ankle-winged Word Thief flutters ~
orbiting The Muse
wicker creel on shoulder
stealing words off succumbing tongue, from depraved pink lips
collecting manifestos, dispatches, commands, lexeme-threads for unborn poems.
deliciously spilled onto insatiable empty page
deciphering their tangled satisfying meaning
blustery afternoons, elven queens, entangled roots, deep set red brick walls, swim in halo eyes outside time and space, float and dream, bask in caressing warmth, a vision, possibility, sensuality. Mythological building blocks held down on the table ~
kaleidoscopic paper spun round
allowing entry inside
to new worlds.
Gleipnir bindings hold winged ankles fast to Little Deaths.
faultless weapons handling in niche darkness.
stiff bow
arrow loosed
raining towards purposed destination
crossing through streaks of bright light
fleshed out totemic monument pierces orienting Dionysian-natured North Star
drowning inspirational beacon in gratification
seeking simultaneous orgasmic release of the lore-neuron
greedy minds shine with mythic legend veneer
wandering the halls around midnight
for satisfying heights of pleasure
organic and ever-changing panoply of wonders and sensations
lingering into daylight-crippling twilight delight
intent on breaking prey
the beast is afoot, baiting; heavily armed with unpredictable body language.
safe, at a distance
summoning strategic Sun Tzu’s ancient wisdom
the way, the weather, the terrain, the leadership, the discipline
coding memories of my nightmares, my fantasies.
verklempt knight walks seven unlit blocks to doors that can’t be closed after opening.
tectonic plates shifting under pace-worn leather boots.
Paineater stills the chaos
disarms the shadows
guards the spiraling-wanderer.
J. M. Platts-Fanning is an award-winning writer nestled within the woodlands of the wave-tousled coastline of Prince Edward Island. Recipient of a PEI Writers’ Guild2022Island Literary Poetry Award, 2020 Island Literary Short Story Award, the 2022 Battle Tales VII Champion and 2nd place winner in the Humans of the World 2022 Summer Poetry Challenge. Publications include, The Dalhousie Review 2024, Burningword Literary Journal 2024, Pownal Street Press’ 2023 anthology, Fiona: Prince Edward Island Accounts from Canada’s Biggest Storm, Toronto Metropolitan University’s White Wall Review 2023/03, 2022/11, The Write Launch literary magazine 2023/08, 2022/08, 2022/06, Prometheus Dreaming cultural magazine 2022/11, Artistic Warrior’s 2022 Dribbles, Drabbles and Postcards anthology, Common Ground 2020/03 and GIFt Horse anthologies Vol 1 through 5. Her plays have appeared on various theatrical stages, including her dystopian fable, “Apple Bones” performed at the 2021 PEI Community Theatre Festival, “An Answer to the Question on Death” staged at Fridays with Fringe in 2019 and “Held to the Fire” chosen for Watermark Theatre’s 2018 Play Reading Series.
