Way, way back in my early days in the fandom, even before I became a M:EMber, one of the first things that got me noticed by the community was my poetry. It all started when somebody on the old boards asked for a history of Dominia, and I wrote a poem in rhyming couplets exploring that question. Shortly after that, I started a thread there called "The Poetry Plane," wherein I encouraged others to join me in writing poetry based off of MTG cards and lore. Few people took me up on it, but I posted some poems there that I really enjoyed.

Then the old boards exploded, and we moved here. Wishing to continue the fun I had with the poetry writing, I created a new thread, the alterative Raven's Rhymes. Here, I posted all of my poetry from the old boards, and would occasionally post new ones as the mood struck me. Then, I had sort of a falling out with MTG canon, and have subsequently basically cut off my presence in the AF&S boards completely.

Now, though, I would like to get back into writing poetry. It is something that I really enjoy, and something that I consider myself good at. It didn't feel right to just necro that other thread, because it would basically be the only thing I would post over there, so I thought it fitting to recreate the thread here, in my more permanent home of the M:EM. Further, I should note, today is New Year's Day, and while I have never been big on "New Year's Resolutions," I thought I would try one this year.

In this case, I resolve to write at least 52 poems this year and put them up here, in this thread. That's a poem a week, minimum. Ever since getting my full-time teaching job a year and a half ago, my production around the M:EM has dropped off, because I just don't have the time to write anymore. Poems, however, tend to come quicker, usually, and it's something I would like to do more of anyway.

I will not say that the poems will come out once a week, nor will I promise that they will all be M:EM or even MTG related. But, as a way to force myself to be more productive, I am putting this out there as a challenge to myself.

While this thread is called "Raven's Rhymes," I would like to encourage anyone who wants to to participate. If you would like to write something poetic, you are welcome to post it here if you wish. Anyone who would like to request a poem on a particular card, for example, go right ahead. As I hope you all know by now, one of my favorite things is to be able to share the experience of writing with others, so please feel free to join in!

Vengeance

Within the darkened alleys of these streets,
That house the dead of night throughout the day,
I use my time to ponder my defeats,
And every predator that made me prey.

How long have I endured unbalanced strife?
How much has fortune kicked me when I’m down?
When locked within this prison of my life,
I curse the lost compassion of this town!

The masters of my fate would see me grovel,
Delighted in my misery, it seems.
What sleep I get when chill assails my hovel,
Will whisper sweet revenge into my dreams.

When winter’s viper bites into my skin,
My breathing fogs, the air is cold and brisk,
And as I dream of ways to fight and win,
I hold in trembling hands, this simple disk.

I cannot quite recall where I obtained
This only treasure left me. This great charm,
A simple, metal bauble, always chained
Like spirits to the body, round my arm.

Within my dreams of vengeance, I have seen
A cavalcade of horrors stalk this land,
And while I do not know what such dreams mean,
Those horrors marched like armies from my hand.

These cataclysmic lessons I must teach,
With dark abominations, they’ll be taught!
With terrifying tentacles they reach,
To where one lost, defeated man cannot.

Revenge may cost me all, if so I choose.
To bring their doom to them is worth the risk.
For unlike them, I’ve nothing left to lose,
We’ll all be equal then, within the disk.

Anticipation
by Pavor Nocturnus

Do you recall the glory days of old,
When godlike we would walk the myriad planes?
One shone the brightest in the endless cold
Among the Æther storms and shifting lanes.
I’ve often felt that underneath its scars,
There is a beauty still that lies unharm’d
By dragons’ strife, the ice, and petty wars,
A song that’s haunting in a voice that’s charm’d.
The planes, it’s whispered, they will soon align,
And now I know, I can return at last.
It shone the brightest, and it still will shine!
Alive for me with memories of the past.
It is the last world that my eyes will see.
I have grown old – will it remember me?

Emergence

Buried deep beneath a shroud of ground,
There sleeps in dreams, with neither thought nor sound,
A form reposing in a ceaseless sleep.
For years it dwells in solitude and rest,
Until it starts upon its upward quest,
And claws a tortured path up from the deep.

In time, the creature spreads its air-thin wings,
It casts its voice, and in the darkness sings,
And then, that lone cicada sheds its husk.
And just like that one insect made its way,
So too another sheds the shell of day,
To burst out like a demon in the dusk.

Her form beneath the sun is frail and weak,
A whispered voice too terrified to speak,
With eyes that viewed the world through veils of tears,
But sleeping somewhere deep beneath her frame,
There lies the kindling of a greater flame,
The font of strength that springs from others’ fears.

She’d lived a life of terror, quite alone,
And jumped at every shadow lights had thrown
Upon the board that knew her as a pawn,
But her promotion comes at twilight’s hour,
The pawn becomes the queen with all her power,
Now she’s the one to fear from this day on.

When dusk has fallen, then the sleeper wakes,
And every barricade within her breaks.
Who once was stalked has now become the stalker.
The locks that held her, now have all been picked,
And she recalls each time that she’d been kicked,
Now they will come to fear this new Duskwalker.

Trick

I watched him for an hour there at least,
The market buzzing ‘round him like a swarm,
His eyes were like the starving at a feast,
Who finally find a meal both fresh and warm.

He stood behind a simple stand of wood,
As far as he could place it from the guards,
And in his flashy colors, there he stood,
Directing every passer toward his cards.

I knew at once that he must be a man
Who preyed upon the confidence of fools,
Yet still, I simply couldn’t see his plan.
I saw his game, but could not read the rules.

The scam he ran, it seemed to make no sense,
His patrons came, a single card they’d choose,
He’d hesitate, a moment of suspense,
And then he’d flip the card, and always lose.

He’d pay the patron twice what they had bet,
And all would smile as they walked away,
It seemed to me that he’d be deep in debt,
And have to pack it up by end of day.

I finally broke, I simply had to know,
My curiosity was like a flame,
And so I crossed the market’s stream-like flow,
To ask if I, perhaps, could try his game.

He grinned, and bade me lay my money down,
Then moved the cards ten times ‘fore he was done.
He then gave an impression of a frown,
As easily I picked the perfect one.

He paid me what he owed me, every bit,
And asked me if I wished to play once more,
I shook my head, and thought it best to quit,
While I held the advantage of the score.

A part of me still wondered what I’d viewed,
I thought it through all day, I must admit,
But then I learned, for when I bought some food,
They told me that my coin was counterfeit.

And that is why before the judge I stand,
Now with that answer I had sought to find,
While I was watching for a sleight of hand,
I was the victim of a sleight of mind.

Ore

Them rich fox says we needs some iron,
Then they says we needs some more,
So me, my Pa, and brother Byurn,
We goes off to mine some ore.

Them gates of Verkell, they just opened,
Foxes says it’s safe, the ground.
And so we grabs a pick and rope and
Go to where that ore’s been found.

Them other miners, they was surly,
Tells us, “leave our stake alone.”
They paid some fox to get out early,
Signed some higher interest loan.

Them mountains, though, are so much bigger,
Than them cheatin’ miners’ game,
And one (or three) determined digger,
Can find somewheres to stake their claim.

Them rocks is hard as all the world is,
Them mines as dark as skies in storm,
The land-claim seller snarled and twirled his
Slick mustache and stamped the form.

Them days was long as all my life is,
And Time passed like a rider slowed,
I wonder how my kids and wife is,
As I hit the mother lode!

Them cartloads of that precious iron,
Will make us rich, my Pa, he said,
But I bought out both him and Byurn,
With two tiny bits of lead.

Treat

On the day that I met her, I thought I was dead,
It would not come as any surprise,
For my fate, I was sure, would be drowned in the red
Of the blood-pooling seas of her eyes.

Every demon casts shadows on us with their flame,
And that fire can serve as a lure,
As I stared at my future, I whispered the name
Of her legend: Red Jackie DeCoeur.

So I balled up my fists and I straightened my back,
And I ushered the others behind,
Then I readied my soul for Red Jackie’s attack;
Her expression turned suddenly kind.

She told me quite softly she wished us no harm,
In my heart, I just knew and believed,
All my weariness crashed through my back and my arms,
I have never once been so relieved.

Then the following days passed for me in a blur,
I had given all that I could give,
And we travelled in comfort, and listened to her,
As she told us of where we might live.

Now, I do not recall much of how we got there,
But one day we all stopped at a place,
Just a small little town, with a quant market square,
And it brought a small smile to my face.

Miss Red Jackie, she pointed at one corner stall,
Its display showed it sold little sweets,
As she spoke, I could feel a tear starting to fall,
When she offered to buy us some treats.

In my life, I had never been offered a treat,
And I didn’t know how to react,
I just stood there and stared through my tears in the street,
As my heart felt like it was attacked.

When Miss Red touched my shoulder, I jumped like a flea,
And I felt like one, too, just as small,
With concern in her eyes, she just motioned to me
To come join her in front of the stall.

When they asked what I wanted, I could only shrug,
And I pointed so meekly and shy,
Then they wrapped up the candy like some kind of drug,
And then handed it to me to try.

I was hesitant, fearful, to give it a taste,
Like my tongue would diminish the gift,
I had run, so it seemed, all the length of the Waste,
I had had to be strong, smart, and swift.

But yet all that I wanted was to be a youth,
I had grown up ahead of my years,
To have fun, and to laugh, and indulge a sweet tooth,
And be safe from a life wrought with fears.

So right there in the market, I tasted the sweet;
It replenished the tears I had shed.
So I closed teary eyes and I relished my treat,
And I said, “Thank you so much, Miss Red.”

Shadow Rider

Riding through the darkness, sword in his hand,
While the shadows that the moon cast across the land
Are growing.
Twisted prints stomping deep in the mud,
And behind him, the deep, crimson river of blood,
Is flowing.
Terror, sweeping on a dark demon’s wings,
As the choir of hell lifts up its voices and sings.

Shadow Rider rides in the dead of the night,
Death flies by on the feathers of fright,
Oh oh oh, Shadow Rider.

His gauntleted hands grasp tightly his sword,
Knighted on his knees at the feet of the lord
Of nightmares.
In the shadows of midnight, on a demon mount,
He rides through the blackness and will settle accounts
Of despairs.
Fires, lighting the damnation of fools,
Havens of hope, far more precious than jewels.

Shadow Rider rides in the dead of the night,
Death flies by on the feathers of fright,
Oh oh oh, Shadow Rider.

It’s a shadowy world, life is rare and severe,
He rides through the darkness with no shadows to fear;
He owns them.
From his lord’s great throne, bejeweled and bedecked,
He will claim as his prize, for each murder, select
A throne gem.
His foes, regardless of the size of their ranks,
Will fall to his blade, when he circles ‘round them and flanks.

Shadow Rider rides in the dead of the night,
Death flies by on the feathers of fright,
Oh oh oh, Shadow Rider.

The eddies of darkness around him are swirled,
Like the drowned he is dragged far away from the world
Of all men.
He will find his way back, and if his horse ever fell,
He’d abandon it there and condemn it to hell,
And crawl then.
Nothing, standing in the way of his quest.
All will fall to him, both the damned and the blessed.

Shadow Rider rides in the dead of the night,
Death flies by on the feathers of fright,
Oh oh oh, Shadow Rider.

Reef Pirates

All along the coasts and shores,
Between their tours and private wars,
The great tall ships display their billowed sails,
Just as the plumes of preening birds.
With songs of spice and honeyed words,
The captains come to spin embellished tales.

They ride upon the wind and breeze,
To tread the azure road of seas,
That leads like destiny to every port.
But those who captains cannot trust,
Will satiate a darker lust,
And turn like traitors to their last resort.

They sail upon the briny blue,
As members of a savage crew,
And devastation follows in their trip,
They set the seas themselves aflame,
And every sailor knows their name,
When they sign on aboard a pirate ship.

They walk the swabbed and polished boards,
With grappling hooks and cutlass swords,
From high crow’s nest down to the lowest hold,
No day or night is ever dull,
Beneath the crossbones and the skull,
Upon their endless search for jewels and gold.

Their curses spring from every tongue,
And in the night, their songs are sung,
To hold at bay their melancholic sadness,
They make their awful pirate sound,
And smoke the herbs that they have found,
And that is what we know as Reef Aaarrr Madness.

On the Road Again

One day while I was walking on the dirt and dusty road,
When dark of night and rainfall made my progress long and slowed,
The cloud-obstructed moonlight cast reflections on my walk,
As a stranger cloaked in shadows greeted me and begged to talk.

So, wary of the lost and deadly souls that roam the land,
I asked if he was looking for a friendly, helping hand,
I told him that I sadly didn’t have a coin to spare,
But he told me in raspy voice that wasn’t why he’s there.

I couldn’t see his eyes behind the shadow of his veil,
But I fancy that they quavered as he then began his tale,
He said he was a traveler from very far indeed,
And he’d further left to go than he had gone at such a speed.

“It was much farther in the past than anyone can say,
And now,” he mournfully confessed, “I don’t recall the day
I left my home, my family, and swore I’d never rest,
Until I reached my destination and fulfilled my quest.

But roads,” he said, “are breeding grounds for evil and their spawn,
And when you walk them, nothing seems so far away as dawn.”
Now at these words I looked up high and gazed upon the moon,
And noted that the morning light would not be coming soon.

“I walked for days and nights,” he said, “a dark and endless hike,
At every step, I grasped like death my old and trusted pike.
The branches of the dead and dying trees would reach like claws,
As I recalled how far I was from safety of the laws.”

The more the stranger spoke, the more I cast my gaze around,
The polearm in my hand and trees that twisted from the ground.
A sudden, chilly breeze sprang up, a shiver down my spine,
The more I saw his circumstance was similar to mine.

The stranger spoke again although I wished that he would cease,
“One night,” he whispered, “something came, intent to steal my peace,
I can’t remember, now, what form that evil chose to take,
I just recall how much I felt my fearful body shake.”

“What happened then?” I asked him in a strangely broken voice,
I didn’t want to know and yet I seemed to have no choice.
I couldn’t see what dark expression came upon his face,
But as he spoke, I felt as though my feet were locked in place.

“I think you know quite well the fate I had to watch befall,
And how I came to be another shadow on a wall.”
I tried to turn and run, my soul from fear had been consumed,
But now I walk – or fly – another traveler, dead and doomed.

Lyrics

As I was goin' over the Cork and Kerry mountains,
I met with Captain Farrell and his money he was counting.
I first produced me pistol and then produced me rapier.
I said, "Stand and deliver for you are the bold deceiver."
Musha ring dum-a do dum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

I took all of his money and it was a pretty penny,
I put it in my pocket and I brought it home to Jenny.
She sighed and she swore that she never would deceive me,
But the Devil take the women for they never can be easy.
Musha ring dum-a do dum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

I went into my chamber all for to take a slumber,
I dreamt of gold and jewels and for sure it was a wonder,
For Jenny drew my charges and she filled them up with water,
Then sent for Captain Farrell to be ready for the slaughter.
Musha ring dum-a do dum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

Twas early in the mornin' just before I rose to travel,
Up came a band of footmen and likewise Captain Farrell.
So I first produced me pistol, for she stole away me rapier,
But I couldn't shoot the water, so a prisoner I was taken.
Musha ring dum-a do dum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

Musha ring dum-a do dum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

If anyone can aid me it's me brother in the Army,
And if I could find his station in Cork or in Killarney,
And if he'd go with me we'd go rovin' through Kilkenny,
And I'm sure he'd treat me better than my darlin' sportin' Jenny.
Musha ring dum-a do dum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

Musha ring dum-a do dum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

Musha ring dum-a do dum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

Lyrics

When I was a young lass, I met me strapping Johnny,
He was tall and he was handsome, and I looked upon him fondly.
He started his pursuing, and soon we were a'courting,
And when springtime was'a fading, a gold ring I was a'sporting,
Lish-a ring-um a -ding-um a dah, whack fall the daddy-o
Whack fall the daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

A year we were betrothed, the wedding plans were started,
Come hell or come high water, I knew we would not be parted,
But then we were a-married, and I started to grievin',
Because me handsome Johnny had turned to a life of thieving.
Lish-a ring-um a -ding-um a dah, whack fall the daddy-o
Whack fall the daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

He'd travel out for fortnights, gathering up his booty,
But I stood beside me husband, for it was me solemn duty.
For years I was'a hopin' that his ways would be amended,
That he would be an honest man before his life was ended.
Lish-a ring-um a -ding-um a dah, whack fall the daddy-o
Whack fall the daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

One day the Captain Farrell on my door he came a'rappin',
He said he'd kill me husband lest I did agree to trap him.
So I waited until midnight when me Johnny was a'sleepin',
And I got up in me bed clothes, through the house I was a'creepin'.
Lish-a ring-um a -ding-um a dah, whack fall the daddy-o
Whack fall the daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

I saw him off that morning, the deception I did cover,
And I bid me Johnny farewell for me heart still called him lover.
They captured my poor Johnny, and now he lies in prison,
And he say my name in curses, but at least me husband's livin'.
Lish-a ring-um a -ding-um a dah, whack fall the daddy-o
Whack fall the daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

Lish-a ring-um a -ding-um a dah, whack fall the daddy-o
Whack fall the daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

Lyrics

They call me Captain Farrell; I was born out in Killkenny,
Me father, he was Patrick and me mother, she was Jenny,
I was the only child, ‘til me parents had another,
On the day I joined the army, so she never knew her brother,
Hush-a ring hum-a do hum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

Me father was a rebel, and for sure was not the only,
But I fought for the British, so me father, he disowned me,
I took the name a’Farrell, from me old army recruiter,
While me sister grew a comely lass, with many fine young suitors,
Hush-a ring hum-a do hum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

One day a month ago, I got a letter from me mother,
Me father passed away and me sister needs her brother,
She’d run away and married a man who took to thievin’,
So me mother asked for help, or she’d die of all the grievin’,
Hush-a ring hum-a do hum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

Me sister’s husband preyed on the hills near County Kerry,
So I sat there for a fortnight, countin’ coin and makin’ merry,
A highwayman called Johnny took the bait and then he swallowed,
He went back to his home, and I made sure that he was followed,
Hush-a ring hum-a do hum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

I went to see me sister while her Johnny, he was sleepin’,
She didn’t know who I was, and it made me feel like weepin’,
I gave her both her choices, either help, or Johnny’s dyin’,
For I’d be back tomorrow, and I left me sister cryin’,
Hush-a ring hum-a do hum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

Me men and I returned just before John had arisen,
His pistol wouldn’t fire, so we hauled him off to prison,
Me sister Jenny cries now to her namesake, our dear mother,
And curses at me name, never knowin’ I’m her brother,
Hush-a ring hum-a do hum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

Hush-a ring hum-a do hum-a da, whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar.

The Warden

Amidst the damp and lifeless stone,
That forms these prison walls,
A single figure walks alone,
Where sunlight never falls.

Throughout that solemn, empty place,
His footfalls echo loud,
With cold expressions on his face,
He walks his kingdom proud.

The warden of this frightful jail,
He holds the only key,
And offers not parole nor bail,
Or hope you’ll be set free.

A prisoner sequestered there,
Can hardly move or stand,
They’re held, suspended in the air,
A slave to his command.

The manacles that bind their limbs,
Hold legs and arms there firm,
They cannot even sing their hymns,
To pass their Prison Term.

The warden holds them in restraint,
Within their private hell,
And if he had just one complaint,
He’d want a second cell!

Discipline

When I got into magic, all my family disapproved,
They told me that that stuff would rot your brain,
But for years I studied, practiced, and I constantly improved,
Delighted at the power I would gain.

I thought at first the forest was the place where power lies,
Where some titanic monster roars and stomps,
But then I found a darker place where powers can arise,
The deep and fetid mires, bogs, and swamps.

The swamps are like a monument to everything that’s died,
And much that’s died is still residing there,
So many things that should have passed on to the other side,
Are wafting their decay into the air.

But as my journey through the depths of knowledge ventured on,
And through the lands of dying and the dead,
My thoughts, in constant tumult, were on most occasions drawn,
Back to the things my family once said.

And so I sought the power that would prove them wrong and right,
The greatest of the secrets I could find,
To drive all thoughts within your head into the dark of night,
A power that can truly rot your mind.