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“The Behemoth & The Godspawn Surfer by Stewart Stafford Jagged flesh in the behemoth's belly, The city encircled by its tongue's pall, I drank toxic fumes and pumice smoke, As I tried surfing along a lava waterfall. My obsidian bone board, surging fire, Cryptid blood drips from a snapping jaw, In a flash of the beast's fungal jawline, I counted the vacant dead within its maw. In a blaze, I was in its mouth and deeper, I rounded the gullet's scalding turn, Into a sea of swirling bones, stomach bile, Where half-chewed skyscrapers churn. "Leave me, Godspawn!" the monster roared, "Spoil not my prey feasting for my fangs to cut!" My board speared into its festering heart, It ejected me in a howling thunderclap of sulphur soot. And hurled me skyward, sand-blasted, and bruised, The plume cleared, and the beast stood, wound-free— Lava floods scorched, the city’s debt — a lifeblood hue, By sunrise, my perennial task returned to enslave me. © 2025, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”

“Solstice Hymn by Stewart Stafford Brittle bones upon the bitter green, Ancient oil poured anoints this night, Candlelit lifeline in a smothering void, The covenant of fire amid frosty siege. Nascent gold concubines the grey, Eternal changing of the guard secured. Traversing 'neath a Long Night Moon, With symptoms of mortality to allay. Let fear melt away as the last chillblain, Sun’s palest eye affirms striving will. Summer’s warmth radiates far horizons. The Northern Lights’ verdant star’s amen. © 2025, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”

“Maelstrom Rock by Stewart Stafford O, obsidian jagged island, This playground of the gods, Distant white novice waves, In warhorse slam into rock. Be this witchcraft or wit's raft? Conducting the vast elements, With lava-hot passion mustered, Spinning whirlpool shipwreck tales. A walker between the winds comes, Both Nature and shaman within it, Of coral and shell and weed growth, Compassion at flaying whip's end. Bid goodbye to the demi-paradise! On the gloomy prow, watch it flee, An aria's dreams of magic ebbing, Freed thralls clasp earthly chains. © Stewart Stafford, 2024. All rights reserved.”

“The Fey's Captive by Stewart Stafford Sprite music in moonlit sway, Her song turned azaleas grey, A haunting lilt that carried far; Charmed ear to shimmering star. Hornpipe down, melody went on, Lovelight flickered, then it shone, Claimed me then on yearly shore, Dragged me behind the fairy door. An enchanted hostage kept there, Gossamer glowed her flaxen hair, Made me pledge to be her slave, This regal man, reduced to knave. A year and a day passed, comet swift, My sentence over, her parting gift, Conditions met by kith and kin, Woke to bedroom light with a grin. © Stewart Stafford, 2024. All rights reserved”

“The Atlantean Road by Stewart Stafford A snake of stones beneath the waters Soldiers march past spectral daughters Phantom travellers To work or home Atlantean lives replay in foam The water drowned out extinct times Of joy and war Of love and crime The divers rapt by sound immemorial Echoes entombed Sweet voices choral The flame of Erasmus and barking sounds Of canine guards and strangers found The road roused from silent sleep To tell explorers how ancients weep © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.”

“Beholden by Stewart Stafford All luminous things harbour flaws, If you permit the mask of judgement, To drag your eyes down to see them, Missing Chimera joys of the voyeur. Flirting looks at the sun are all we have, Save for the shadowy beard of clouds, Sunspots dappling the magisterial orb, Freckles of the wrapping skin merging. Smudged handwriting overlooked, Granting character to spidered scrawl, Blind alleys serve as crooked prizes, A third eye, newborn-viewing the self. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.”

“Sirius Sojourn by Stewart Stafford Cottage in an aromatic meadow, Summer's languid haze hanging, The old windmill's sundial stilled, Chirping birds and insect drones. Flowing brooks at a funereal pace, A bloated lull duels exiguous energy, Thick air's blanketing somnolence, Liquid refreshment soothes inertia. Salmon sundown slithers to a siesta, In a clear purple sky nodding assent, The intense day imperceptibly eased, As the night's humid embrace begins. © Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved.”

“Heavenly Fire by Stewart Stafford The Stygian hole of abandon, Overlaid with a sentry 's cloak, Now unmasked eyes can see, Perforations in astral ermine. Stars crash to this plain, In all their splintered finery, As a missive of mortal status, Decreeing fire is not of this earth. Like the casting down of Lucifer, Or Prometheus pirating Zeus's flame, And when giant reptiles vanished, Quiet gratitude for this deep shelter. © Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved”

“Stars of Fire by Stewart Stafford At the Gate of Pleiades, Lies the playground of the Deities, At The Golden Gate of the Ecliptic, The Gods' plot and remain cryptic. Between the claws of Scorpio and Cancer, At the mercy of the great Zodiacal dancer. The dilemma on the horns of Aries, Brushes asides all adversaries. Venus trails stardust from her hair, As a supernova across the galaxy flares, A shooting star is the spear of Orion, More is the mane of Leo the lion. Man's Gemini may someday show before us, As chaste Virgo or the mighty Taurus, Or be inanimate as the scales of Libra, Or spread as Cancer or an unchecked fever. Perhaps these pilgrims have visited us before, When Sagittarius took the form of the wise Centaur, Or when Pisces flopped in an Aquarian boat, Or on a lazy hill to the Capricorn goat. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.”

“O My Stars by Stewart Stafford Sweet stars of my youth I have aged, but you have not As a child, you were the wondrous dreams I aspired to In later life, you were still so bitterly distant Yet always mesmeric in your beauty With awe and gratitude for your companionship If there is another side, you shall be the celestial shore I walk upon With earthly depths beneath Where others see and dream and reach up for you. © Stewart Stafford, 2020. All rights reserved.”

“Regret Roulette by Stewart Stafford Evening's breath caressed in, Across a mind's cracked land, On raven's wing in twilight air, A doused flame's colder hand. Dead-end gallery of exit signs, Contrition's dog whistle song, Eye of Horus in a looking glass, Blindfolds of a corrupted throng. Feral brunch on a sheepish plate, The curate's egg fried with shell, Bellini confession, in vino veritas, Burnt offerings to show-and-tell. © Stewart Stafford, 2024. All rights reserved.”

“Torture Cuisine by Stewart Stafford Kitchen death growls, Whipping that cream, Beating those eggs, Burning all the toast. Knifing diced cheese, Drawn, quartered ham, Straining tomato sauce, Crushed-down walnuts. Peeling potatoes naked, Then smashing them up, You say purée, I say mash, Turkey and chicken skewers. © Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved.”

“Not The Done Thing by Stewart Stafford Pass the strawberry conserve here, Layer some cream on top, This is how one eats scones, my dear, We’re not pigs feeding in a trough. Pinky raised when you sip tea, No slurping sounds escaping your mouth, Cucumber sandwiches in tiny triangles, Crusts of bread all cut out. Drawing room dramas over cordials ensue, Gossip exchanged with finest manners, Secrets kept as the cabal breaks up, The public face flew on their banners. © 2021, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”

“Crypto Cryptid by Stewart Stafford There's no point in hunting beasts, When you're the game you seek, Idle trigger finger behind the gun, Leave carcasses rotting in the sun. Billions springing from blood; From gushing oil to a crypto flood, Cutthroat games played to the hilt, Philanthropy, as rich boy's guilt. Bought your justice and rude health, Faux angelic in Faustian wealth, Scalpel wielded for everything's price, Trophy mansions rank with vice. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.”

“Fastest Storm by Stewart Stafford The fastest storm fell over us, A rapid drop down a lift shaft, The moon's spotlight blocked, Wrapped tight in venomousness. And under a wicked hand fallen, The venal and honourable in flux, A pantheon of money and might, Gloved hand night clawed larceny. The storm passed, fading into folklore, Only by swift valour blocking knavery, Clouds parted, cataracts cleared eyes, A renaissance spark became an inferno. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.”

“Currency Affairs by Stewart Stafford Monies lent with warm smiles of trust, Are debts collected at a dagger thrust, Gold shipped home from battles worst, Are taxes paid to the mermaid's purse. Whoever seeks to locate buried treasure, Digs their own grave by merest measure, Wealth bequeathed, deceased's pleasure, Forfeited by greed, a dead countermeasure. Cupidity looms outside a counting house, Alimony spat out to a prenup-free spouse, Bankruptcy declared by a profligate louse, Dermatitis creams for itchy hands do douse. © Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved.”

“The Hamartia of Esteem by Stewart Stafford A clash of Roses has seared these temples grey, The brash cur pack supplanting divinity's place, Nightshade words aimed at codpiece not the face, Inquisition's gauntlet strikes this judgement day. A death warrant marked by slander's inked stain? Scarred by a caricatured actor's grasping fear? In a groundless play for a groundling's sneer? Mannequin tyrant in a jailer playwright's disdain? Time shall be your confessor and guide, A guest casting stones at yourself in haste, Purifying my beloved's fair hand, debased, Redeem her undoing at a vengeful rabble's side. © 2025, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”

“The Word by Stewart Stafford Though you have lost me, now you see, My prophecy to thee proved ever true, Absolving your wrongs done to me, In verdant fields of harmony anew. If I stayed, they said you would pay, In excoriating loss, I secured your sanctuary, I am the sentinel that prepares the way, Evolving beyond the dusty ossuary. Tongues with riddles lie in their reaching, By living, know your false self’s meaning, Insight doth bloom through time’s enduring, Our Spring lamb in lush meadows weaning. © 2025, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”

“A Krakovian Conversion by Stewart Stafford Stone columns on my grave; Gravity no longer tethers me, Procession for a fallen saviour, Our charmed lives split apart. A cuckoo among darkest eagles, Faustian profiteer's bloody deal, Became a phoenix dove in flight, On the road home to my new form. An unbroken cypher laid to rest, A muttered debate behind prayers; Faux Messiah, who saved himself? Ransoms paid by a bankrupt sage? © Stewart Stafford, 2024. All rights reserved.”

“A Ravaging Sentinel's Vow by Stewart Stafford State your love for me now — Agreed, a cracked heart pledge, Defying your many flaws, martyring me to betrayal's dredge. At your darkest dawn — My fealty oath holds true, when every back is turned, a redeeming ravager’s purview. A sentinel’s dust trail climbs high, hooves thunder; the sundial stops, A vow declared, enemies routed, disaster reined on teetering clifftops. © 2025, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”

“Southpaw Serpent by Stewart Stafford She was a left-handed artist, More paint on her face than on canvas, 'Here, take this,' she said to me, 'It takes you to the snake with the atlas.' I grasped the nettle of her riddle, An eyeball roulette elixir of time. Each sandy step I took after that Veered from horrific to the sublime. I found myself at a beach house party, Remorse coiled in laundry bags hissed, They reeked of promise unfulfilled, And of sweet opportunities missed. Girls morphed into southpaw painters, Pointing and urging me to go on, A police raid, I fled to the rooftop, As dawn cracked open the sun. I frantically crafted glitter collages, Kaleidoscopes of close friends and I, The leftie girlie dyed her hair, judging, The winner was a mirrored all-seeing eye. © 2024, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”

“The Ascending Eagle by Stewart Stafford I shall not stray down spurious alleys, In pursuit of such desiccated husks, To be a leaf adrift in vacuous air, Bewildered on my windswept path. Past the labyrinth of rustling choices, Swirl fragments of doubt and error. Life's force is a finite magic spark, Some squander before they depart, When climbing into our grave pits, Twisted wreckage we leave behind. Yet, in regret's deepening shades, Lie orphans of our broken dreams. The eagle, in cerulean-skied flight, Took wing as a frightened chick, Victory plucked from disaster's beak, Trial and error are brick-tough fellows. Guided by shimmering thermals below, Soaring to its future beyond the horizon. © 2024, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”

“The Alchemy of Affection by Stewart Stafford The language of Aphrodite, Rendering words as liquid gold. To flood the heart's chambers, Setting them in gilded aurum bold. When this opulent heart beats, Minted blood in golden boughs flows, In possession of treasure most precious, Whose true worth none of us knows. Magnates and moguls may scheme to buy, The devotion that is never truly theirs, Count your kisses instead of fortunes, To bequeath to your loving, rightful heirs. © Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved.”

“The Wretched Rulers of Freiland by Stewart Stafford A two-faced mirror, vainly warm, A beauteous sheen to a swinish form, Bloated with gold and wanton pride, As cormorants in cuckoo nests, they hide. They gorge on fabrication, binge on strife, Parasites living off another life, Suckers draining every dream, Like leeches in a poisoned stream. Shells crack, the rotten egg cabal; The bonfire of inanities banal, Power loosened in a fading grip, Fleeing the wake of freedom's ship. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.”

“The Straw Dolls by Stewart Stafford After surrender's pin-drop grief, Came a nihilistic jackboot slope, Replaced with twisting blades, As you dangle on a slippery rope. Everything secure now ashes, A blind road ahead lies shunning, Every pillar of society smashed, In whipped despotic slumming. Fleeting daydreams of rebellion, They'll cut those ideas from you, Violence begetting violence now, The bloodied crown turned blue. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.”

“None The Wiser by Stewart Stafford A blowtorch in my darkness, Flaming my head with "truth"; Regurgitated received "wisdom", Deviated septums only permitted. Envenomed cobra's indoctrination, Inundated with a fellow brainwashee, Love's verbiage fell side-mouthed; Shaved synapses of smoothed minds. Prematurely convention's captives, Identities wiped and rebooted for propagandist lobotomy, Induced comas—murky déjà vu. Age's heft drags down daily, Her "love" archived as interred lie, Slack-jawed deceit now perceptible, Disillusioned departure companion. © 2026, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”

“The Eviction by Stewart Stafford The mind's paper vessel crumples Sodden with learning and memory Ne'er to sail waves of reminiscence A living statue, hewn by sculptor Time. The physician nor the shaman console Self-pitying sobs in the moaning wind Brought down by jackals in the dunes The skull's tenant but a daily squatter Nostalgic waves batter alien shores Déjà vu of the blood and the collegial A stranger's reflection in misting eyes A sandcastle sacked to the four winds © Stewart Stafford, 2024. All rights reserved”

“The Pit Beneath The Stars by Stewart Stafford R2D2's brother, aflame, Riptides of amber embers, A multitude of fireflies in flight, Under an arras of purple stars. Laughs and tall tales flow, A dragon's belch scorches, Sparks and choking smoke, In the moon's judging glare. The blaze, burning down, To a distant starry realm, Bedtime ticking closer, Creaking limbs go upstairs. © Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.”

“October's Double by Stewart Stafford Light a fire in flinty February, As the evening time comes down, Welcome all the family home With shopping bought from town. Hear the logs crackle and roll, And the sparks pop and hiss, A storm roars down the chimney, To deliver its tempestuous kiss. Drowsiness in the living room, As the expiring embers fade, Up we go to those clean sheets, And beds so neatly made. © Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved.”

“The Green Rose by Stewart Stafford Through fractured eyes, I see the rose I once plucked, In another man's hands. And mistakes that cannot be unmade, Sins that must go unforgiven, A resigned reluctance to surrender all hope. Those fingers enwrapping, The slender stem, That only holds spiky thorns for me now. I watch and reminisce, So close and familiar, Yet so alien and barren. I turn and walk away, Leaving the green rose, In place on the grave of what once was. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.”

“The Outsider by Stewart Stafford Pierce the veil of the marital bed, And find the droning mosquito of infidelity there, O how the heart and stomach sink, And the fiery fever of rabid fury rises. Dispel the interloper, Turn him out, Run him through, But she is no longer wife in name or vision. The choice of hers already made, Only possible resentment at the unilateral revocation of it, No, let them lie, Leave them be. Think, do no react, Incandescent Man Their hand and natures now revealed, Now shall we salt away their penance, Karma shall be their judge. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.”

“The Enemy Within by Stewart Stafford There is more to a smile than the baring of teeth, His grin had all the warmth of daggers unsheathed, The lips did part but the eyes remained staring, The skin was pocked and trust was badly faring. The lips quivered at every imagined slight, The eyes glittered like a serpent's at twilight, Arms crossed in constant defence, The foot tapping, waiting to take offence. Who knows or cares of his jealousy's genesis, He strove beyond measure to become my nemesis, Seeking to frustrate me at every turn, And put me prematurely in a cremation urn. The hero can fend off any attack, Except for the knife that's plunged in the back, They may not even know the weapon's in far, Until the assailant's coup de grâce. © Stewart Stafford, 2021. All rights reserved.”

“The Liquid Pantomime by Stewart Stafford Time is life’s shareholder: Youth’s dark angel investor, Midlife’s white shark creditor, The old's Arctic blood liquidator. Debt, the fledgling's terra incognita, Misfortune's looking glass kvetch, Chicks for the boardroom wolf pit, Waddling forth in immature escrow. Margin call missives arrive at thirty, Backstick pressures piping up, Distressingly hostile AGM invites, Disbelief morphs into resignation. Cracking knees bear bankruptcy, Written off in a balance sheet's glance, No hibernation in a bear market, Phased out for new stock issues daily. © 2026, Stewart Stafford. All rights reserved.”

“Stoned Soup by Stewart Stafford Keith Richards talks Brendan Behan, Making soup, wrapped in a blanket, While in a kitchen in County Cork, Mick Jagger listens and laughs loudly. Discussing the previous night’s gig, Mick says the crowd was wonderful, Keith agrees and says so was Charlie, Keith’s lip cigarette jigs to each word. Through choking plumes of smoke, The soup is ready, Mick tries some, His notable lips curl downwards fast, He humours Keith and says it’s great. © Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved.”

“Champion Spirit by Stewart Stafford When Freddie Mercury passed away, Where did his spirit go to play? Zanzibar, Feltham, or Wembley? Or did he go and visit Brian May? Did he stand at the mic in Montreux? De Lane Lea, Trident, or to Tokyo? Did he party in Munich, NY, or Rio? Did his purring cats watch him go? Did he take a last look at Garden Lodge? Or whisper a final joke to his old pal Rog? Waves of affection were hard to dodge, His superstar status will never dislodge. © Stewart Stafford, 2022. All rights reserved.”