Category Archives: poetry

Dark the night sky,
Fell, the foul zephyr.
Brackish black water
Broken by two beady eyes.

Iago has returned.

Creeping up the coast,
He seeks to insert himself
Where least welcome is his self;
They’d prefer him to roast.

He hears a patrol
Coming down the lane,
Hides among barrels of petrol;
They’ll not have his mane.

The patrol stops,
Blocking his intended path.
To avoid the cops
He’ll have to subdue his wrath,

And take an alternate route.
Sneaking down a back alley,
He has no time to dally;
When bright lights remove all doubt:

He’s been followed.

Spinning ’round,
He sees the patrol closed in behind;
In front lie the hounds,
He sees he is confined.

“Welcome to my table,”
Greets the queen,
Gesturing to that of fable,
Round and now white and green.

Ambushed.

At the Siege Perilous,
Sits formidable foe:
Sir Galahad looks ready to row.
Iago takes a seat, voice querulous.

“At this table, all you have to say is heard by all,”
the queen instructs.
Iago’s face falls:
This rule his scheming obstructs.

“You are now cursed to always meet at this table,
Every time you set foot upon our shores.
Think not that you are able
To remove this curse from your core.”

His vitriol laid bare,
He tells the reasons
For despair;
But it’s not his season.

“So you have naught but speculation
To lay before this confabulation?
Each of your points in turn countered?”
The queen sees his plan has foundered.

“Then you are dismissed,
Thank your for your time.
Now back into the brine,
Return to the abyss.

You’ll not be missed.”

©2021 H.K. Longmore

Wounded, I limp back from the shore
Where Iago and I dueled a week before.
Though I see no scabs nor scars,
Infection festers under my skin.

Simple suggestion,
Not banshee wail,
Was his effective weapon.
What cure is there for my ail?

I sought an answer from the sea,
But there was no reply.
I requested knowledge
From the rolling hills,

An answer faint
Floated away on the breeze.
The city streets I pounded,
Pleading for release,

But it was temporary,
Ill effects of Iago’s dart,
Wolf pack of lies
Still closing in around my heart.

There are labors to perform,
So I gather my strength;
Wounds mention but not at length,
Mostly I ignore.

Floating o’er the ether,
Slipping through the speakers,
Dulcet sounds envelop the space.

No siren song luring away,
No piper’s call to come and play;
No healing light in which to bathe.
Naught but work and banter.

Yet it’s what I needed,
It seeps inside;
Finds the wolves,
Turns the tide.

I’m ninety percent there
But the day is done;
I try again the city streets.
Still no cure, but I quicken my pace.

Almost home, bits become current,
Current transduced into a familiar song;
Strength taken from the bridge:

But if you’ve got the angst or you’ve got the ardor
You might faint from the fight but you’re gonna find it
For every challenge could have paradise behind it

Blues Traveler, Stand

Elation finds me
And takes away
The remaining tinge;
My skin feels whole again.

© 2021 H.K. Longmore

I don’t need a friend turned foe
To spoil my peace of mind.
I have my own Iago
Residing inline.

Over analysis
Takes all that is fine,
Turns it to paralysis
Or removes the spine.

A message viewed,
Then changed just one line,
Becomes a mental feud,
Of relationship fey a sign.

“Especially on days like today,”
Gone from the vine,
Iago says, “You overstayed,
You should just resign.

“Ignore the compliment that still is,
Without that last bit, it’s in decline.”
And with these words of his,
I carve apart some writing time.

Put pen to paper,
Fingers on home row align,
Turn to vapor!
This foul cancer turn benign.

What was skimmed
Weakened the line,
‘Tis why she trimmed:
For a better shine.

Parry, thrust, stab, and slash,
Make Iago withdraw into the brine.
Final push, and with a splash!
Iago’s gone—until next time.

© 2021 H.K. Longmore

Author’s note: I wanted to end this on a positive note, but TBH, Iago will be back. I’ll have to do a part 2 sometime; maybe that will have a happier ending?