Tag: October Poetry Writing Month

Art, God, Poetry

Behold, A White Horse

Mark Wayne

In the quiet before the coming storm,
in the dark before the first light of morn.
Out of the black night they come,
souls for the taking they have won.
From beyond the blood-red moon,
destruction and disease screams a terrifying tune.

Behold, a light-colored steed.
Ridden by death, its only purpose to make souls bleed.
Behold, a dusky charger.
Ridden by judgement, its only purpose to make life harder.
Behold, a scarlet mount.
Ridden by chaos, its only purpose to make nothing count.
Behold, a sallow pony.
Ridden by defeat, its only purpose to make conquest only.

The huntsmen were led by the dragon snake,
who turned the sun to black; its thirst to slake.
Those who were left fled in terror and fear,
a voice speaking of a fortress refuge; so we hear.
He will cover us with His feathers as a shield about us,
His angels will defend the throne; in this we trust.
He sets us on high, because we know His name,
set free by His mercy and kindness; we are never the same.

We call on Him and He will respond in swift deliverance.
He tramples the serpent in a moment of eternal significance.

Behold, a white horse!
Ridden by faith and truth, its only purpose to make all things new.

~Mark Schutter ©2014

(The poem above was inspired by verses from Psalm 91 and Revelation 6 and 19:11 from the bible. On this Halloween night where the veil between worlds may be thin I wished to convey that although there is evil, there is something stronger that wins in the end. This is also poem 31 of 31 for the month of October Poetry Writing Month. It is finished, now onto National Novel Writing Month and 50,000 words. God bless! ~M)

Poetry, Writing

OctPoWriMo to NaNoWriMo 2014

Mark Wayne
Photo edited using PicMonkey
Photo edited using PicMonkey


It was a dark and stormy night.
A time when writer’s will write deep into the fading light.
Fumbling over the words on paper that somehow dance and sing.
A Masterpiece or not may be created out of seemingly nothing.
The winds may howl and blowing rain splatters the window pane.
As the dark night begins to wane.

~Mark Schutter ©2014

As we approach Halloween and the end of October Poetry Writing Month and head first into National Novel Writing Month, I was hoping to leave a little poetry and inspiration for writing your own novel!

As Halloween approaches how would you finish the sentence

– It was a dark and stormy night…?

  • Scary/Suspenseful? – It was a dark and stormy night and the shallow light of the moon cast haunting shadows across the floor.  He knew this was the moment as he stood before the door his hand on the doorknob.  Holding his breath he slowly began to turn the knob and as he did he heard the screams …
  • Humorous/Funny? – It was a dark and stormy night and the chocolate stains at the corner of his lips was the only evidence left behind  from the chocolate pie and whipped cream midnight refrigerator raid.
  • Peaceful/Contented?– It was a dark and stormy night, the warmth of the crackling fire cast a peaceful glow across the room. She silently stared at the pictures in the photo album, remembering the past with a smile on her lips.

Please share your thoughts, how would you finish the sentence?  It just might be the next great novel!

Art, God, Poetry

Take Me Down

Mark Wayne
Whoa, take me down
Into the depths where I might drown
For it is only there can I truly see
The glorious beauty of your majesty
Into the mystic all around
My pounding heartbeat the only sound
Fly away to where we were meant to be
Reveal to us your holy mysteries
Whoa, take me down
Break the chains that keep me bound
I want to live in shameless freedom
From now until your coming kingdom
Life and glory can be found
Let the false intimacy come unwound
Renouncing the enemy’s bastard accusations
Evil fears its pronounced damnation
Whoa, take me down
Exchange my ashes for a beautiful crown
For love and mercy linger in a secret place
Freely given is the unveiled grace

~Mark Schutter ©2014

The poem above is my submission this week to The Reverie Journal based on the Kongos music prompt from Hastywords.  I attempted to write the poem in sync with the rhythm of the chorus from the song, what do you think?. In addition this is poem number 29 of 31 for October Poetry Writing Month.  Thanks for reading! ~M

Life, Poetry

Wake the Beast

Mark Wayne
We tiptoe quietly around afraid to wake the beast.
He lies quietly sleeping, dozing fitfully his power unreleased.
Carefully hidden deep within the dark hearts of men.
Lies the anointing, the legacy, the dormant strength within.
Stand tall.
Stand straight.
Be bold, be courageous.
In moments before us we quietly shrink,
in unacknowledged fear.
When the path quietly lays before us ever so clear.
Silently we slink around the throne of our hearts.
Forgotten from whence the power comes,
actors playing our parts.
Moments may define us for a lifetime,
we are left with nothing to fight.
From deep inside out of eternity passed,
shines a brilliant white light.
We quietly fear the unrestrained strength,
the powerful emotions, the uncontrolled lust.
For quietly deep inside the small dark place in our hearts,
is where the beast resides in each of us.

~Mark Schutter ©2014

wpid-image_13.jpgThis is poem is my submission this week to The Reverie Journal based on the prompt of a “Quiet Journey”, in which I came up with the last line first and then went back and wrote the rest using the word ‘quietly’ repeatedly.  In addition this is poem number 23 of 31 for October Poetry Writing Month, #OctPoWriMo.  Thanks for reading! ~M

Art, Poetry

A Hidden Identity

Mark Wayne

Hidden IdentityPoem 18 of 31 for October Poetry Writing Month, #OctPoWriMo, based on the prompt of black out or found poetry posted on the OctPoWriMo 2014 website.  I took a picture of a page in one of my favorite books uploaded to PicMonkey and then started choosing words and editing the image.  Above is what I came up with, not sure it makes much sense but it was an interesting endeavor and the first time I have done this. ~M