Nothing Can Be Explained - By Jason Zapata

Nothing Can Be Explained

The past unremittingly seeks dominion over me.
A struggle for sovereignty taking place behind,
The haunted windows that are my troubled eyes.
Bygone battles and conflict play out in my mind,
Locking swords against what I believe in now.
But which blade will shatter under the strain?
There is no answer to this question.
Nothing can be explained.

I cannot remember when this bitter duel began.
If feels like I have been fighting myself forever,
Yet this confrontation must have a conclusion.
In my heart I wonder what victory would mean.
Would these past memories be finally shed,
Like so many tears in the falling rain?
There is no answer to this question.
Nothing can be explained.

All These Words - By Jason Zapata

All These Words

Another would-be suitor is quick to depart
Due to false stewardship of your heart
I’m hate seeing this kingdom in neglect
When it deserves only honor and respect
Don’t be accustomed to frauds and liars
Please still recognize genuine desires
Here I’ll stand repeating them forevermore
If only to convince you they were true
All these words I would say to you
Similar things were said by others before
I’m going to prove my words are true
All these words I would say to you

I’ll stand before you so our eyes can meet
And I’ll tell you how I feel without deceit
Please do not doubt this dedication
Or view it as a false proclamation
This oath will not be an empty promise
No vow of devotion to fall into remiss
Here I’ll stand repeating them forevermore
If only to convince you they were true
All these words I would say to you
Similar things were said by others before
I’m going to prove my words are true
All these words I would say to you

"Wheat Field with Crows" - By Jason Zapata

"WheatField with Crows" by Vincent Van Gogh

~ ~ ~

I was the one to find you.
You were in the very field you painted.
The wind sighed. The wheat swayed.
You lay still.

I looked up into the blue sky.
Was your angelic trumpeter here,
Had the dark winged heralds come?
My eyes saw neither of these.

Your conscience led you to the field,
You were never a burden. I failed you.
I gazed over your completed canvas,
Reminded of the melancholy you felt.

I recall your hand spreading dark paint.
Brown, blue, and black were worked
Resignedly into your canvas.
As it became clear what it was, I asked you:

“What does this mean to you?”

Blue eyes regarded me in silence.
“Vast fields of wheat beneath troubled skies.”
It was then you turned your head so I couldn’t see
The wound and the change in your blue eyes.

"Ksendra” by Sarah Ellerton

This is a long overdue artist of the month entry. I am aggravated at the fact this is only the second entry for this year. This isn’t good enough. Artists like Sarah Ellerton deserve as much press as possible. So let me fill you in a bit.

Sarah is a comic artist and handles both the writing and illustrations for her current graphic novel, The Phoenix Requiem. A story she describes as, “A Victorian-inspired supernatural fantasy story about faith, love, death, and the things we believe in.”

Sarah was already an established artist before she began work on her latest project. She has already finished a five part fantasy graphic novel series entitled, Inverloch. This series earned many nominations and awards from the Web Cartoonist’s Choice Awards. This includes winning the Outstanding Fantasy Comic category in 2005.

Sarah enjoys traditional painting and her favorite artist is William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Some of the software she uses for her projects are Photoshop CS4, Wacom Intuos3 6x8, Apple 20" Cinema Display.

If you would like to view more of Sarah’s work, I highly recommend you view her gallery on Deviant Art. She also has her own website for The Phoenix Requiem.

Ksendra by =artsangel on deviantART

"Booted Foot" by Jason Zapata

The future is condemned by the past.
What has transpired becomes the basis,
The reason why future decisions are made.
Liberty from this prison can only be achieved
By destroying everything we once knew.
Grinding our former selves into dust
Under the booted foot of the present.

"Rydia and The Dancing Ghosts" by Jason Zapata

To watch the dancing ghosts promenade and pirouette
Rydia enters the castle ruins bathed in moonlight
Letting herself become lost in the shadowy minuet

These spirits from another age pose her no threat
Villagers fear them but she come here every night
To watch the dancing ghosts promenade and pirouette

Rydia knows no worry and doesn’t allow herself to fret
As spectral bodies glide about in the eerie twilight
Letting herself become lost in the shadowy minuet

The sight of these undead royals she will never forget
How it always filled her with wonder and delight
To watch the dancing ghosts promenade and pirouette
Letting herself become lost in the shadowy minuet

My Review of Gabrielle Charbonnet's and James Patterson's "Witch and Wizard"

James Patterson’s new novel, “Witch and Wizard” is intriguing to me conceptually. The story is based on two siblings named Whit and Wisty Allgood. Average teenagers living with their parents until the day their home is raided by the New Order. The brother and sister are accused of practicing magic by this oppressive new regime of the federal government that has come to power. Under the leadership of “The One Who Is The One”, they seek to imprison and execute all practitioners of magic.

During the course of their imprisonment and eventual escape the teens develop their magic and learn just how pervasive the New Order has become. Though this story is geared more towards a younger audience, it has a very mature theme. It makes me wonder if the author had questioned the direction in which he wanted to take the novel.

To be more specific, Mr. Patterson’s New Order is very similar to another dystopian nightmare, the world ruled by “Big Brother” in George Orwell’s, “1984.” We see the N.O. Party Posters and portraits of “The One Who Is The One” but the characters don’t really reflect on this. What made 1984 so haunting was how Winston would internalize the maddening world around him.

Patterson couldn’t take this novel to that level without alienating some of his young target audience, but I wonder what this story could have been if he had. Instead, Witch and Wizard focused on the conflict between adolescences who use magic and the adults who run this broken world.

I do think this novel does accomplish what it sets out to do. It creates a modern day world where magic exists and uses it as a tool to amplify the discord that can exists between teenagers and adults. Whitford Allgood and his sister Wisty are very benign and likeable characters. I would have liked more scenes with “The One Who Is The One.” I know the full explanation of his character will be revealed in later novels, but having the villain’s (and an adult’s perspective) would have made the story more enjoyable for me. This was a good read for younger readers but has enough storyline to cross over and appeal to those adults who read the Harry Potter series.