Elysian Fields

 Untouched by sorrow or gloom

The Elysian Fields before me loom

The shade of death no longer shrouds

My bright wings , soaring toward the clouds

Flower of gold blazing in splendor

My shattered heart echoes render

The Hall of Heroes a blessed abode

My blood like crimson glowed

To bathe in sunlight in a wondrous stream

Is this my end or a beautiful dream?

I washed away the blood and tear

Proud Death, I no longer fear

No snow, no storm or even rain

Safe from hardship, free from pain

The ocean laps gently at my feet

My heart no longer beats

I hear no song, a mournful dirge

As the waves crash and surge

I long for her touch, music of her lute

She does not hear; my song is mute

I see her dancing across the shore

Where the living, the dead ignore

My heart shatters again when she smiles

It was not meant for me in a while

I have to let go of the ring

That seared my heart and broke my wing

Reckoning comes, the Lion yields

My home forever the Elysian Fields

Maxwell O’Reilly

Eagle and Hunter

 The Eagle and the Hunter

Upon the lofty rock lay his nest

The wind blew and ruffled his breast

Desolate, he flew toward the dying West

Drops of red adorned his chest

The Hunter pursued trying to kill

His gun aimed, he fired at will

More sacred blood intent to spill

His heart froze like winter’s chill

With wings spread and a mighty scream

The Eagle glowed, his pain supreme

Was cast upon nature as if in a dream

Lunged for the Hunter tearing at the seems

Panic hit the Hunter as he saw

The bloody feathers extend and glow

He stared directly into the Eagle’s maw

Saw his death coming, with a sudden yaw

The Eagle knocked the gun at his feet

Transformed into a holy majestic beast

The Hunter cowered now he is the feast

Implored the Eagle to spare him at least

The Eagle struck with a mighty claw

Talons tearing was the last he saw

Beware of my wrath and jaw

I am not your trophy, that is the law

Maxwell O’REILLY

Vulture

 The rage of a Vulture, when she is denied

The corpse she coveted will not subside

She is Death hovering on swift wings

To devour me whole and swing

Her mighty unfeathered head

A wake alighted where I had bled

A broken heart, ripped to shreds

Mixed with the feathers she constantly sheds

Beaks tearing through flesh and bone

My bleeding heart turned into stone

The Vulture shrieked and flew up high

Wings flapped, pummeled nearby

Earth wet with blood, turned dry

Went up in flames, licked the sky

I am not your meal to devour

I am the voice of the wind, the power

My wrath will set the world aflame

Death will tremble when she hears my name

In her eyes I saw fear, regret

When she saw hell in my gaze, she wept

Her golden eyes abashed to behold

The Resurrection of a Hero once foretold

She flew in my wake once my wings

Unfurled, Death now has met her King

Maxwell O’REILLY

Silence

 The night mourns with tears of dew

The morn bleeds its glorious hue

The darkness wore its ashen cloak anew

The sea raged and giant waves

Turned my ship into a watery grave

Her consuming wrath I brave

Wanton destruction around me looms

Every heartbeat is a stroke of doom

A beating heart is now a silent tomb

Will a shower of rain revive the land

Upon the mountain peak I stand

Lay my broken heart upon your hand

I fear not death; I fear your tears

Salty drops that my heart sear

Will my wings unfurl this year

Carry me away where I belong

I’m tired of this broken song

Tired of being strong

While my wings are broken and my heart is shattered, apart

You held the pieces from the start

It cannot be glued just by a kiss

Fairy tales and a touch of bliss

Do you want to know what I really miss?

Silence…

Maxwell O’Reilly

Tribute

 They said he acted alone

They said he was troubled

A low broken moan

Has now doubled

Felt her sticky blood

On my trembling hand

Young as a flower bud

No, I don’t understand

Why her life ended in pain

When she was the joy

A school shooting again

When she still played with toys

Why my classmate had a gun?

All I have is a book

I cannot see the Sun

When all hid in a nook

Children around me screaming

Scared to death

Some said goodbyes

In their last breath

A bullet ricochet

hit my head

When the count started

They said he was dead

Still holding his friend’s hand

I died, still did not understand

Why you carry a gun to school?

Where books and laughs

should be the rule

Maxwell O’Reilly

Suicide Note

 

Demons of darkness deemed me dead

Your reign is over, I boldly said

Your poison has drowned my head

Melancholy was kind to the very end

A whisper, a lament I could not tell

Was it the last toll of the mortal bell

The flicker of candles or flames from hell

This is my gift to you, my last farewell

Maxwell O’REILLY

Poppy

 

She gathered the poppies, around his graves grew

Her eyes glistening, moistened with dew

Eternal sleep, rest he craved and knew

After years of pain he labored through

Fields spattered with blood, where Eagles flew

O’er oceans deep and majestically blue

In remembrance, celestial trumpets blew

If only time can this pain undo

The spell that bound together the two

Souls in love, in death, his mourners few

Scattered like poppies, bleeding too

As he injected the sleepy opium in his veins and drew

His last breath in her arms, to his word true

Once a great Pilot, now lost to his crew

Time to bid this mortal World Adieu

Maxwell O’REILLY

Blazing Star

 Descending from Heaven on wings of flames

Gliding over currents of fire and ancient fame

My heart with icy shaft pieced, what true aim

Was your kiss, triumphantly you proclaim

My end, your beloved name

Was the last I spoke before my heart burst aflame

My blood ran in rivers, this earthly frame

A blazing Star in death became

Maxwell O’REILLY

Last beat

 

My heart grows weary of its beat

Dissolves like snow in summer’s heat

The final seconds stretched too long

Its soft murmur changing into tumultuous song

Crushing every breathe into a gasp

Wrapped in Death’s gentle grasp

Death was kind, her soft embrace

Will this horrible pain replace

She beckons me to join the celestial dance

The Moon, the Stars all in a trance

I have joined the constellations a Star

Shining the way to where the immortals are

Maxwell O’REILLY

Prince of Tides

 

Drifting along the rippling Tide

Shores whitened with foam far and wide

Waters drawing me in, I am swept away

Into your arms, “Child of Clay”,

You whispered softly, called my name

Rocked gently my broken frame

Luring me into the bottom of the sea

Filling my lungs, setting me free

With a kiss on my burning lip

Where is my crew, where is my ship?

I cannot see the surface, it’s pitch dark

Where the mast struck, it left its mark

Blood trickled, mixed with tears

How long has it been, seconds or years

I battle with the raging waves for a breath

They slam me under, to face my impending death

My ship is a now coffin, the stern and bow

You are the waters the dragged me below

The waves around me toss and churn

To your embrace I long and yearn

You are the dream that burns inside

You are the shore where I have died

Maxwell O’REILLY

Invictus

 In this place of wrath and tears

And the horrors of my forty years

Grinding pain that scorches and sears

My heart with ocean of poisonous spears

It matters not how my fate

Was inscribed at Hell’s gate

My winged fury does not abate

When Death comes, it will be too late

For I have suffered her fangs, her bane

When she bit into my heart and vein

Her rattles like clanks of mooring chain

That bound my heart to the world in vain

My heart is bloody, yet not cowed

Deafening silence or beating aloud

My soul still soars upon a cloud

Though my shell is covered in a shroud

Maxwell O’REILLY

Muse

 Daughter of Memory, giver of delight

Cloaked in stars, the lamp of night

Bestow upon me your eloquent song

Spirit of love, your inspiration strong

You kindle my love with your poetic flame

Inspiring every verse to praise your name

To frame in memory every touch

By the river we loved so much

You whisper hope, in a voice divine

Your eyes like Obsidian shine

Love engulfs your fascinating gaze

Could not soothe the destructive blaze

The angry storms and the tempest roar

Inside my heart like never before

Danger surrounds me, pain and woe

You are the only comfort I will ever know

In this desolate world you are the light

That pulls me from the depth of darkest night

The icy clasp of Death chills my grave

Even your strong love could not save

Here lies a youth; a bard unknown

Death has marked him for her own

Maxwell O Reilly  

I have Wings

 

I have wings, Not made of steel

Made of light and my sheer will

the breath of glory and absolute zeal

Flutter like a hurricane, my dreams fulfill

I have wings that will carry me high

No matter how you try to break

Them, they rise higher toward the sky

While you in fear and defeat still quake

I have wings that span the horizon and beyond

To where eagles cry and build their nests

None can break my eternal bond

To the mountains where at last I could rest

On their peaks hidden among clouds of rain

They softly weep yet my voice is thunder

When faced with this excruciating pain

Anguish cutting my heart asunder

My heart is breaking still I have wings

I defy this torment and gloriously rise

On the mountain tops I am the king

My rebirth as an Eagle, or my Human demise

Maxwell O’REILLY

I am Apollo

 

The stars pave my path with celestial fire

Maidens sing as I play the sacred lyre

My golden chariot races across the sky

Banishing the silvery moon and rising high

I am the Sun, the king of eternal flame

Apollo the diviner is my venerable name

The flute snaps and my music fades

As I unraveled the maiden jet black braids

So magnificent that they eclipse the Sun

Will she forgive the Sin I did not shun?

She pleads with the gods invokes the storm

Into a Laurel tree she was transformed

Her soft breasts covered in ugly bark

Foliage evergreen heavy and dark

To adorn my hair in remembrance sublime

Of the day the god of poetry wrote this rhyme

A punishment for my Sin I am undone

Why would I rise again if my love is gone

I set my eyes on the horizon afar

Descend into darkness a burnt out star

The pain so intense it takes my breath

I shatter at the altar of the god of Death

God of prophecy prophesied his End

Into the Shadows he will ultimately descend

I am Apollo, once a god so great

Accept my punishment, accept my fate

Neither Zeus or Hades: a foe or friend

Can undo this miserable end

God of healing: could not heal his heart

That quivered in pain and fell apart

Maxwell O’REILLY

I am Orpheus

 

Apollo taught me to play the lyre

Instilled in me his celestial fire

My music had charmed the gods and men

When Eurydice fell in the vipers den

My love gone into the underworld alone

Her loss forever I will mourn

No solace to warm my broken heart

No music or joys their blessings impart

I journey to her, defying fate

With the gods of death I have a date

Though Hades mournful let’s me go

I chose to stay and nurse my woe

Those beats were the last my heart endured

With my last gasps my soul was cured

No miracle can restore a beat to a quivering heart

Now I must this world depart

Embrace my loss and join the dead

With a laurel wreath on my head

Apollo was kind, Hades too

I would be dead if not for you

Your love wrenched me from my despair

It was a miracle not a trivial affair

You lamented and cried awhile

When my eyes closed your smile

Was the last I saw, the Sun

The stars and the moon are now just one

My love, we will meet again

Forgive the sorrow and unbearable pain

I did not mean to cause you harm

I wanted to live, hold you in my arm

Alas, it’s time to say goodbye

This heart cannot mend, it must die

Maxwell O’REILLY

I am the Queen

My yawn reaches the setting sun

I don’t give up till the battle is won

As night falls!

I unite with my pride to hunt

I am the strongest, I bear of brunt

I raise the cubs with love and care

Protect them from predators don’t you dare

Come near them or face my wrath

I am the Queen who walks the path

Of Glory and welfare of my pride

My sisters and cubs all by side

My King as well protects and roars

Always ready for the final war

To protect the pride he will give his life

He has been through struggle and strife

Only when the shot rang in the air

I knew, it was his final stare

His mane bloodied still he lunged

At the poacher fangs bared and plunged

His teeth into the flesh and tore

Him apart as if he were a wild boar

My cubs are safe though I lost my King

I’m ready for whatever life may bring

Ready for the hunt, jaws open wide

I am the queen of this pride

Maxwell O’REILLY

Prince of Death

 The world became fire

It burned

Colors of dead flame

Smokeless ashes

Vengeance looms

I am one with the darkness

My dying howl shattered

Ebb and flow of my breath

The moon waned

and night waxed until the

Next bleak sunrise

My muffled scream

for salvation

Suffering ended

with suffocation

My breath froze in my lungs

There is no greater curse

than memory

Even a dream

would wake the monster

Lion of the night

His mane ablaze

The night stirs

Walls close in like a tomb

The monster rises

End my misery

Snuff out the flames

The lion roars

Triumph sizzled in my veins

Bleeding into the night

Raining death from the sky

I have summoned darkness

Now it's time to summon the light

The world came undone

Will my death prevent the Apocalypse

Maxwell O'Reilly

Tombstone

 

His blood in the stone seeps as vintage wine

Unto the altar, from his wounds divine

Libation poured from his bleeding heart

The burdens of life and despair depart

Pale shadow on the tombstone stone he cast

A parting gift, this offering was his last

Behind a tombstone he sinks to sleep

Darkness engulfs the Land and the Deep

Thunder roars heralding the raging storm

He appears in a translucent glowing form

Risen from a grave, soaring toward the sky

Wings of flames and jade colored eyes

Like an Eagle that soars toward the Sun

Glory which before him no mortal has was won

Spirit immortal, no tomb can ever bind

the endless glory for which he had pined

He has outsoared the shadow of darkest night

And that unrest which men miscall delight,

A heart once broken with pain and woe

Flickers in silence, transformed into glow

The mountains rumbled when they mourned

His passing and his tombstone adorned

With light from the heavens that shines

Like candles scattered around his shrine

Maxwell O’Reilly

Wild Eyes

 

When I look into your wild eyes

Sparks ignite and begin to fly

Your beauty, it was such

Mesmerizing, I longed for your touch

The kiss that brushed my lips

Desire flared, I lost my grip

My heart fluttered in its cage

Rising storms in my chest rage

You whisper your love in my ear

I gasp, stricken with awe and fear

Your love left me in a daze

All I have left are few miserable days

Before I depart this dreary world

In my arms you danced and twirled

The love we have known

Will leave you sad and forlorn

Could you continue this journey alone?

How could I ever for your tears atone

When every beat of my heart is a curse

I will leave you with just a verse

To remember me by each passing dawn

A silent prayer, strength to call upon

The memories we lovingly shared

To love so much I never dared

When it’s time to say goodbye

My arms change into wings and fly

Remember only that I now am free

Close the doors and throw away the keys

Maxwell O’Reilly

Trick of Fates

Winged Cupid, the child of love

Donned his arrows and hovered above

He shot his arrow into my heart

Happily, he was about to depart

Mission is done and love in the air

Why instead he felt my despair

The arrow was poisonous, a trick of Fate

Angry at my misdeed, they lay in wait

I have cut their spinning fateful thread

Changing Destiny, cheating death instead

Submit to Fate and humbly repent

Or face punishment and eternal torment

I laughed at the irony of their threat

No matter what I did, the time was set

To take my rebellious soul and imprison

Me in Death, She has ultimately risen

To embrace me and devour my soul

Cupid stepped in, Love was his goal

He shot Death in the heart with an arrow

Her heart lightened and danced like a sparrow

When our eyes met, I took my last breath

That is why I am in Love with Death

Maxwell O’Reilly