center stone  taken from his ex-fiancé’s ring should suffice. She shouldn’t even notice.   The Tiffany olive cuff she longed for

Here I sit, pondering whether the spirit of Christmas has gone Absent is it from the commercial displays on our front lawn The time has...

This week's Character Corner features Sophia Chambers. She is the English representative of the Vampire Council. She is the vampiric...

Not having you before me, to defend me, wounds me— slices straight through my core, stings worse than the swords and daggers you left me exposed to.   You shielded me from the blows of my world. Now I brace for the impact of arrows and gunshots, each one piercing my thin, unprotected skin. You were my chainmail— no more.   You whispered strategies into my ear, showed me the places my enemy was weak. Now I am blinded, left out in the open to be captured and bound by his ropes,

Separate lives— he sleeps during the day, a vampire; I sleep during the night.   Not much more than a hello passes between us. Anything more meets only silence. He won’t acknowledge me— not in the same room, not when I text while he’s away.   My words fly into the ether, evaporating before they ever reach their destination.   The wait for any reaction— even a meaningless thumbs-up emoji— is a hunger. I starve, feeling less than human.   Head down, I walk into the room as he w

This week's Character Corner, meet the Lycanthrope Alpha of the Northside of Glen Cove, Simon Phelps. One of the Seven Alpha, he is the...