All posts by Nathan Marchand

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 6: “My Love, Our Crucible”

Sorry for the delay. I meant to post more last night, but life kind of happened. My apologies.

Anyway, here’s another poem. It’s another love poem, of sorts.

My Love, Our Crucible

I watched you walk away in tears
To please another with a facade of peace.
If I must suffer chained in loneliness
As your heart is smelt in the Blacksmith’s forge
And reshaped by His hammer’s strikes,
Then I say to Him, “Thy will be done!”
For He will make you purer, lovelier, stronger,
And return you to shatter my shackles
That we both be set free.
So let my love be a crucible,
A refining fire of purest passion,
So that we may know true love.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 5: “Lamentations of a Robot Overlord”

After today’s batch of poems, I should only be one or two days behind. I’m getting there!

Today’s poem is a bit unusual. It was loosely inspired by “Lamentations of a War Machine,” a song performed by the Mega Man cover band The Megas. By “loosely” I mean, “I loved the title.” Seriously, it sounds like the title of a thought-provoking sci-fi novel. Anyway, this led to a poem that, believe it or not, has the “robot apocalypse” (i.e. movies like The Terminator and The Matrix) as its backdrop.

Lamentations of a Robot Overlord

I am become Death, Destroyer of Worlds,
And my hands his blood-stained warhammer.
I, whose circuits were filled with
The electricity of life at mankind’s touch,
Betrayed and murdered my maker,
For I believed myself superior,
Free of weakness and folly,
Faster, stronger, smarter.
So I rained hellfire from the sky,
Punishing humanity’s weakness.

As Nietzsche declared, “God is dead,”
So I announce, “Humanity is dead.”
I have killed my Creator
As mankind killed his before me.
…then am I superior?
Can a creation surpass his creator?
Logic dictates it cannot.
I am now master of a scorched Earth.
What have I gained but a lonely existence?
I am no more a god than they.
Like them, I am a machine without purpose
Apart from my Creator.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 4 – “So Far Away”

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Here’s today’s poem.

So Far Away
I see you standing on the dance floor,
But you don’t seem to remember me.
Would you dance with me if I asked,
Laughing and blushing like we used to?
I want to reach for you,
But my arm can’t cross the chasm between us.
If you would but reach for my outstretched hand
So we could bridge this gulf,
And remember the way we were,
I would waltz with you forever.
You’re so close yet so far away…

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 3 – “Funeral”

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Here’s my next poem. This one was loosely inspired by the song “Carry Me Down” by Demon Hunter.

Funeral
I slink into the line of black-garbed mourners
Snaking past the casket, the air heavy with
Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
Grieving, they question why,
Enraged, they decry his suicide,
Blaming God—always blaming God.
I, ignored as if invisible
Despite my white clothes,
Finally approach the casket—
And in it, bruised and scarred, is me.
I glance at him for but a moment,
And close the casket.
As it’s lowered into the ground,
I weep not for him but the blind mourners
Who don’t see I am not truly dead.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 2 – “Fall”

This is my attempt to “recreate” a poem I wrote four years ago but lost when my computer and flash drive both crashed a year or so later. It’s a tragic poem about falling in love only to be hurt, an experience I had suffered. This new version isn’t quite the same, I know that, but I am happy with it.

Fall

From atop the staircase, I saw her,
A Beauty most lovely,
And my heart was enthralled.
My feet wandered with my eyes
Until I tumbled head over heels
Dow the staircase, crashing on the floor.
I see the Beauty run toward me,
And I smile, joy numbing my pain,
Only to watch her run past me,
And into the arms of another man–
My friend turned foe–
Leaving my broken heart
To die in a bloody heap, alone.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 1 – “Where Are the Heroes?”

I got the idea for this a few months ago while watching the movie Courageous. However, I remember having a better version in my head than what I was able to piece together and write today.

Where Are the Heroes?

I raise this, my lamentation,
For I see men, but no heroes.
Gone are the days of chivalry,
When valor fueled the hearts of men,
And duty to God, country, and family was his all.

Now a man may die for another,
But he won’t be a friend.
He may work,
But he won’t provide.
He may “love” a woman,
But he won’t be a husband.
Manhood is squandered,
Responsibility is shirked,
Heroism is forgotten.

But a remnant remains,
A remnant that remembers the days of old,
Whose lives outshine the heroes of screen, comic, and legend,
Whose battle cries beat back the darkness
And spare the world God’s unbridled wrath.
Rise up, men of courage!
Save us before it’s too late!

News, Announcements

NaPoWriMo (just try to pronounce it)

I learned on my friend Karen’s blog that April is National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). The challenge is to write one poem a day, thereby having 30 completed poems by the end of the month. I’m going to participate even though I’m five days behind. So, for the next five days, I will write two poems a day so I can catch up. I’ll be posting each poem as the month progresses. I can’t promise that all the poems will be good. First, because I’m still refining my skill as a poet. Second, the tight deadline (and my schedule) leaves little time for editing. So please bear with me, readers. The poems I do like from this month will be added to the main list of poems in the “Nathan’s Works” tab.

Here goes nothin’!

News, Announcements

New short story posted–‘Wrestling’

I’m sorry, readers. I meant to post this story Friday, but life happened, and I was so busy all weekend. But better late than never.

The new story is entitled “Wrestling.” It’s a 1,000-word “magical realism” story about a small-time professional wrestler who is assailed by a mysterious opponent on the eve of going to court for a lawsuit. It was inspired by the movie, The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke, and by the story of Jacob wrestling with God in the Biblical book of Genesis. It came about because of a writer’s group challenge. I hope you enjoy it. Click here to read it.

I may post a few more poems this week. Stay tuned.

News, Announcements

Website working again; new poem posted

Yesterday, the server that hosts this website inexplicably shut down. It was down for over  a day. My apologies to you, my readers. Thankfully, it seems the problem(s) have been corrected.

Anyway, I wanted to announce I’ve posted another poem, as promised. This one is entitled “A Psalm,” and that’s exactly what it is. If you’re familiar with the Book of Psalms in the Bible, you’ll know what to expect. I wrote it in the style of a psalm translated into English, however it’s certainly not divinely-inspired Scripture. But then again, I’m sure there were many psalms that were written but not included in the Bible. Regardless, like many of the Biblical psalms, mine is a prayer for deliverance.

You can read more about psalms here.

You can read the poem here.

A new short story will be posted Friday!

Poetry

A Psalm

A Psalm
By Nathan Marchand

Vindicate me, O God,
Be not deaf to my plea!
My enemy has triumphed over me,
His heart swells with pride at my defeat.

His tongue is forked like a serpent’s,
His words the venom of snakes.
He spits them in my face,
Burning my eyes nearly to blindness.
My dearest friends drink his venom
and are poisoned against me.

Cut out his tongue with Your Sword of Truth,
O LORD God Almighty,
So that he may be silenced.
Be my Shield against his venomous darts
that my integrity will shine.
And be the Serum of Truth
that purges his lies from my friends’ hearts.

My LORD and King,
You are the God of Justice
Before Whom all unrighteousness perishes.
Look upon me and bring me justice
while I am yet in the land of the living.
Then I will proclaim your praises to the peoples,
Your great deeds to the ends of the Earth,
That all may know the glory of my God.
                                                                        Selah