The Protege

A Collaboration with Tania Leigh

The final flicker of light from the candle
is reminiscent of the spark in your eye
that I study intently, as it fades to black
and by my own hand, I watch you die.

And here it is, my fate at last
brought forth 'neath that flickering flame.
My own eye looks unto the past
and tries to divine what you became.

What of me? You’d not possibly know. The
soullessness of me belies my eyes and you
were deceived by the inviting glow, an
unwitting performer in my macabre show.

My art I sought to teach you, the last
defense of an artists vanity, to see his
own lack of humanity passed to another,
you were a sacrifice to my hedonistic art.

Your strength was your weakness; your
desire to teach your art to me was an
open door and I stepped through. I do
believe the sacrifice in the end was you.

And now I fall 'neath your unwitting blade,
my body laid bare, the perfect canvas.
My soul cries out, guiding your hand.
Art is your master and your blade must obey.

You are a teacher in the perfect sense of your
sacrifice to this protégé, and the love of your
art becomes your demise as I put forth my new
skills and your life drains away. I must obey.

Oh, the wonders we have created, working
side by side. The masterpieces wrought of skin
and pain. I shudder with thought of our secret
sin and await the kiss of your final blade.

Reviews

[nokturnal]

That was incredible. So full of emotion and despair I loved the dialog between you and Tania very very creative. As I read it I could picture the whole scene playing out like it was right before my eyes. I give you two, two thumbs up a piece and kudos great job, great writing, just simply great.

[PianoandPage]

i like this. the giving and take of pain, of sacrifice. nice and gothic. had a sort of religious tone too.

that was so full of varying emotions and I just had this whole kinda murdering image in my head, but it seems almost kind of willing to let it happen which to be honest makes it even more cool and creepy XD :

Your strength was your weakness; your
desire to teach your art to me was an
open door and I stepped through. I do
believe the sacrifice in the end was you.

I love that part, it's really hard hitting, I don't think I've ever heard anybody else use the phrase "your strength was your weakness" in a better way, and I love :

Oh, the wonders we have created, working
side by side. The masterpieces wrought of skin
and pain. I shudder with thought of our secret
sin and await the kiss of your final blade.

That my dear is what I tend to call pure aw talent right there :) keep it up!! :D xx

[Brette Medb]

Damn this was creepy and so wonderfully formed! Two amazing writers coming together to produce an amazing poem! I loved the dialog between the two; the artist and his sacrifice, his protege... really great write! Definitely going into my favorites : )


Brette

[desertraven]

This, my friends is incredible! I am not so sure that I , myself could manage such perfection.
Kudos,
Sandra

[Amor-de-angel]

Good collaboration. Glad to see the captain and I inspired others to try this type of work.Hope you enjoyed doing it as much as we did.

[Beth]

great job, you two! I like how it has a form of dialog between the two characters. It makes me think of a dark room with the two, neither really wanting to do this, but both knowing that it is necessary.

[Deborah Leah Krempa]

A wonderfully written work of art. Thank you for sharing. Debileah

[Dead Angel]

i love your writing, the old english was the perfect touch to this poem. it was well written and very creative. kudos to you both. :)

[Spoken]

Wow, this really shows the masterpiece two brilliant like minded writers can bring. The additions of each flow as though they were written by one. This is a powerfully emotional piece. I love the tone. Great!