A Prelude to Apocalypse Read online

A Prelude to Apocalpyse

  by Phil Gibson

  Copyright Phil Gibson, 2011

  Illustrations copyright Caroline Quin, 2011

  Phil Gibson Poetry

  Phil's Blog: The Garret

  Table of Contents

  Forward

  A Painful Truth

  Morbidity

  Parasite

  The Price of Prosperity

  Two Eyes

  Apocalyptic Visions

  Also by Phil Gibson

  About the Author

  Connect with me online

  Forward

  A Prelude to Apocalypse is an introduction to my work and more specifically to my anthology of dark poetry, Apocalyptic Visions. By its very nature poetry is a subjective medium and as such one person's taste is no guarantee of another's.Therefore this short collection is presented as a representative sample to allow the reader to form their own opinion rather than rely on the views of others.

  A Painful Truth

  A figure of death

  Looms over the land

  A nuclear scythe

  Is borne in his hand

  Wearing a mantle

  Of consuming fire

  He lights for our world

  A funeral pyre

  I flee in terror

  But find no escape

  For all of this land

  Shows signs of his rape

  Where-ever I go

  He is always there

  Stripping the land

  And leaving it bare

  I hear his cruel laughter

  A malicious sound

  While his victims’ corpses

  Are thick on the ground

  He’s dealing out death

  And pain on a whim

  There can be no way

  Of hiding from him

  But now I am running

  So desperate to hide

  For I’ve glimpsed a truth

  I cannot abide

  The horror flows through me

  For now I can see

  There is no escape

  This figure is me!

  Morbidity

  I have a dream, a fantasy

  Where all men live in harmony

  An end to pain and enmity

  A new birth for humanity

  Each day I wake reluctantly

  And come back to reality

  I look around in misery

  And see the true insanity

  A world ruled by brutality

  Supported by complacency

  We’re in the grip of tyranny

  Choked by our own misanthropy

  The masses in obscurity

  Condemned to live in poverty

  A life of harsh severity

  The cruellest immorality

  Each day a new atrocity

  Will reach new depths of cruelty

  We’re sinking into savagery

  A slow death for humanity

  Parasite

  Imagine, if you will, our world

  As some great beast, in sleep it’s curled

  Its blood, the rivers deep and long

  Its bones, the mountains, proud and strong

  Its organs, oceans and the seas

  Its lungs, the forests, life they breathe

  But as the beast in sleep does lie

  It knows not it is doomed to die

  For as it slumbers through the years

  A tiny parasite appears

  It quickly spreads across the beast

  And on its life begins to feast

  This infestation without sense

  Unchecked it grows in virulence

  And as the beast sleeps all the while

  Pollutes its blood with poisons vile

  That flow through hardened arteries

  Into the organs of the seas

  And still this pestilence was rife

  It cut into the lungs of life

  But as it ate into the bones

  Leeching the minerals from the stones

  The beast began to feel the pain

  Too late it tried to stir again

  With horror then the beast saw all

  The carnage caused by pests so small

  Like insects on its back they crawled

  Like mighty nests their cities sprawled

  Like worms they burrowed in its skin

  It knew not where it could begin

  Within the beast an anger burned

  As fiery emotions churned

  Erupting as a searing flood

  That shook its bones and boiled its blood

  The cities burned, the mountains fell

  The beast unleashed the gates of hell

  But when the smoke of fires cleared

  The parasites again appeared

  From holes where they had gone to hide

  Their heads kept down, the storm to ride

  And when the beast did see them there

  Its anger died, it knew despair

  And so the beast was filled with woe

  It mourned itself, its tears did flow

  And as it wept the waters rose

  Inexorably drowning those

  Who’d come to cause it so much pain

  Now soon it would be cleansed again

  The beast it saw and ceased to weep

  Then settled right back down to sleep

  Content the parasite was gone

  It failed to notice there upon

  A mountain stood a group of men

  Who planned to start it all again

  The Price of Prosperity

  The charges are set

  We’re ready to blast

  There’s no need to worry

  The mountain will last

  This rubble is needed

  For factory walls

  We’ve no time to rest

  Prosperity calls

  Stoke up the furnace

  Don’t let the fire die

  Keep the coal coming

  An endless supply

  We must keep producing

  There’s more fuel to burn

  The darkness at noon

  Is not our concern

  There’s no time to rest

  There’re more trees to fell

  The more we cut down

  The more we can sell

  It’s all they are good for

  They’re dead anyway

  Soaked in pollution

  To wither away

  Send out the trawlers

  With wall of death nets

  There must be an hour

  Before the sun sets

  We have to work harder

  The only solution

  There’s less fish to catch

  That’s man’s contribution

  The pressure is mounting

  Our profits are down

  There’s no time for sleeping

  Get up off the ground

  There’s so little time left

  We have to get on

  Why is it so dark?

  Where has our world gone?

  Two Eyes

  Two eyes are still closed tightly

  To the beauty of this earth

  A face still glistens brightly

  From the miracle of birth

  Two eyes, a flickered movement

  As a new life is unfurled

  But the wonder of this moment

  Is just wasted on this world

  Two eyes begin to open

  And in wonder gaze around

  Youth’s bud begins to ripen

  As those eyes grow big and round

  Two eyes born out of innocence

  See the world with rosey hue

  Still blind to all the
violence

  And the evil that men do

  Two eyes are filled with anger

  As they open to the truth

  The mirror holds a stranger

  Something missing from their youth

  Two eyes now disillusioned

  And ashamed of their own kind

  In a torment of confusion

  Now they wish they were still blind

  Two eyes have now grown cynical

  Against this world of pain

  They’ve reached and passed life’s pinnacle

  And soon will close again

  Two eyes are quickly dimming

  And their light is fading fast

  The world about is swimming

  As they look into the past

  Two eyes now close forever

  At their owner’s final breath

  In that face like wrinkled leather

  Lying peacefully in death

  *****

  Apocalyptic Visions

  A collection of Dark Poetry exploring the shadowy side of human nature. If you have ever looked at the world around you and thought there was some-thing terribly wrong then you may connect with these poems. Written by one who is still an optimist despite knowing some-thing awful is going to happen!

  Reviews

  5 stars, Inspiring, 22 May 2011

  By Miss E Formby

  I am not one who normally enjoys mainstream poetry, but I absolutely love these poems. The way the author uses plays on words and descriptions allowed me to really imagine the concepts portrayed in the book. I really would take a chance on these poems I don't think you will be disappointed! My favourite poem of the set has to be 'Parasite' which I find haunting, thought provoking and thoroughly enjoyable all in equal measure.

  Reviews from Fanstory.com (a poetry review site), listed by Fanstory username:

  Donandvicki- 5 stars

  This would do well in the book of Revelations, Dark, ominous and bone cold chilling. Don

  Dustychange- 5 stars

  Woah. What a beautiful vision~! Well, it's talking about something morbid and apocalyptic, but the way it's being expressed is beautiful.The cool thing about this work seems to be that it's sensually appealing. Besides that, the language used is also direct and thoughtful.Excellent work.

  Magic Wand- 5 stars

  Your writing is very dark and sometimes disturbing. But mostly, it is honest. Not what we always see today. You have a natural talent to tell it like it is, no matter what.

  Poetic Friend- 5 stars

  Wow, this is haunting. Definitley makes the reader want to continue reading the others. I will take a peep at your book synopsis after reviewing. I like your writing style.

  Xylok- 5 stars

  dude, killer poem with killer imagery and a killer ending; that's like a triple homicide via quill. the whole things full of vivid description and the internal word play and rhymes sound awesome when orated. nuclear scythe rocks. glimpsing a truth you cannot abide, intense! profound. this poem is awesome.

  Table of contents

  A Painfull truth

  A Revelation

  Apocalyptic Vision

  Billboard Prophet

  Childish Tears

  Curtain Call

  Genesis

  God Save the Children

  Hell on Earth

  Hopeless Glory

  Letter to Santa

  Letter to the P.M

  Listen, Do You Hear Them?

  Lost

  Mice or Men?

  Morbid, Who Me?

  Morbidity

  New Life, Old Death

  One Question, Lord

  Parasite

  Peace in Our Time(1992)

  Poppy Petals

  Prophet's Lament

  Savage in a Suit

  Shell-shocked

  Terminal Case

  The Candle

  The Price of Prosperity

  Tomorrow's Legacy

  Two Eyes

  Also by Phil Gibson

  Beyond the Mask

  This collection offers a peek beyond the mask of the author. The glimpse is brief and partial; sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical but always candid. Look into my eye, it’s time to see what hides down that rabbit hole...

  Reviews

  A few reviews from Fanstory.com, a review website where writers gather to critique each other’s work (listed by fanstory.com username):

  Cjvaugn – 5 stars

  You caught me from the first line to the last. Compelling and riveting emotion, I liked how you draw us in and take us on the experience...

  Take care, CJ

  mamonia – 5 stars

  Wow! This is some kind of powerful. You really got a rise out of me with the description and imagery of words. Fantastic poetry showing the depth of your feelings and creating a major impact on the reader.

  Great

  Snowbound – 5 stars

  WOW

  Dark, demented, delicious. I love the imagery. You take us right into the straight jacket...

  SnowBound

  The Jumper

  I have out-lived my usefulness

  Rejected to my loneliness

  Discarded here upon the shelf

  My only company, myself

  It is a dreadful truth to see

  To know that no-body wants me

  Of this sad fact there is no doubt

  Who’d want me now, I’m too worn out

  Before me now my life is played

  As I sit here with edges frayed

  Each fibre of my being stretched

  My misery in creases etched

  Unravelling, I wonder why

  It came to this, I start to cry

  I long for peace in endless sleep

  With eyes closed, off the cliff I leap

  About the author

  Born and raised in Devon, Phil has been an avid reader from a young age, developing an early taste for the writing of Edgar Alan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, John Wyndham and Tolkien. Began to dream of becoming a writer and first attempted to write a book at the age of 10.

  After a 'satisfactory' but uneventful school career left him with no clear sense of direction Phil retreated into self-imposed exile at the southern tip of Cornwall where he spent a number of years living in the attic of an isolated bungalow. It was here that he first began to write poetry, inspired by political upheavals and environmental concerns.

  A few years later Phil attempted to re-enter mainstream society, moving back to the city and starting a family. A decade later, after raising 2 awesome kids as a single father, he returned to education, studying Earth Sciences at Plymouth University.

  Connect with me online

  Twitter:

  https://twitter.com/#!/PhilG_Poetry

  Facebook author page:

  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Phil-Gibson-Poetry

  Facebook book pages:

  Apocalyptic Visions - https://www.facebook.com/ApocalypticVisions

  Beyond the Mask - https://www.facebook.com/Beyond.the.Mask

  Phil Gibson Poetry:

  https://philgibsonpoetry.co.uk/

  Phil’s blog:

  https://philgibsonpoetrythegarret.blogspot.com/