Images, from which a few of my poems took form, my personal favorites - all included in
"Dreams Nightmares Visions" Enjoy!!

"Sacrifice" High above the distant clouds,   atop a barren mount   An ultimate sacrifice unfolds   To the monstrous beast. In bondage she is shackled in stone,   The manacles and chains unforgiving   Her body writhes with fear and loathing   As the baneful captor looms above. With eyes aflame, his stare unbroken And claws extended with anticipation, His immense untamed wings beat loudly The heinous dragon fills with desire. Her cries echo into the thinning air His hot-blooded breath floods over her, Her back arched in a futile attempt To escape her unwanted fate. Giant claws scrape unwilling flesh As her bonds are hastily severed For she is no longer the enchantress of old But the mistress of fabled dragonlore. © 2009 Gretchen Steen    "The Curse of the Rose" Suspended in time Her beauty unchanged, Soft porcelain skin And lost mind insane. The curse of the rose Its deep crimson beauty, Remembering a time So long, long ago. On the pillow beside her They did lay them discreetly, Forsaken she was greeted Her lovers swiftly had fled. All of her life spent Abandoned, lost and alone, Only the passion The rose having shown. It will slyly seduce you Its beguiling scent flows, But, always remember The curse of the rose. © 2009 Gretchen Steen

"Empowered" Down the long winding stairway   From his mystical castle above,   The grand wizard approached   His willing protégé. Massive and strong he waited   For his master's touch,   Approving his existence   In this dark, mist-laden cavern. With his giant wings spread wide   He bowed to his magical mentor,   As the wand grazed his scales   His piercing eyes turned blood red. Blinding white light exploded   As their alliance was forged   Filled with the fantastic power   Of a  mage and his beloved dragon. © 2009 Gretchen Steen "Angelic Voice" Through the mysterious moonlight   The majestic harp serenades her lover,   Lost to her until the end of time   He anxiously heeds her call. A ghostly wisp, she feels his touch   As his misty palm caresses,   Angelic breath upon her neck   His presence intimately human. Meaningless stones surround them   As ethereal tones fill the darkness,   Summoning lost love to her side   Nevermore to be parted. © 2010 Gretchen Steen

"Red Guardian" Created by your ancient potions   I served you 'til the end   In life a steadfast protector   In death your constant guardian. Separated by your eternal sleep   In reverence I guard you still   My journey to join the shadowy realm   Evades me as I embrace your chill. Soon I will fade as you have   Though' not by the sword of Evermour   Nay, into the darkness shall I wing   To join with you once more. Be still my liege, for I shall come   The mystics say with ease   My life will end so very soon   And be united in your lonely tomb. © 2009 Gretchen Steen "Wizard's Revenge" The beast lies gravely wounded   As his spirit escapes its tomb   Through his mystical creator   From which his life did come. The old mage defiantly vows   As the beast furrows his scaly brow   To avenge this terrible deed   With lightning striking speed. Through the wizard the life force flows   As the graying wizard's anger grows   The life he so graciously led   Is now buried deep within his head. For you see the two are one   A wizard and his dragon together   Two halves that make a magical whole   An element of fantasy forever. © 2009 Gretchen Steen

"Sorceress of the Dragon" Before her magical orb she sits,   As a candle flickers in the darkness,   In a trance she sees the vision,   Of two lovers' embrace. Mystical spells from her ancient books   She has cast an amorous spell,   The dragon watches while his mistress Waits…So unscrupulously. Her heart beats faster As her breath quickens,   Their ardent passion Is immortal… With her powers She has fulfilled a dream,   That mere mortals Could never imagine. © 2009 Gretchen Steen "OH NO!" To my surprise   I have grown   Into a dragon   All my own. But, alas, my flame went out   Below my large protruding snout   I gasped and fanned to no avail   All that's left a wispy, smoky trail. With eyes open wide   I puffed again as fear flew over me   What am I now to do   The flameless dragon that you see. I guess I'll make the most of it   For some are quite sedate,   I do not need my fire today   My barbecue will just have to wait!! © 2009 Gretchen Steen

"Teacher...Pupil..." Upon a distant mountaintop   Veiled in a misty dew,   The teacher and the pupil sit   Their pursuit had begun anew. Her brazen hair flowed wildly   As the dragon's fierce hot flames,   His wings spread wide above her   Head bowed to show his mane. Their eyes had met in harmony   With no remorse or evil disdain,   Eagerly they would listen   To every possible quatrain. Learning books of man and beast   Were gathered deep at their feet,   Then in turn each would speak   A special passage they did seek. They would learn from one another   The timeless battles won and lost,   Not of the atrocities only their own   But to the other and its cost. For you see their fears subsided   When each tore down their wall,   Ceased to battle and began to see   Their collective knowledge for us all. © 2009 Gretchen Steen

"Dragonlore" Deep within his damp, dark cavern   With inked quill pen in claw   The tranquil dragon writes it down   For the doubting world to awe. For, you see, the legends be   Of all their life and times   No one knows or will they see   Unless he pens the rhymes. Volumes stacked of stories told   The fables and legends of old   Imagination is his gift   To give the nay-sayers a mysterious lift. The vine-lined cave will serve him well   For all the lore that he will tell   Busied pen, his eyes do shine   With his mystical parchments for all time. © 2009 Gretchen Steen

"Demon Angel" Traversing the merciless darkness   The light of his salvation emerged,   Clambering through the passageway   The magical portal appeared. His shackles torn free and flowing   Cast the baneful energy asunder,   Onto his wretched knee has fallen   Weighed wings to soar no more. Gossamer wings held gracefully as   Forgiveness and beauty envelope his soul,   The light of pure, unconditional love   Consuming the unconscionable malevolence. © 2010 Gretchen Steen

"Tears of Blood" As the brilliant light   Of the full moon shines,   The heiroglyphs magically   Appear to rise. They tell the eerie tale   Of a warrior's brave, sad end,   For the world to gaze upon   And wonder or pretend. Save for this sultry temptress   Whose love has never waned,   Opens a mystical portal   Where only she can attain. Visions of love and passion   He reveals to her alone,   Never to feel his enchanted caress   Her sullen eyes become as stone. The desert breeze entwines her raven hair   as her erratic heartbeat quickens,   Death's door closes as she makes her escape   Yet with tears of blood she is stricken. © 2009 Gretchen Steen

Thank you, I hoped you enjoyed my "visions"