Bridging the gap between bold and fearless actions.
Cornered.
Dave had the enemy cornered.
It had taken two years of work. Day and night. No rest, no relaxation. Maneuvering in and out of relationships, laws, and contracts.
Now, all the pieces were in place.
And here, in this room, the enemy would have to admit defeat.
Desire defines man and makes him real
His want is God whom he obeys with zeal
That which he pursues is what he becomes
To no distraction his vision succumbs
The scrape of glass against glass echoed through the empty rooms as he lifted the cork free from the decanter.
The smell of the whiskey struck him immediately – an old and expensive vintage that he bought just for this moment. What vintage it was exactly, he couldn’t have said. He never remembered these little details. He knew he had the bottle stored somewhere, to be filled with cheap whiskey if he ever had to entertain a guest he didn’t particularly like.
He had learned that trick from his grandfather.
He was tempted to stick his finger in and taste the alcohol, but he restrained himself and, instead, poured two fingers over two grey square whiskey rocks. He replaced the cork in the decanter and looked around the unfurnished rooms.
Tall, white walls, freshly built, all awaiting the people that would make them a home. And one woman in particular, who would give them the aesthetic touch that he wasn’t capable of providing.
He looked forward to seeing what she would do with everything he had built.
Patience is a devoted commitment
A promise to what could be different
To what you know may yet be made
A hope for nothing you would trade
Resisting all temptation of finality
Until the ideal becomes reality
“Do you know why you hate them so much?”
Daryl’s deep voice rolled and echoed around the cavernous metal space. The words seem to be reflected in the shimmering walls and glittering consoles that descended in rows like desks in a college lecture hall.
Tom didn’t hear a word of it. He was awestruck, all consciousness was driven out of him to make space for the wonder invoked by the scene in front of him. Mere minutes ago he had been on the surface, sitting in a dingy bar amidst the ruins of Manhattan. Now, he had to squint against the bright, fluorescent light in an immaculately maintained control room. Computers, dials, and headsets sat neatly at each station in the gradually descending rows below him. And where he would have seen a podium if this were a lecture hall, was a piano inlaid into another metal console, with a few buttons and dials above it. On the far wall, a series of massive screens stretched from floor to ceiling, all black and dead but standing at attention, ready to spring to life at the touch of a button.
A river of frozen tar, front to back
From horizon to horizon it flows
Wheels beating in rhythm steady, black on black
An engine of pumping iron rows
Mountains rise and clouds fly
Forests and oceans come and go
The endless earth and sky
Together in the distance grow
Vivid visions rush past my eye
Markers on a greater journey
I see a growing family
A grand and prideful legacy
You know, it’d be easier if you were an asshole about it.
“So, what’s the story?” Charlie asked, peeling the foil back from his cheeseburger. He stared straight ahead, out the windshield of the car, and into the night that was punctuated with streetlamps rather than stars.
Junior didn’t touch his food. He stared ahead as well, not wanting to look at his father. He wasn’t ashamed — no, shame was long past. But he was conflicted. He spoke quietly and flatly. “You know, it’d be easier if you were an asshole about it.” He looked at his father, hoping to glean some insight into his thoughts.
Charlie took a bite and chewed slowly, his face remaining stoic, a bit of grease dripping into his thin blonde beard. When he swallowed and promptly took another bite, Junior knew he wasn’t going to get an answer to that.
“I don’t suppose you’d take ‘I can’t tell you’ as an answer,” Junior turned his gaze back outside to the parking lot and failed to suppress a deep sigh. He could see the vague outline of his own face in the translucent reflection. He looked tired and dead, his own golden beard thick and unkempt. He suddenly felt as though that specter in the window wasn’t him, but was haunting him, and he shifted his gaze to his hands as they idly wrung themselves out.
Charlie wiped his mouth with a napkin and spoke, simply and sternly. “Well, I might. Why can’t you tell me?” He took another bite.
The King of the Sunrise
A protector revered
Oft sought to advise
His power widely feared
The King of the Moonlight
Rules no one and nothing
Though he’s not quite as bright
His light is never waning
As the daylight shines, the people praise
He who brought them life in golden rays
The great and shining King of the Sunrise
Without whom they would surely meet demise
Father, I’m afraid
Turmoil is all I see
All order is frayed
Won’t you please protect me?
I can’t, said father
What would you desire?
That I lock you up, life withdrawn?
Never to see the light of dawn?
Go out, my son
And battle on
Sword firm in hand and standing strong
I am old, yet this night is long
You must face these wars
This world is soon yours
As I stand on high, a victor
A dream undying
I look to mother and father
They both are crying
Why? I ask my father
My tears are for pride, my son
You’ve grown into a great man
Ascended, a rising sun
Made well what in pain began
Why? I ask my mother
My tears are sorrowful loss
You’ve gone so far from my love
A great chasm you are across
My being empty thereof
