Here you will find a collection of my poems, which vary in subject. I have purposely not detailed or commented on their content as I believe it should be the remit of the audience to draw or identify with the themes on a personal basis as with all forms of art literary or otherwise.

They are in no specific order, however will generally have a date of composition.  I have also marked titles with an *asterisk where they have an alternate version in another medium.

A PORTRAIT OF YOU **

Your portrait in the attic Depicts a different view of you Here time is not static It decays like those you slew

You sold your soul many moons ago In exchange for eternal youth Guarding dark secrets from those you know In concealment of the truth

Feelings of insanity begin to show You destroy those you can’t abide Rumour and suspicion starts to grow As vanity chokes your pride

Now you face your final curtain call Every killing has a price to pay Shattered illusions around you fall In the demise of Dorian Gray

Chris Ankin (c) 16/10/09 Based on ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ By Oscar Wilde

ALTER-EGO

Walter is my alter That I keep locked away Never to see the cold light of day

Sometimes perhaps a glimpse When a guard is let down A menace in a smile A warning in a frown

He’s never been allowed To have his own way He may well cause havoc For that price I would pay

No we’re far better off The way things are Under lock and key Behind iron bars

Chris Ankin 18/06/13

AS I WALK THIS EARTH

Many centuries have passed But nothing has changed Still bound by this curse With nobody to blame …But myself

Seen revolutions Survived many a war There is no way out No exit door …I can see

For man’s inhumanity I bow my head in shame But my own suffering Is an eternal flame ….for me

Living life as imortal Is an unwanted gift Instinctively surviving Through time I drift ….Forever

Chris Ankin 13/04/11

AS DARKNESS APPROACHES

As darkness approaches And I leave the light behind Gather self reproaches Mistakes are well defined

No room for such self pity Or regrets on looking back On the surface ‘I’m SO witty’ As the odds against me stack

Try not to visualise tomorrow And being kept in the dark If there was ‘living time’ to borrow I could walk it in the park

I rely upon my inner strength As I have no god who gives No ego to stretch to any length In my eyes the world still lives

Chris Ankin 21/09/09

AWAKENING *

The fading light of the evening Is now swallowed by cloud Realisation is dawnin As you peel back your shroud

It’s not the life you used to know No warmth or comfort here This marble slab in a mortuary room Offers little cheer

(Chorus) Your pulse is long gone As is power of speech With blank staring eyes Cold dead hands reach

Awakening…

With friends and family grieving They’ve got your funeral planned You’re alive but not breathing Welcome to the damned

Now the only light in your tunnel And little comfort I have found That it’s better to wake right here and now Than when you’re 6 feet underground

(Chorus) Your pulse is long gone As is power of speech With blank staring eyes Cold dead hands reach

Awakening…

Chris Ankin (c) 25.09.10

BEHIND THE WALL

At the darkest end of the cellar Stands a cold black wall A guardian and protector Let us hope it never falls

Locked behind its brickwork Lie secrets icy cold Where misery and evil lurk In a tale as yet untold

Built by men many years ago To conceal a deadly truth Harboring a curse of malevolent woe That once lived beneath this roof

A possessive force that grew too strong They were left with little choice Walled up for eternity a time so long But still you can hear – her Voice

Chris Ankin 17/09/09

BLACK*

I represent darkness Mystery, desire The ultimate background For a flame or fire

I conceal your secrets Hide your dirt and grime Associate with coolness Passion and crime

I’m a timeless look Other colours follow To live your life without me Would be nothing less than hollow

If I cease to exist Stars would tumble from the sky Bore witness to the birth of time I’m waiting when you die

The substance of shadows As sleek as jet …..Is that all? You ain’t seen nothing yet

(c) Chris Ankin 04/08/09

EVERYTHING BY DESIGN

So I find myself here In this place, in this space Where I never thought I’d be

A long way away Dear departed, from where I started Thanks to  fate and destiny

But I wouldn’t change a thing A new man, part of the plan? It’s who I choose to be

From my clothes to my hair I am what I am, a singular clan Everything by design………

But without a label!

Chris Ankin 03/08/09

CORRIDORS *

Like hungry caged lions With no feeding time Pacing eternal There’s no reason nor rhyme

Roaming the corridors Of our fractured minds In search of things We may never find

Happiness, love And self-content Our own worst enemy We circumvent

Gift wrap the products From our troubled minds Repackaged memories Of things left behind

Pull aside the curtain And step within Beckon the new dawn Of the world we’re in

Chris Ankin 02/01/10

DRAWING BLOOD****

Unable to ignore the hunger lust Her quest for blood begins The urge to quench her thirst a must No-one to forgive her sins   She will hunt by stealth this very night The desire for blood so strong No room to regard her victims plight No place for right or wrong

White fangs penetrate a pulsing vein Let hemoglobin flow Senses swirl as lifeforce drains Another dying heartbeat slows

Tomorrow may just be another day But take care and heed tonight As you too could become such prey And fall victim to her bite

Chris Ankin (c) 07.08.10 Recorded (c) 07.01.11