National Poetry Month Giveaway

Happy National Poetry Month!  To celebrate, we are having a poetry book giveaway.

**National Poetry Month Giveaway**

We are giving away a prize pack containing bookmarks, postcards, magnet, and *autographed* copies of From the Shadows and Shadows of Myth and Legend by E.J. Stevens to one lucky winner.

To enter, please leave a comment on this post (please include your email address so we may contact you if you win).  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  Giveaway ends April 30th midnight EST.

Loup Garou

As the last traces of

My humanity recede

Thoughts shift to seeking out

A victim on which to feed

Changing from man to beast

Becoming the Loup Garou

I long to feast on flesh

My next meal may well be you.

-Loup Garou, Shadows of Myth and Legend by E.J. Stevens

Woman in White by E.J. Stevens

Woman in White

Traveling along the roadside
On this wet fog laden night
I catch a brief glimpse up ahead
Of a lone woman in white

Wondering if I can offer
Assistance to this lady fair
I dismount and call out to her
But she only turns to stare

What foul thing could have befallen
This damsel to strike her mute?
Perhaps then she is no fair lady
But a dame of ill repute

I shall take her with me
I’ll keep her warm in my bed
A reward for taking her in
From this road few others tread

Her presence could complicate things
As my wedding night draws near
So long as my wife’s family
Remain blind there’s naught to fear

A plan already taking form
I reach out to take her arm
But as the clouds move past the moon
Light shines on a wedding charm

Not a harlot then just a bride
Now obvious by her dress
Glowing white beneath the full moon
So lovely but in distress

Trying again to be helpful
I reach out to take her hand
Only then do I see the blood
Dripping onto rock and sand

In her right hand she held a knife
Her left clutched her husband’s heart
Her husband had been unfaithful
Tearing her world and mind apart

She looked with frenzied hatred on
A lecherous wretch like me
Quickly slashed head from body
Tossing the head into the sea

So hear me all unfaithful men
Attend these words of the dead
Beware of the Woman in White
Or you too may lose your head.

by E.J. Stevens
'Shadows of Myth and Legend'
Copyright 2010

Exile by E.J. Stevens

Legs bound with cold iron

So you cannot flee

Wings wrapped in a glamour

For no human eyes to see

Stranded in the mortal realm

No magic to sustain your youth

A terrible price to pay

For seeking out the truth

Exiled from all Sidhe lands

Sent far from kith and kin

Judged by both Seelie courts

Guilty of our greatest sin.

by E.J. Stevens, 'Shadows of Myth and Legend'

Copyright 2010

The Winter Queen

The Winter Queen

In the dark world of Shadow
During Solstice the Longest Night
The Winter Queen stirs
While her dreaded frost minions
Take flight

In this land of cold and fear
Stands a palace of ice and stone
Where locked deep within
Sits the Winter Queen upon
Her throne

Awareness returns to her
As she tries to open her eyes
Memory and pain
Erupts, but ice seals away
Her cries

The only thing not frozen
Are Winter Queen’s immortal tears
Which sparkle as they
Flow down her cheeks mingling with
Her fears

No one dare enter her realm
No man will ever kiss her lips
For death lingers in
Her embrace, into abyss
He’ll slip

So on this dark Solstice night
The Winter Queen sits upon her throne
Knowing she will sit here
Forever frozen and all
Alone


by E.J. Stevens

The Winter Queen was first featured on Moonlight, Lace & Mayhem and will be published in my upcoming collection 'Shadows of Myth and Legend'.

Shadow Queen of the Sidhe

Blackberry lips

Brimstone embers in her hair

The evil temptress beckons

For you to come into her lair

Feet dancing on the dark crags

Legs bare but for swirling mist

She pouts at your indecision

And offers up a kiss

Wrapped in shifting shadows

She sways from side to side

Looks coyly through dark lashes

Opens her mouth wide

A growl escapes her

As she reaches for your face

Shadow Queen of the Sidhe

Wraps you in her dark embrace.

From the Shadows by E.J. Stevens
**author's note: "Sidhe" is a Celtic word for Fae or Fairy and is pronounced "Shee"**

The Campfire Pages: Halloween Edition

The chilling E.J. Stevens poem The Boatman Below is now featured at The Campfire Pages: Halloween Edition.

The Boatman Below was originally printed in From the Shadows chapter 1: Graveyard Whispers by E.J. Stevens.

FtS becomes Poetry Pick of the Month

From the Shadows is poetry pick of the month over at Lisa-Phillips.com!  I am in the Featured Author section.