Beyond the Wall, etc.
By
J. Russell Schneider
Beyond the Wall
Impressions etched upon the wall,
Hill and caves
Roll with rocks and sea,
Giving birth to those foul faces
Churning beneath plaster waves,
Twisting and straining
Mouthing words
I’ll never hear!
I mustn’t look away,
For the moonlight conjures violent fissures,
Paper thin fingers running along their edges,
Exploring a route for escape,
Knocking on moldy boards,
I answer,
“Shh my friends, don’t wail so!
I’ll pry you from those yellowed bars!”
Haunting Frau
Roused from sleep
I found,
Not my usual visitor,
But an entity
Unfamiliar and staring,
One dressed simply,
Hair in a bun
And spectacles resting
Upon her chest.
What she wanted,
I did not know
For she hushed my inquiries
Like a schoolmarm
Quieting a student.
She spoke softly,
In a guttural language
I barely knew.
Standing at the foot of the bed
Waiting.
For what, I did not know.
Her fingers drumming against the bed post
Melted away
What little courage I possessed,
As her cracked hands
Slid across my sheets,
Gliding toward me,
She smiled.
My god
That smile—that crudely drawn smile--
Chilled me
Though the fire still burned,
The flames hid nothing,
Kept no secrets between us.
Her pace quickened
As the hour wore on,
Never breaking her gaze,
At last we met
With the smoldering embers waning,
Her Crayola mouth
Peeled back,
And all I could hear
Between my gasps was,
“…freut mich.”
Murder by Numbers
Who knows how it started,
Or why it ended,
Must have been years ago,
More than I wish to admit,
Sometime in ’46.
You loved me then,
Showed me the
Waikiki sights.
Tourists swam around
As we raced by
In your emerald-green Mercury,
My head dizzy
With newfound freedom.
The pool hall shielded us
From our families’ eyes,
No harm came to us
Under the watch of those fluorescent angels,
Quick glances, subtle touches, and coded messages
Made secret our passion.
But we ran hot,
Lived many lives in one.
And I repaid you with silence,
I left you there,
Buried what was good
In the barbed Hawaiian sands.
I was only a child,
Not knowing what I had,
How could I?
Who knows how many years
Have passed since I last cried for you.
But years from now,
I’ll do the same,
Reliving what we shared,
Far from where I left you,
The one who showed me love.
J. Russell Schneider is a published poet who delves into the darkest corners of the psyche. He finds whimsy in the macabre and ghoulishness in the fanciful. Schneider’s poetry has been published by Wayfinder, a fan magazine based on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Three Line Poetry, Jitter Press, Inwood Indiana Press, and Coffin Bell. Most of his work embraces fantasy, horror, and noir elements. He currently lives near Seattle, Washington. You can visit him @wretchedpoet on Bluesky.
By
J. Russell Schneider
Beyond the Wall
Impressions etched upon the wall,
Hill and caves
Roll with rocks and sea,
Giving birth to those foul faces
Churning beneath plaster waves,
Twisting and straining
Mouthing words
I’ll never hear!
I mustn’t look away,
For the moonlight conjures violent fissures,
Paper thin fingers running along their edges,
Exploring a route for escape,
Knocking on moldy boards,
I answer,
“Shh my friends, don’t wail so!
I’ll pry you from those yellowed bars!”
Haunting Frau
Roused from sleep
I found,
Not my usual visitor,
But an entity
Unfamiliar and staring,
One dressed simply,
Hair in a bun
And spectacles resting
Upon her chest.
What she wanted,
I did not know
For she hushed my inquiries
Like a schoolmarm
Quieting a student.
She spoke softly,
In a guttural language
I barely knew.
Standing at the foot of the bed
Waiting.
For what, I did not know.
Her fingers drumming against the bed post
Melted away
What little courage I possessed,
As her cracked hands
Slid across my sheets,
Gliding toward me,
She smiled.
My god
That smile—that crudely drawn smile--
Chilled me
Though the fire still burned,
The flames hid nothing,
Kept no secrets between us.
Her pace quickened
As the hour wore on,
Never breaking her gaze,
At last we met
With the smoldering embers waning,
Her Crayola mouth
Peeled back,
And all I could hear
Between my gasps was,
“…freut mich.”
Murder by Numbers
Who knows how it started,
Or why it ended,
Must have been years ago,
More than I wish to admit,
Sometime in ’46.
You loved me then,
Showed me the
Waikiki sights.
Tourists swam around
As we raced by
In your emerald-green Mercury,
My head dizzy
With newfound freedom.
The pool hall shielded us
From our families’ eyes,
No harm came to us
Under the watch of those fluorescent angels,
Quick glances, subtle touches, and coded messages
Made secret our passion.
But we ran hot,
Lived many lives in one.
And I repaid you with silence,
I left you there,
Buried what was good
In the barbed Hawaiian sands.
I was only a child,
Not knowing what I had,
How could I?
Who knows how many years
Have passed since I last cried for you.
But years from now,
I’ll do the same,
Reliving what we shared,
Far from where I left you,
The one who showed me love.
J. Russell Schneider is a published poet who delves into the darkest corners of the psyche. He finds whimsy in the macabre and ghoulishness in the fanciful. Schneider’s poetry has been published by Wayfinder, a fan magazine based on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Three Line Poetry, Jitter Press, Inwood Indiana Press, and Coffin Bell. Most of his work embraces fantasy, horror, and noir elements. He currently lives near Seattle, Washington. You can visit him @wretchedpoet on Bluesky.
