Mark Ryan's Blog: Havoc and consequence

v It was cold in the forest. The rain from the previous day had collected in hidden pockets that revealed themselves to Zachary, and very much to his feet, as he ran. Yet he noticed life all around him, which comforted him somewhat. Something felt different in the forest compared to the other day. Birds… Continue reading Pendulum Days – Afraid – 09

  And when I woke, my eyes were blinded. By a sight I could not see. My heart had broken, and you reminded me of all that could not be.   DISCOVER St. Sebastian’s was an unusually large church for the neighbourhood. From a distance it towered over the roofs of Lower Berg in Trent… Continue reading THE CLOSING OF TIME

iv In his bed, Zachary was afraid. He was afraid for his family, his dog, and himself. He knew the monster had returned about ten minutes ago; he had heard the rustling in the trees and a soft thud as the creature must have sat down in the same place as before. He pulled the… Continue reading Pendulum Days – Afraid – 08

This skin is a deterrent. All signs flash no further. I want you to know that my blood is not for spilling. Havoc reigns inside of me. Punching bruises internally. The screams of the desperate drowned in the misery of inaction. Mea culpa. Again, once more, over and over. The oil and tar of hate… Continue reading VIOLENCE IN THE NOTHING

GELUCK (FORTUNE) Despite what you may read or be told by some, the truth is we all expect something in life. Fundamentals such as good health, family, or even a nice home, we are always searching for what we believe to be ours. Digging in the dirt for diamonds we’ve been told are there. Few… Continue reading KEEP IT TOGETHER

Who reads a smiling poet’s words? Ones that bridge the chasm from heartache to heaven. Do you care to wash in the tears of the lonely? Or splash yourself in city rain, dirty from the walk of life. These moments we catch and keep. Lock inside where the heartbeats remind us, we are still existing.… Continue reading SWALLOWING TOMORROW STARS

iii It was early, still dark. Zachary wondered if it was his stomach that had woken him; it felt painfully empty. The dinner his mother had given him when he returned home, despite being peppered with irritatingly concerned conversation, had vanished in a flash and now felt like a beautiful distant memory. Lying in his… Continue reading Pendulum Days – Afraid – 07

“Ten, nine, eight, seven.” Charlie yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth to distort the sound and make it echo around the living room. “What is that?” his dad said, poking his head around the doorway. He was drying the dishes, though they had been left to air dry for nearly half an hour. Dinner… Continue reading ASTRONAUT

ii At home they had two animals that pottered around the house. Snowflake was his sister’s cat, a shabby excuse for a feline that strutted around with all the smugness of an animal ten times its size. Its shabby appearance was not through any lack of love that his sister, Rachel, poured onto the tiny… Continue reading Pendulum Days – Afraid – 06

I wander up from my youth. Into this skin. This life I now reside within. Piled upon bones, this memory of time. My bark of remembrance cracks. Splinters out a sap. You were there at the beginning. Siphoning stars and melancholy. You’ll be there at the end. Counting the receipts. Adding up to the most… Continue reading WE COME IN PIECES