Overthrown Starscape
terrified by the blaze in the sky
as i walk through the downcast streets
mirrors line the way
and great craters lay waste to roads
mesmerised by the blaze in the sky
as i cast my fishing rod into the lake of bones
there is no wildlife around here
and there is a far-off sound of machinery
night comes and the disarray spreads
from abattoirs to palaces and to churches
desert dens are blocked off
and bunkers are sealed shut
i may know a way to dispel these hexes
frantic rambling and an encircled fire
but i lay wailing in a straight-jacket
screaming at a hundred-foot wall
the cosmos illuminate
generating a blazing sun one day
and a red, bloodthirsty moon the next
and there are unnatural sounds
to be found in rain-forests and tundras
only small groups remain
and the occasional dust-storm renders them shut-ins
i was taken into a commune
for weeks i was nursing an impenetrable illness
that dulled my senses and made all colours turn into one
no elixir seemed to free my spirit
and so i drifted off into a ever-nocturnal chasm
searching through phantoms and cabinets
to find a diamond blade, encrusted with a thousand studs
just as i was about to reach for it
the illness lifted, and i was born into the apocalypse
the derelict promenade
the skeletal tree
the silent trains
we are in a ruined nebula
there is an underground simmer of haunted waters
some think the arctic is shielded
and so many have fled north
i find myself ascending shrouded mountains
is this where the blade resides?
i feel as if i am protecting a broken moon
how can i end this unfurling typhoon?
too much fumbling, and i stir something subterranean
all the feeble are holed up in sunless towns
and the cultivator of dread is contemplating nearby
if i could just make it to the auditorium of ghouls
and bypass the empire of the dead
i can dispel this hex and birth natural sunlight
but i do not know where this is
so i wander sundered plains
toiling at the thought of my failure
i tried, i tried
but in the end, those who eat the darkness prevail
shadows face me
and now, night never ends
i have lingered here for far too long
The Town With No Song
i unfurl onto your nebula
and travel to the town of dread
i haven’t seen you in many years
and i know you’ll be here
seeping with corrupt dynasties
the sky here has blackened
phantoms battle with their mind’s eye
along starless streets
how did i get here again?
i’ve seen your photo here somewhere
strewn among the leaves, your golden hair
i’m lost in the nether zone
looking for someone to dethrone
i wander down your alley, thinking of your likeness
when the ground gives way and i plunge
plunged into tar, groaning and decrepit
as the howls of moons long past
flicker their way among the toxic air
i want to flee this doom
and settle up into a room
that i can call my own – my own home
but the weight of the world is too much
and i drown into a chasm, the abyss
the ever-knocking foot-soldier
standing idly by
waiting for a knowing reply
i correspond with a satellite
that sends me transmissions of you
they are my only light here
no light shines here
and i cannot find a torch
not in the abandoned apartment complexes
or the soulless bars or the endless streets
i cannot find anything
some great waste lays beyond me
and i see nothing but red lights
swinging aimlessly in the sky
if i try to leave i plunge even deeper
i can only leave by not leaving
i seem to wander down vast corridors
how i ended up there is beyond me
and they never cease, they bend and fold in on each other
and as i’m wrangling with the maze
i found myself seeing visions of you
nebula in the hallway
constellation of you
azure comets and green flashes
and, in a second, all is ashes
darkness returns and envelops
and i’m left to wander forlornly
where were those ashes?
this town is too much to carry
did i see a stutter?
i look out a window – nothing
they’re all around me
but it’s empty, all empty
i’ve been deserted, who deserted me?
love’s shadow rests, poise locked
smoke and heroes and curses
courage and theft and love, love’s reign
who is there left to dethrone?
i’ve seen this street before
the ashes are in the air, they’re following me
i’m drowning again
this hate consumes me
something is on fire
fire, yes, light and crackling and ashes
i warm myself, hungry hands outstretched
i don’t know how long i’ve been here
who was i looking for?
maybe they’ve left, and i’m here all alone
this place seems dangerous
i’ve seen familiar shadows trail me here and there
but i know these figures were drawn here too
to what end?
what side of existence does this town rest on?
the fire is drawing to a close
when the ashes come
i am reminded of you
no more visions come
my mind is barren
some ancient cog turns
and the terror in me ignites
i’m eternally followed by a creature
i have never sighted
my ears ring and my tongue bleeds
i hear the sound of buildings falling down
a thousand arrows rain down around me
and there you are, among havoc
standing unscathed, you waved
and i felt the heart and soul of a million romances
i felt the unending comfort and easy smiles
the paths walked at mid-day
the beverages enjoyed under archways
the candlelight and the secrets
the both of us sleepless
building our own dominion
i sight the corrupt dynasties and walk on
i look out the window – daylight?
i can see it in my mind – our home?
we find the stars and leave behind the ashes
we saunter among these ruins
youth and vigour running abashedly
we are tardy with our exit
dashing through hallways
smashing glass, kicking rubble
where are the phantoms now?
i feel no trace of them in my soul
after much time
i feel myself be whole
all the while
something slinks and prowls
in my night-time battlegrounds
that town i see in my nightmares
grips my core and shreds my soul
did i wander there eternally?
did i find your shadow there?
— Connor Galliard is a 24-year-old gay man from the UK. He is a data analyst who has written poems for almost a decade. His poems focus on the internal struggles he faces with mental illness, romance, and self-reflection.