Part 32 (1/2)
So stealing a boot and casting a spell, the witch had wreaked vengeance so very well.
Wearing moon silver like armor and mail, the former soldier, rode home to his wife.
They dried their tears and climbed in bed, the stars at their window, the wind at their door, the howl of the coyote like the call of the dead.
They came together in a tearful wail, loved one another with all their might, tried to make a child that very night, did what they could to set themselves right.
Back on the desert, next day in the sun, the Apache witch man was dead and done.
Found at the mouth of a cave near an army boot, the witch man was burned and wadded, with a hole in his chest, the demon of the desert had left its nest.
About Joe R. Lansdale Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over thirty novels, twenty short story collections, screenplays, comic scripts, essays and non-fiction. His novel Vanilla Ride, from Knopf, is part of his Hap and Leonard series. Others in the series are currently being reprinted by Vintage Books.
Joe R. Lansdale's novella, Bubba Ho-Tep, was the inspiration for Don Coscarelli's cult cla.s.sic film, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis.
And now there is a new Lansdale book: The Best of Joe R. Lansdale. Lansdale's favored themes run from zombies to vampire hunters to drive-in theaters, and his storytelling encompa.s.ses everything from gross-out horror to satire.
.
DARK SHADOW CLUBBING..
by Everett Madrid.
Dancing there alone in the shadows, my eyes started to ring and sting.
When I saw that it was the real you, I wanted to cry and silently scream.
Then I barely realized with fright, it was only a cracked mirror.
You were dancing in the background, glaring at me and dancing nearer.
It was too dark to see, what it was you held in your hand.
It was too late to stop, by the time I realized what you had planned.
You get to have all that you want, when you dance with me behind the Black Door.
A th.o.r.n.y rose with black pedals dripping in your blood, the perfect gift I have been wis.h.i.+ng for.
DANCING IN REPRISE.
by Everett Madrid I'm here to serenade you with the letters, written as you recently requested.
The fuzzy line between you and me, just went quantum with what you be-quested.
I know it's that bad and I've been there myself, many times before in another life full of strife.
The end is not the answer we're searching for now, until fully experiencing the roller coaster of this life.
I know you were expecting only one for you, mine must come as quite a pleasant surprise.
It wrote itself to the music as I wrote yours, two little suicide notes dancing in reprise.
I know you won't do it because you're not through yet, with yourself or me and so I can't let you be.
I can't let you in good conscience end it this way; writing the note that blames your pain on me.
Whatever the time that brings you to the very end, it is going to be in the cradle of my arms or not at all.
If you end it with step off of this very steep cliff, I'm going to catch you before the end of our fall.
INVISIBLE HAPPY EMOTIONS.
by Everett Madrid You are now gone and not because of death, once again I feel close to complete.
You left me with nothing but my last breath, and the empty feeling of deplete.
The day has finally come to linger, you are no longer part of my existing life.
When I think of you now I'll only remember the sickness and lonely, constant strife.
I should have known it was doomed to land, when the desire to have you was gone.
You only wanted a golden stage upon to stand, and my shoulders to place it square upon.
With you by my side I had never been so alone all of the way, to the terrible very end.
I've forgotten how to laugh, the feeling to belong somewhere, anywhere, with good friends.
My emotions are mostly invisible now or in rear, I can no longer imagine happiness as a station.
What I received in return was loss of everything dear, and a very big bad reputation.
You will not be remembered as an ex-flame, or the hand for which I was the glove.
You were just an artist I once tried to help, and the shadow I twice tried to love.
About Everett Madrid.
After a successful ten year career as a Navy engineer, Everett Madrid (otherwise known as b.a.d., which stands for beat art dealer) worked as a consultant and sales engineer for the semi-conductor and telecommunications industry. He completed advanced management application training (Total Quality Management), in addition to earning a BA in Organizational Management in 1995 at St. Mary's College of California. He left the corporate culture to follow his pa.s.sion and entered the art business as a sales consultant. His pa.s.sion for excellence and love for the arts enabled his quick rise in the gallery world, landing him a director position in one of the largest art galleries in the country.
Over the following five years, Everett would deal in the works of Pablo Pica.s.so, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Rembrandt, Andy Warhol and a myriad of historically important and contemporary artists.