the black lullaby

Verses & Poems by Me

——————————–

The Comeback

—————————–

The Sleeping Beast

—————————————-

Why Gods Don’t Cry

Lurking on a cloud nearby,

I watch the aching world pass by,

Its tainted secrets and ugly truths,

Its breed of fools and vicious crooks,

The dreams they have with hopes so high

And how they believe they’ll never die,

I watch them as they boldly speak,

The sense they make, so little, so weak,

I’ve wondered if they ever knew,

That in this great big world they were but few,

They’d grown to think their lives would be

Exemplified in history,

Their laughter lasts in bursts of time,

Then fades away like a heinous crime,

But when they cry how rivers flow,

Drowning their mind, body, heart and soul,

I attempted a tear or four

And then found out they wouldn’t flow,

I tried once more and once again,

My efforts were of course in vain,

I summoned the Gods of the North and South

And demanded answers from their mouths,

They mocked me with their flaming eyes

As their voices thundered through the skies,

“We find it strange and rather odd,

That you call yourself a fine young God,

You rest amidst the sun and moon,

Yet know nothing of our sacred boon,

Tears are a mortal plight,

A curse that haunts them day and night,

That liquid flowing from their eyes

Is what lets us play with their worthless lives,

So thank yourself your eyes don’t tear,

That your heart is cold and that you know no fear,

We know no sorrow, we know no pain,

They win and lose but it’s we, who gain,

If we knew what it meant to feel,

We’d lose our need to cause ordeal,

It’s the golden rule that we live by,

And now you know why Gods don’t cry.”

Brandon Ingram

————————————

Lucifer’s Cradle

You don’t expect the sun to smile at you when you live inside a cloud of rain.

You don’t expect stories to have happy endings when you are the wicked witch of the tale.

You don’t expect the wild to be enchanting when you are a hunter looking for his prey.

You don’t expect gifts from mermaids when you live to disprove fantasy.

You don’t expect to be found inside a haystack when you are in fact the needle.

You don’t expect lullabies from the mouths of angels when you’re born in Lucifer’s cradle.

Brandon Ingram

——————————————

Hello Darkness My Old Friend

Last night when the moon was at its peak, I traveled down a path to that strange place I had almost forgotten existed. My bare feet touching the grainy sand as my legs felt the bitter wrath of the thorns on either side of the narrow path, I soon arrived at my destination. When the cave door opened I saw them, all of them. Women and men, draped in shades of black, expressing themselves vividly as they floated around sipping milk and blood.

I walked through them with no incident, why would there be? I used to be a regular here, they loved me.

I climbed a few rocky steps and began walking down a long passageway. The eerie music played on a violin echoed through and through. I stopped, there was a rose lying in front of me. Fresh, crimson in color, mesmerizing and possibly the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I crushed it under my heel as I continued walking. It was only a distraction.

The rocky walls on either side of me were the support of those who were engaged in various fantasies of the flesh. Lips, tongues, hands, fingers, hips, necks, breasts, thighs… more distractions.

I soon arrived at a large door that was guarded by two seductive women. A normal traveller would have been warned first to leave, and had they persisted, they would have paid the price. But I wasn’t a normal traveller, so the women smiled as they opened the door for me. I walked inside, nothing had changed.

It was still cold, still musky, still decorated in red and white. The table in the middle of the room was untouched. I walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. And suddenly there she was. Her smile still had the ability to slit my heart open. But she knew she killed me every time she did that, so she let her eyes do the smiling. That was much safer, for both of us.

When she opened her mouth to talk to me, I wished she wouldn’t, not because her voice wasn’t beautiful, but because her words would remind me of who I was. Resting my head back in the chair that now exuded its familiar scent of comfort I let my ears fall victim to her words.

She said: ‘Hello darkness, my old friend…’

—————————————

It’s Never Enough

————————————————-

The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea

There’s a new temptation rising

And I don’t feel like compromising

What I feel

Just so I could be one of them

Who was strong enough to walk away

From their dreams

My life is like a bad addiction

An uncommon misconception

Of who I am

But I’ve got no more confessions

No second grade interpretations

Of where I stand

They wanna love me but they can’t embrace me

They wanna own me but they can’t afford me

They wanna kill me but they can’t confront me

So what do I do? When I’m stuck in the middle of

The devil and the deep blue sea!

There’s a little common sense in my pocket

And a little street smart in my jacket

But it ain’t enough

To feed my inner curiosity

Or give me some velocity

Or make me tough

Because I’m instantly promiscuous

And slightly more ridiculous

Than the rest

No I ain’t keen on making sacrifices

Don’t believe in shapes and sizes

I want what’s best

They wanna need me but they can’t believe me

They wanna bone me but they can’t inspire me

They wanna stone me but they cannot find me

So what do I do? When I’m stuck in the middle of

The devil and the deep blue sea!

——————–

Undefined

————————-

The Black Lullaby

————–

Adieu

I’m letting you go today and now

It’s sort of funny to wonder

Why I’ve held on to you

For so long,

I shouldn’t love you but sadly

For both you and me

I do,

I shouldn’t have let you treat me that way

Even when I knew it was wrong,

There are many things that I’d like to say

Before I part my way,

But these words are too special

To be wasted on deaf ears,

These feelings are too precious

To be wasted on a heart

That no longer knows how to love,

You would expect me to wish you misfortune

Because it is far easier to express revenge

Over a broken heart than it is

To try and fix it,

But my prayers for you

Envision you in success

Even today

And I also pray that someday

You will have enough wisdom

To understand why,

They say that every night ends at day break,

Well my day has arrived

And you are my night

That is now slowly fading away,

So live when you have the chance,

Love when you have the time

And if you should ever remember me,

Do so with a smile

Brandon Ingram

——————

Perspective

Friend, we haven’t lost our way. We are those who’ve been left behind to find our own way. And along that way we’ve discovered truth, freedom and greatness.

We’ve learned ways of life that others have only dreamed of and we’ve learned how to continue loving long after they’ve left with our hearts.

Those who laugh at us, laugh not because they’re superior but because in our presence they feel inferior.

We fear no defeat because they’ve beaten us into the ground and all that’s left for us to gain is victory.

We fear no loss because we’ve lost it all and what we have now, no one can take away.

We fear no death because we’ve lived each moment like it was our last, like tomorrow would never come.

We are a strange kind of people in search of something we cannot find, yet we never give up looking because we know it’s there, somewhere.

To understand us they need to become us and that my friend they can never be. For unlike us they weren’t left behind. Unlike us they’ve never had to hope, to wish, to want, to need, to give, to love, to lose.

But let them wait for us, if they can, for we will find our way soon and when we do, they will watch us do great things.

Brandon Ingram

——————

The Silent War

Can you hear them?

My love, my darling, my friend,

Are they coming?

Is it just the beginning or is it the end?

The Valkyries have fled the land,

Now just cause rules no more,

The trumpets note the war at hand,

I see the rising foe,

They’ve persecuted all my kin,

They’ve taken all we had,

Their weapons hurt beneath my skin,

My whole world’s turned to black,

The Sirens sing a ghastly tune,

Its sweetness summons death,

The stillness of the midnight moon,

Calls out for tears and breath,

The heavy pounding hands of fate,

Rip through the sands of time,

Where is this place? Is this hell’s gate?

Tell me, what’s my crime?

The Furies’ call sinks deep within,

Unwinding wicked deeds,

Recalling each and every sin,

Is this my heart that bleeds?

Grace and mercy, truth and light,

Vanished, gone for good,

Cursed into everlasting night,

With nightmares as my food,

The Harpies hold an evil grudge,

Their claws have scarred my face,

I feel nothing, no kiss, no touch,

And here I rest my case,

Can you hear them?

Can you feel the ground crumble and quake?

Do you fear them?

My love, are you awake?

Brandon Ingram

————-

Un-Box Me

I’m sick of all the labels and the boxed up metaphors,

Of people pointing fingers at the way I wear my clothes,

You call a spade a spade and then you call a whore a whore,

I know you judge the surface but can you see the core?

My walk, my talk, my style, my class belongs to me alone,

It’s mine to choose and mine to lose and mine to uphold,

The friends I keep, with whom I sleep, your business it is not,

So have your say and make your day and there’s the door, get out!

If I can find it in me to respect your bigotry,

Then I don’t see why you’ve got issues with my history,

I’d like to really take the time and try to sympathize,

But then I wonder why I should if you can’t empathize.

Power of choice, freedom of speech, or so we’d like to boast,

But once the veil comes off you see the hypocritical toast,

He who doesn’t pray does sin and so does he who does,

But which one is the sinner, is the question I must ask.

Smash the barriers break these walls and kill the damn clichés,

I hate the box you’ve put me in; I’m getting out today,

My rights, my wrongs will be decided by my God and me,

So beat it you judgmental freak I’m setting myself free!!!

Brandon Ingram

————–

You & I

You asked me how long it had been

Since I had feelings for you

I said I didn’t know, I lied

I remember the day, the time and the place

That my heart started singing your name

I asked if we could still be friends

Even after all was said and done

You said yes, you lied

You could never go back to the time

That we laughed so carelessly

You asked if I would be alright

When you walked out of my life

I said I would be, I lied

Would I ever be alright without you in my life?

How could you even ask?

I asked if we could meet for one last time

To mend what was wrong and try to move on

You said we could, you lied

You turned your back on me

And left me alone to drown in my tears

You said that people change

That they never stay the same

True

You changed so fast

And I changed painfully slower

You’ve realized it’s not good

I said that I’d always love you

That my soul would call out to you alone

True

I’ve tried to erase you

To free myself of these feelings for you

I’ve realized it’s not possible

You and I and the things we’ve said and done

We’ve lost to each other and still we’ve won

We’ve made love knowing it was wrong

We’ve taught each others’ hearts to long

And still, we’re not sure where we belong

Brandon Ingram

————–

Dancing on Styx

Toes on water, heels on nails,

Moves that leave my core impaled,

Spinning sideways south and north,

Charmed by the devil’s chord,

Memories short and memories long,

Fuse as one melodious song,

Hurling me through time and space,

Holding strong through every pace,

I see him waltz out of her life,

I see her quickstep into strife,

She gently hustles two and fro,

Then kicks back with her solo,

I see another, she twists the wheel,

Working hard for our next meal,

She cares for us and keeps us whole,

Giving us courage to rock and roll,

My possessed feet go on with zest,

Dancing past my vision quest,

I see the years pass one by one,

Unveiling my life from when it begun,

Within the ballroom of my days,

I snake round every single face,

Those who’ve left me high and low,

Those who’ve left me in limbo,

His slam dance pounding my essence,

Before he stole my innocence,

Her strut that made me loose my breath,

Before she put me through slow death,

The way he tangoed in my heart,

Before he let it tear apart,

The way she took my life so stray,

And formed with it a new ballet,

The end has come, my boat draws near,

I take with me no grudge or fear,

The air churns out an awesome mix

For my final dance, on the river Styx.

Brandon Ingram

————–

Erotica Unplugged

My blood turns an unholy red,

When your lips touch the back of my neck,

Your eyes hurt the core of my brain,

While you give me the pleasure of pain,

Your tongue drives my soul half insane,

Like you’re shooting me up with cocaine,

The locks of your hair get me high,

The mood you create makes me cry,

I feel your heart beat with mine,

But your spirit remains undefined,

When I hold you I sense what you sense,

And I’m letting down every defense,

Your fingers trail down from my mouth,

Your thighs make my weak voice shout,

The marks that your teeth leave behind,

Have scarred me with bliss unrefined,

My hands merge with yours in the stride,

Leaving all misconceptions behind,

My ears hear you whisper my name,

As we become one in the same,

Each move moves me even close,

Love me till I overdose,

The beads of your lust trail my chest,

I feel myself nearing conquest,

The ceiling has burst into song,

There is no more right and wrong,

Nothing is now as it seems,

As we get lost in liquid dreams,

Your breathing slows down like you’re done,

But my darling I’ve just begun.

Brandon Ingram

————–

Insomnia

Hush my darling there’s no need to weep,

Loose yourself in the shadows,

In the light of the moon,

Seek comfort in the touch of dusk’s wind,

Hush now, loose yourself to sleep.

Hush, you say, as though I’ve no cause to cry,

The shadows seem so dark, so deadly,

Even the moon harbors an unjust agenda,

What dusk can give me comfort without the promise of night?

Hush, you say? Never, for sleep is a luxury I despise.

Foolish child, fearing what you cannot explain,

The night lasts only till the break of day,

The heart is deceived by the tricks of the mind,

Understand both, be master to them not slave,

Give in to the weary call of dreams that await.

Why must I fear what I can explain? If the night lasts not long

Then why give importance to the day?

Deception and trickery are one in the same,

I understand both, and trust none enough to be master or slave,

The dreams that call wearily, I know, are nightmares in disguise.

The stubborn dislike knowledge, even when it comes free,

They flee, not wanting to be proven wrong,

As such it is with yourself, untrusting, unforgiving,

One night of betrayal has caused bitterness towards all nights,

And so your spirit vows never to close its eyes again.

You judge me well, you know of my struggles,

Yet you know not that I wish to be proven wrong,

I ache to trust once more but all nights still feel the same,

It is my right to fear the flame that has once before burnt my spirit,

These eyes long for rest, to be closed, but only to remain so eternally.

Will you then leave them open now and evermore?

Will you sacrifice the sandman’s gift?

Will you walk through life with the night as your enemy?

Will you resist the call of fatigue?

Will you never again be dead to the world?

Yes, these eyes will be open but this heart will be closed,

The sandman can keep my gift and enjoy it as his own,

The day holds as much a grudge against me as does the night,

Fatigue knows me not, and whom you know not, you call not,

Dead to the world I already am, I feel it but they cannot see it, yet.

Brandon Ingram

—————–

Contradiction

I’ve seen it rain when the sun was shining

Blue and grey skies hand in hand,

I’ve seen killer dogs playfully whining

At the charming thief who knows his stand,

There are those mothers who turn a blind eye

On a crying child who is their own,

And some fathers don’t even get shy

When they make their daughters moan,

You’ve seen the leaders making promises

They don’t intend to keep,

You’ve been with lovers who leave kisses

Before they leave you in your sleep,

I’ve been slapped across the face

Against the truth I knew I spoke,

I’ve received the best of every grace

For the blatant lies I’ve told,

It’s the world; it’s us living in confusion

Never thinking twice,

So before you point out my contradiction

Try and take your own advice.

Brandon Ingram

—————–

To Love You

To love you is to press my soul against

a forest of nettles,

to scream with no voice as the sharp

edges pierce through my

translucent emotions

To love you is to make love with

death, to embrace the darkness of

a caressed seduction, to submit to

an ungodly possession

To love you is to love everything

I hate of myself, to give in

to all that I consider, temptation

To love you is to strip myself of

value, sanity and of

all that should make sense

in life

Yet through it all, I love you

more than I’ve loved or will ever love

anyone or anything in this life, because to

not love you is to suffer a fate

far worse.

Brandon Ingram

—————–

Revenge

You see me, you know me yet you cannot control me. My eyes speak a language infused by hate; my life tells the story of misguided fate. The light of my aura has darkened at pace and I welcome you into my deadly embrace.

Your arrogance screams for attention you’ve lost, come drink of my poison, which once was your lust. My intentions grow strong while your emotions grow weak; I’ll prey on that weakness until you grow bleak. Look at my smile, understand why it’s so, you knew I would come and I’ll make sure you go.

The fire of passion that once burned within waits coated in vengeance for your undoing. The desire’s relinquished the love lives no more for in place of where my heart once lay, now lies a stone.

The joy all around me is what I deserve and still it means nothing, it strikes no nerve. I’ve set my goals keep watching me rise and once I’ve achieved them await your demise. No day holds obstruction, no night lasts too long for I’ve cried much in tune and now you’ll dance to my song.

The journey is heavy, malicious and long but no price is too great to right this wrong.

You’ve toyed with a heart and wounded a soul, I live and I breathe yet I’ll never be whole.

This game knows no boundary this risk knows no cost and yet I’ll keep playing until you combust. These lips that have kissed you now curse at your name. These hands that have touched you now promise you pain. This body that you for one night did crave has dedicated each muscle, each cell to your grave.

Call me phoenix, reaper or death for as I longed for your heart I now long for your last breath. I’m preparing, I’m arriving, I’m finally here and with my departure your end shall be clear.

Brandon Ingram

—————–