Remember… Poppies in fields Bullet holes ripped through the world Each one a screaming mouth A protest to atrocities A medal of the brave The ranks of good people who fought to save Who stood up to adversity Bullet cases jettisoned in the heat of war Now cool and buried under a civilian law How easy it is to forget To disrespect That's why it's important to take a moment A little time To remember Remember the fear The hurt and the pain The loss The ones who gave with nothing to gain The brave that endured So that we could thrive and be free A minutes silence for you and me Echoes of explosions and gunfire for the ones that served The quiet that can never be preserved The silence never quenched when you witness people die Your friends and colleagues The good times and the highs Shot down by treachery and lies Conflict and denies Trodden underfoot in demented trenches Ripped overhead by barbed wire fences Images of terror projected at your core How do you quiet the spoils of war? For the ones that served One minute silence is the least that they deserve... © Richard Withey. All rights reserved. #poem #Remembrance #RemembranceDay

Nightdwellers 'Beginning Line' Challenge Results (August 2nd) Great entries peeps but ALAS! I must choose only one to go forth and host the iconic nightdwellers beginning line challenge and that person with his very thought provoking and inspired piece is… Nik (@wolfie) with ‘Atonement or He Snapped’ go check it out if you haven't already... Thank you to all who took part, and all the pieces were a pleasure to read which made choosing a winner all that more difficult, but here he is, over to you oh darkened one … #nightdwellers #beginningline

Nightdwellers 'Beginning Line' Challenge (July 26th) I loved the last beginning line @Lish and thank you for inspiring my piece ‘Villainy’. The next beginningline should you choose to use it is... "So you want a piece of this darkened lens…” Submit a piece that begins with the stated beginning line and tag it #nightdwellers #beginningline and copy me @RichWithey in on the comments section so I can choose the next winner. I look forward to reading your pieces The closing date for your entries will be Wednesday August 2nd as you were… ...

Villainy Look for me where stars collide Where embers dance and fears subside I'll be there to celebrate your vices To remove judgement and throw caution to the dices Let us burn the humility of past regrets Live our #life on someone else's last breath It isn't for the birds, or the soul, It's just for us For a drink to the chaos and what may reside in hell I could keep all your secrets in a burnt out box Everything charred except for those locks While the world tries to break in We can steal the universe and use it as our plaything So what do you say, do you want to run with me? To party on the fallen chips and dance with insanity Let me show you how it feels to let go To fuck off the red lights and fly with the crows Under a sky of black we can burn the rules Where stars collide isn't for the feint hearted and fools So if you've got what it takes If you have the ability to raise these stakes Come with me We can call it villainy But I suspect it's something else Something like the purity of self... © Richard Withey. All rights reserved. #beginningline

Thunder and Tide I want you to love me To lay me to ruin on golden shores Where the sun has me drunk on the curves of you While I wait for a sign Do I hesitate and fall in line? Behind the rapture of your smile Snared on the laughter you incite Where the bluest eyes hold me hostage On sands that caress the beauty of you I wait For you to light up Those explosions in your synapses to fire just for me All the signs are there #life abundant but without a care As we sway under the sun and moon Laugh at nothing until our souls bloom But still I wait for that extra fire That exclusive desire To engulf me To saturate me in your arms At the mercy of your charms How I fall prey to the subtlety of your character The way you move Your infectious laugh The delicate way you hold your drink The thoughts that unravel from the way that you think The electricity that conjures when we collide More refined than thunder and tide I want you to love me So please do... © Richard Withey. All rights reserved. #beginningline Inspired by the title of the Muddy Waters track 'I Want You To Love Me'