Sirens Call Publications is pleased to announce its latest release… Dark Passages: Moments of Transition and Dissonance Shawn D. Standfast Dark Passages is a collection of poetry caught in shadow. Interweaving the remnants of memory, thought, dream, and desire. Fire, Brimstone and Candlelight Lost in a flow of phrases and emotions Forever moving in motion […]
A Tribute to Dolores O’Riordan (1971-2018)
I never saw The Cranberries live and that will always be a regret for me. But I have all their CDs and EPs to listen to over and over again. Here is a short poem in remembrance of a fabulous singer and performer. Whose voice will live on and linger.
A Daffodil Lament
Dreams or just your imagination
They seemed to mean so much
To you they were never ridiculous
Thoughts you had to hold on to
Always searching for the light
Leaving the darkness behind
Today was an ordinary day
They say you’ve gone away
Our heads are hanging low
As another voice is taken
But you will always linger
And the daffodils look lovely today
RIP Dolores O’Riordan
Words by and borrowed by Shawn D. Standfast, Copyright © 2018.

Photo sourced from Google
A Tribute to Tom Petty (1950-2017)
Among Wild Flowers
As the pale evening sun went down
Sailing on never ending radio songs
We thought you were unstoppable
Never selling mediocrity
Never backing down
Then rain began falling like tears
And the world became so still
But now you’re learning to fly
Free falling above us all
As you rest among wild flowers
RIP Tom Petty
Words by and borrowed by Shawn D. Standfast Copyright © 2017.
Photo sourced from Google
First they came for the Libraries
First they came for the Libraries
And I did not speak out
Because I did not read
Then they came for the Internet
And I did not speak out
Because I had nothing to hide
Then they came for The Human Rights Act
And I did not speak out
Because I was Privileged
Then they came for Democracy
And I could not speak out
Because it was too late
With apologies to Martin Niemoller (1892-1984)
Copyright © 2017 Shawn D. Standfast. All rights reserved.
The Future of the Country
Lament for a Nation
“The future of the country”
Under the holy name Austerity
Privatisation on course
Draining wealth of the nation
The gulf ever widening
“Strong and stable government”
Camouflaged corruption
Dissent silenced
Paranoia and isolation
Privilege and power rule
“National interest”
Stripping away liberties
Surveillance prevails
Freedom fading to shadow
Hatred thinly veiled as hope
“Strength in my hand”
Words losing meaning
A mantra of nonsense echos
Demagogues step into the light
“The future of the country”
Copyright © 2017 Shawn D. Standfast. All rights reserved.
A Glimpse of Infinity
The Long Night
In a cacophonous thunder twilight descends
Clouds converge in rapturous abandonment
Darkness outlines silence on the horizon
Stillness moves with lengthening shadows
A breeze dances upon flower petals and leaves
Sensuously caressing dreams long forgotten
Carnivorous thoughts devour remaining light
Feasting on memories lost in the blackness
Words become meaningless with every breath
Sifting through moments of joy and ecstasy
Hopes become frozen in a whirlwind of reproach
Fulfilling expectations and depths of despair
Surroundings envelope in a cloak of sadness
Then for a moment stars sparkle in the distance
Clouds part and a glimpse of infinity is revealed
Its emptiness a comfort through the long night
Copyright © 2016 Shawn D. Standfast. All rights reserved.
Phantasms Unleashed
A dimly lit room
On a dark and stormy night
Phantasms unleashed
During The Year Without Summer, in the month of June 1816 Mary Godwin, Claire Clairmont, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron and John Polidori gathered together at Villa Diodati, near Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
Long shadows have been cast from that gathering 200 years ago. The phantasms unleashed During those few days have seeped into ever work of Science Fiction and Horror created since then. Not only do they live in works of Fiction they permeate every dark corner, dwell beneath our beds and invade our sleep, shaping our fears.
Copyright © 2016 Shawn D. Standfast. All rights reserved.
#Haiku #MicroPoetry #Poem #VillaDiodati #Summer1816 #TheYearWithoutSummer
Short Story Tanka
May is/was Short Story Month. So I have written an Acrostic & Telestich Tanka.
Shifting ideas
Honing words for amusement
Oblique memento
Released emotions whisper
True moments of symmetry
Copyright © 2016 Shawn D. Standfast. All rights reserved.