SitRep
Posted By Randy on May 17, 2012
The current slate of projects has been keeping me away more than anticipated, so I feel you all deserve a preview of things to come.
The Book of Dark Sentiments, being a collection of skullduggery gleaned from previous incarnations of my LFM Dark Sentiments series combined with previously unseen work, is very near completion. It includes two recent poems that I will pause to tease you with today.
First, The Attic Room, inspired by an old and presently vacant house Mrs. LFM and I routinely visit on behalf of the owners. The only way to the attic is by way of a door leading up from the second floor, and this we noticed was secured with an old timey lock employing a skeleton key. The first time we encountered that door it was locked, and we learned from experience that if we left it unlocked during one of our visits, the owners always locked it again if they came by before our next one. I joked one day to Mrs. LFM that it seemed the lock wasn’t to stop anyone going up, but more likely to keep something from coming down. And so, with apologies to that decidedly non-evil house, The Attic Room was born. Here is an excerpt.
In the old town stands an ancient house,
Where once three children played.
Two daughters of a Vicar,
And the boy child of his Maid.
The house it is a towering pile,
With many a lofty room,
In one of which the Maid’s boy slept
The night he met his doom.
That day the attic playroom was
The scene for something queer.
Three children chanting, holding hands,
To catch a spirit’s ear.
And catch an ear is what they did,
But not the one they sought.
Instead of dear old Auntie May,
A demon’s ear they caught.
Summoned to the attic by
Unwitting childish joy,
It came into the room unseen –
And singled out the boy…
That’s all you’re going to get of that until you support your favourite writer by buying the impending tome.
Next is another ditty called Bertram’s Restaurant that tells the tale of a restaurateur who finds himself, after 30 years and six marriages, at what everyone but he sees as the pinnacle of achievement. A millionaire with a fortune built upon feeding those who consider themselves the elite of society, Bertram has never forgotten how much he despises the very essence of the people who helped him build his reputation atop no small amount of self-loathing. We learn of Bertram’s soul soothing method of annually deleting each year’s most offensive patron.
And so, another teaser:
Bertram had a restaurant
He’d built for thirty years,
From ashes of six marriages,
Secured with sweat and tears.
The place was dark and trendy.
It was famous far and wide,
And gave our Bertram every cause
To bust a gut with pride.
Yet while he seemed quite satisfied,
With everything he’d wrought,
Our Bertram wore upon his soul
How dearly it was bought.
Where once he’d kissed the public’s ass
To get them in his door,
It now was Bertram’s ass they kissed,
And even begged for more…
I’m sure you can see where this is going.
In conclusion dear readers, I sincerely hope you enjoyed this preview. It’s still in the preliminary stages, but we plan to put together a decidedly dark public reading to launch this project nearer to Hallowe’en.
And stay tuned because the Dog Days series is about to enjoy its next installment!
LOVE!!!!!!
Gonna buy your book – signed please. My very first ever book of poetry.
You honour me Silvia. Signed indeed!
Nice writing. Looking forward to your book. Am I correct I’m thinking that Bertram’s restaurant used the same ingredients as in the cult movie “Motel Hell”?
Thank you Gary. And no. Bertram didn’t take the Sweeny Todd approach. He has other secret ingredients.
I do hope though that when you get to read the complete poem, you’ll exclaim, “God! That’s Good!”