secure this beckoning sunshine

The mountain kills its poets, and the mountain maddens bards:
the chair of the giant who slumbers here—it furiously guards
whatever secrets gifted once to those with fae regards.
Turn away, O would-be poet! Turn away, O hopeful bard!
You’re worth more living than inspired, more than Annwn’s discards.

( Her name was Tesni, bright, warm, strong. Listener, take heed: )



The Mountain's Call by Alex Conall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.



crossposted to sunbowpublications.com

Ella chose
to lose one shoe
knowing that
your eye she drew.
( Away she flew )


Ella Chose by Alex Conall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

they say there are two wolves
in each of us
one made of all the vicious things
one made of all the virtues

which wolf wins?
the one I feed

but anger is a thing of vicious wolf
"God grant me the serenity"—
it is not courage that changes things
that can, that must be changed
it is anger

virtuous wolf takes no offense where none is meant
which values intent of speaker
over pain
of those hurt by careless words

if I starve the virtuous wolf
indeed I will become
a hateful thing
a hate-full thing

but if instead
I starve the vicious wolf
I will not be good
just sanctimonious

and how to call someone 'good'
who would deny a helpless animal
its only source of food

I feed both wolves
which wolf wins?
why must there be a winner?



The Wolf We Feed by Alex Conall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


(the history of the two-wolves story and the version used as reference for this poem)

Before You Make Your Move is an installment in Nine for the Nebula's Heart. Ndidi and Hinata each learn something valuable from the other.

Nine for the Nebula's Heart is a collaborative-canon project. Come play!

"Harvest Gold"

( The first chill autumn's breezes sweep )


Harvest Gold by Elizabeth Conall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

This is a story from the universe of my novel quartet in progress, Blow That Trumpet Gabriel. Consider it canon.


( Jyoti stood alone )



By the Light of the Moon by Elizabeth Conall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

This is a story from the universe of my novel quartet in progress, Blow That Trumpet Gabriel. It is not necessarily canon; not nearly enough of the books have been written for me to know.

Content warning: character death.


( who had love that's now departed? )



What Becomes of the Brokenhearted by Elizabeth Conall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

( Kaimana presses the bamboo stamp onto the unevenly flattened kapa cloth... )



Green and Blue by Elizabeth Conall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.