Poetry and Short Prose by Sky Locke

BIO

Sky Locke (Andrew Bast) grew up in northern BC, playing magic and superheros in the forests with his friends. Now, working as an engineer, Sky tries to write stories in his free time. He still loves the out doors, and gets out for hikes around Vancouver Island as much as possible, which is where he currently calls home.

Fractal Starlight

Falling from the stars above
Like drops of light
Cradled by the heaven’s glove
Through endless night
Raindrops crash into a wall of frigid air
Cascading into crystal fractals
Breaking through with soft sweet care
Like tiny floating endless castles
Down they float
Getting danced along the breeze
Being tossed through endless trees
Shimmering motes
Snow gently settles
Blanketing the woods in silence
Letting stillness spill inside us
Soothing nettles
Snowflakes fall
Fractal starlight filled with patterns
Cascading endless crystal lanterns
Winter calls

A Blinding Light

There was no light this far down, and the air, which had been frigid and damp for days, was beginning to get warmer. Nox’s legs aches and his eyes were glued shut from lack of sleep. Not that is mattered; he had lost his source of light long ago, and had to follow the sound of singing that hummed through his mind like a lute string.

Nox had always heard the singing, and had learned to sing it into the world before he could talk. When he did, crops would grow strong and fast, and luck would come to those near by. Even a pregnant wife would have a painless birth, and that was taken advantage of to be certain.

Then the singing had called to him, beckoning him to set it free, and when he had ignored it his power had gone sour.

Bad luck started following Nox around, and the singing voice in his mind grew ever more demanding. He had stopped singing after that, and had gone slightly mad. Then, one early morning, he had simply gotten up and left the village in search of the song.

These memories were stronger in the dark of the cave, motivating him. He had come to find answers, and perhaps to free himself.

Slowly the warm air and soothing melody lulled Nox to sleep; he slid down the cave wall and lay there for untold hours.

When he awoke he rubbed the layers of crust from his eyes, opening them wide to the utter darkness. Then Nox stood to continue his journey, noticing the wobble in his legs from lack of food and rest.

After a few more hours of walking Nox could see a faint light coming from a slim crack in a wall of the cave, and suddenly realized that the singing was no longer inside his head.

After a lifetime of it coming from within, this change disoriented him greatly; Nox dropped to the floor, retching and weeping.

Finding the strength to approach the crack, he saw that it was a door, and pushing gently on it he found it swinging open silently before him.

Then, Nox was struck blind by the pale-green light, the song consuming his mind, cleansing him of his human flaws and plucking away his free will. He wouldn’t be needing that anymore.

Thelxiepaeia flexed her new fingers. This man had been strong, and it would be fun to spend a few years playing with the mortals in his skin. These bodies always burned away after a while, and her chains always brought her back to this cave, her cage, at the centre of the world; chained with the song of an angel just as she chained mortal men with her songs of love and desire.

Reminder

With a cover designed by our of award-winning Japanese artist Hikari, and with artistic photos by award-winning Japanese photographer Naoki Kimura included, please do not miss the chance to have your words grace the pages of our upcoming book, Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku. Email five haiku(s) at literaryrevelations@pm.me and label your submission 5 Haiku.