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Forgotten Treasure

  A Collection of Poems and Short Stories

  Ed Ireland

  Copyright 2013 Edward Ireland

  ISBN - 9781301439720

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  Cover design by Storyteller Design & Printing Service, https://www.storyteller419.wic.com/storyteller

  This is dedicated to everyone who brought an emotion so strong that I felt the need to write about it, good or bad. I hope that karma has found you and repaid you in like fashion.

  Forgotten Treasure

  A Collection of Poems

  and Short Stories

  Ed Ireland

  Table of Contents

  Forward

  Section 01: The Short Stories

  Silver Lining – Love Lost, Love Found

  Popeye The Sailor – A Biography In Wiki Style

  The Real Enemy – The Field Of Honor In War Is A Matter Of Perspective

  All Fall Down – A Fan-Fiction Tale of The Bat And The Boys

  The Bonds Of War – High Fantasy Tale Of Love Founded In War

  The Macy Beast – A Return To The Late Fifties B-Movie Horror

  Section 02: Angry Poetry

  Alone In A Crowd

  10 Modern Plagues

  Harpies

  Dark Fae

  Casualty

  Lioness Of The Desert

  Section 03: Heartfelt Poetry

  Alexa Dawn

  My Gypsy

  Passion’s Wings

  Angel

  Mother

  Section 04: Assorted Poetry

  You Don’t Know Me

  The Shadow Knows

  Riders On The Storm

  Mind Of A Cloud

  Why Can’t You Come Home

  My Regret

  A Collection of

  Short Stories and

  Poetry

  Ed Ireland

  Forward: The Collection

  As the title suggests, this is simply a collection of works done over the past few years. The poetry is driven by emotion, sad, angry and loving. It screams for answers in some and demands you listen in others. It speaks of things in my heart as well as revolution in my mind.

  The books are similar. They span the categories of genre and style. You’ll find comedy in “The Macy Beast” and the Wiki-esque “Popeye the Sailor” biography. A bit of high fantasy in “The Bonds of War” and drama in “Silver Lining”. The ravages of war are exposed in “The Real Enemy” and scathing satire in “All Fall Down”.

  The common thread in all of these treasures is that each is a written aspect of who I am. Sarcastic, humorous, tragic…all aspects of the metal that forged me into the person I am today. But as with all art, I am as yet unfinished.

  Every piece of art ever created has never been “finished” to its creator. No painting, no writing, no musical endeavor can ever be perfect to the person who first breathed life into it. The muse behind life is Fate. Like any other artist, Fate has molded and created us and yet often finds a way to bring us back to the mold and add another event that will change us.

  Every person we meet brings change. Every heartbreak or joy brings change. Every triumph or tragedy brings change. Every single day brings change and as each change takes root all we can do is hope it has been a change for the better.

  And now, since I have added “philosophy” to the feelings this book explores, perhaps it is time to move on. Sit back, relax and flow down this river of emotion and allow your own feelings to take over and pilot you into my world.

  Section 01: The Short Stories

  Silver Lining

  Silver Lining

  Chapter 1: Anniversary

  Elliot looked at his watch for the twentieth time in the last ten minutes. Four twenty-five. In another five minutes the day would be over and the weekend would start. It’s not that he didn’t enjoy his work, he actually loved it but the weekends were special. He would pack his wife and son into the car and they would be off on another of their adventures. And this particular weekend would be even more special as it was their twentieth anniversary on Sunday. He smiled as he remembered to stop at the jewelers on his way home.

  His wife Julie was home picking through her closet trying to find the perfect outfit. Her eyes wandered around their bedroom and landed on their picture that sat in a gilded frame on her dresser. Her face suddenly turned sad for a moment but she had a whole life ahead of her and starting it with regrets would not do at all. Don sat on the couch downstairs patiently. He knew what he was doing was wrong but he didn’t care. He thought Julie was hot and he was going to have her no matter what the cost to anyone else.

  “Let’s go!” he yelled towards the stairs. “It’s almost four thirty. I’d rather avoid any confrontations.”

  She quickly threw another dress into her suitcase and shut it. Before she left the room she placed the note on Elliot’s pillow. Her hand lovingly caressed it as she turned and walked away from the room. Moments later they were in Don’s car and heading towards the highway. Julie had fallen for all the lines Don had cast her way and she believed she had a new, exciting life ahead of her.

  Somewhere along the way she had fallen out of love with Elliot. He worked too many hours, he was tired a bit too much lately, he didn’t romance her as he had in their youth…there were a million reasons why she thought. All of them valid in her eyes, and yet she knew none of them could ever be rationalized to make what she was doing right. As they turned the last corner before the entrance to the highway she saw her son sitting with his friends. Even though she knew it was a mistake she made Don pull over and she ran to hold him one last time.

  Long minutes and fumbled excuses passed. She could see the rising anger in Billy as well as the start of the contempt he would carry for her for the rest of his life. How could she do this to him? Even more importantly, how could she do this to his father? Billy knew what his father was, the kind of man he was. He had watched him trod off to work every day, even when he was sick or hurt so they would always have food in the kitchen and a roof over their heads. He knew the work his father did was hard work, and he knew the man never asked for anything in return except that his family always try to look on the bright side…always find that silver lining. He also knew what this would do to him.

  His eyes filled as his friends held him back. His anger could never be taken out on his mother so he had directed it at Don. He watched as his mother jumped in the car and it sped off taking the last chance of his family’s happiness. Less than a mile away his father was walking into their modest house, his anniversary gift to his wife in hand. It was a gold necklace he had saved for months to buy and it had diamond-studded hearts on it.

  He thought it odd she wasn’t home when he walked in but figured she had just run to the corner store. Even though their anniversary wasn’t until Sunday he would give Julie his gift tonight. He had everything planned…a romantic dinner at her favorite restaurant, tickets for a show, and reservations made at one of the posh hotels that they had always wanted to go to but could never afford. This was a milestone and he had every intention of making this an anniversary she would never forget. As he walked into the bedroom and saw the note on the pillow he never thought it would be he who would never forget.

  Chapter 2: Destroyed

  Julie felt a sharp pain in her heart for a moment and glanced at the time display
on the car radio. By her calculations he would be reading her note by now. She wondered how he would take it, if he would be able to place his famous spin on it and find the silver lining. If she had been able to look back towards her home, somehow penetrate the brick walls and look inside she would see how he took it firsthand. She would see his strong body now bent in a pain he had never felt before and could never explain. She would see the crumpled note fall from his hand as he fell to his knees and she would see the tears that streamed down his face. She would see Billy run into the house and up the stairs, putting his arms around his father, trying to help him make sense of what was happening.

  She would see all of this but what would it mean to her? Would she turn around and rush back to his arms? Would she beg his forgiveness for what she had done to him? Would she take back the last three months when she would rush to Don’s bed every chance she had? Or would she just grasp his hand a bit tighter as they cruised down the open road towards their new life? In her mind she already knew the answers. This was her choice and this was what she would see through.

  Half a fifth of Dewar’s Scotch helped Elliot fall into a fitful sleep that night. He tossed and turned and rolled in the king-sized bed, quite unused to being in it alone. He could smell Julie on her pillowcase and his eyes just filled once more. The tears had become quite uncontrollable and morning found his eyes almost swollen shut. Billy looked in on him several times during the night. It hurt him to see the man who had always been there for him, always knew the right thing to say to make things better so broken. He knew he didn’t have any answers but he knew someone who might.

  “Joe, this is Billy.” he said quietly into the phone. It only took a few moments to advise the man of what happened. “My dad is in bad shape. Can you come over?”

  Half an hour later Joe was at the door. His wife had left him a few months earlier but unlike Elliot his abandonment was a blessing. But he knew how much Elliot loved Julie and how much he trusted her. He knew what this was doing to his friend and he knew what he had to do.

  “Hey! Go wash your face man, you look like shit!” he told Elliot. “C’mon, we’re gonna hit every bar we can find and get so stinkin’ drunk we won’t remember our names!”

  Elliot tried to wave him off but Joe was not having it. He knew that if his heart broken friend stayed in the house things would only get worse. An hour of cajoling later and the pair set off for a weekend binger that would hopefully set Elliot straight. As Joe explained over and over, Julie had screwed him over but good…she didn’t deserve to be lamented like this. Joe had never liked her and now he knew why.

  The first bar was a bit quiet, perfect for the pep talk Joe was giving. After an undetermined amount of drinks went down in there they moved to another club. This was louder and more crowded. Girls danced seductively on the stage in front of the two men, wiggling and shimmying on the brass pole that stood there. Joe hoped that a bit of “hair of the dog” might snap his friend out of the funk. He knew for a fact that Elliot had never strayed once during the entire twenty years of marriage and was trying his best to get him interested in going for it.

  And yet despite everything that Joe tried nothing seemed to work. Elliot was just as depressed and lost as he had been all those hours before when Joe had arrived. All he had succeeded in doing was getting the man drunker than he had ever been and about to pass out. Well, it was better than nothing, at least the man would sleep tonight.

  Chapter 3: A Decision

  Elliot walked into work that Monday, eyes still swollen and his head hung as low as ever. His boss knew something was wrong and after a bit of prodding the story came out. He never even thought about his business when he pushed Elliot back into his car and sent him home.

  “Take your time and straighten yourself out Elliot.” he said. “I don’t want to see you hurt yourself in here. Your job will be waiting for you, don’t worry.”

  Back home Billy walked in from school that afternoon surprised to see his father sleeping on the couch. Even in his sleep the man still whimpered every now and then. He knew his father’s heart was broken but he had no idea how bad the man felt. For the next few days he spent all of his free time sitting with him. The only time he was not around him was school time. Elliot appreciated this but he also knew his son had a life to live and he chased him out that night. The young man reluctantly went but hugged his dad long before he left.

  “I love you dad.” he said softly. “I wish I knew how to fix this for you.”

  “I know you do son” replied Elliot, words choking in his throat. “And I love you too. And don’t worry about me, I’ll be ok.”

  For another three days Elliot tried to work himself back to normal for his son’s sake. He put on an outward appearance of getting over it until one particular day when he was still home and in the kitchen making a dinner for them. He heard the key turn in the lock and saw Julie slipping into the house as quietly as she could. Her eyes widened as she turned and saw him standing there, his eyes riveted on her.

  “I ummm…I didn’t think you’d be home” she said, her eyes avoiding his. “I’ve just come to get the rest of my things and then I’ll leave you be.”

  He looked away from her, trying desperately to hold back the tears as she climbed the stairs. She was appalled at the condition of the room, the unmade bed and clothes thrown around. She looked on her dresser and saw bottles of perfume and makeup on their sides, contents dripping slowly onto the wood she had always taken such good care of. Her eyes fell on the box that said “Happy Anniversary Baby” and she almost picked it up.

  “Go ahead.” said Elliot from behind her. “You took everything else that mattered around here, why stop now?”

  “Elliot please…” she said, “try to understand. You changed. You acted as if you didn’t care anymore.”

  “Fuck you!” he replied quietly as he turned and walked out of the house.

  He walked for what seemed like hours. It had begun to turn dark and he was out in the cooling night air with no jacket, miles from home. Inside grew a desperation that made the temperature oblivious to him. His eyes settled on a brightly lit monument ahead of him, the local Viet Nam Veterans Memorial. He stepped into the familiar semi-circle and looked at the stone wall in front of him and began to glance at the names of all his friends who had not returned. He knew where each of them had been listed from memory and finally he sat at a bench and cried once more.

  “Well guys,” he said softly, “my life has gone to shit. I think I would be better off if my name was on there with you all. You don’t have any problems anymore do you? You certainly don’t have to worry about your wives cheating on you, leaving you and destroying you. I envy you now.”

  As he spoke the desperation overtook him and he knew what it was he had to do. He didn’t stop to think, just pause to softly kiss the wall and then headed towards the river.

  Chapter 4: The Angel Came

  Elliot walked blindly towards his end. He knew that even though he was a very good swimmer the currents and riptides in the river were cruel and thoughtless masters. His feet stumbled along the docks as he headed for the longest pier at the waterfront. He would walk off that pier and be in the water and then he would be in God’s hands. He knew his instincts for survival would kick in and he would try for the shore. He also knew he would never make it. It would be hard on Billy, but the pain in his own heart had made him oblivious to anyone else. It would be over soon.

  He turned and walked up the steps to the pier, the tempo of his walk increasing. He wanted to get there and be done with it, not think about it or he might chicken out. He might not follow through and then he would have to live with this pain for the rest of his life. He couldn’t do that.

  As he approached the end of the dock he could see a figure there, a woman. She almost glowed with some kind of inner light and he shook his head to make sure he was seeing right. He watched her as she set her handbag down and took off her shoes. She pulled a ring from her finger an
d set it next to the shoes and a moment later thought better of it. She lifted it once again and angrily threw it in the river. A board creaked under his weight and she quickly spun to look at him.

  “Don’t you try to stop me!” she said loudly. “There’s nothing you can say to change this! Life has fucked me for the last time!”

  Before Elliot could say a word the woman turned and threw herself into the river. Seconds later she felt Elliot’s strong grip take hold of her and pull her back to the surface of the black water.

  “You…you jumped in after me?” she sobbed. “Why would you do a stupid thing like that? Now you’ll die with me!”

  Elliot kicked his shoes off and tightened his grip on the woman, pulling her body close to his. He reached down inside himself and began to side-stoke towards the shore, not fighting the current but allowing it to carry them as he inched closer and closer. He was almost at the point of exhaustion, his arms feeling like they were on fire as the chill of the water began to wear him down even more. The woman had passed out but he could feel her breathing so he held onto her, refusing to allow her to die like this.

  Suddenly his hand struck something solid. A large plank of wood coursed through the water and found them. With the last vestige of strength he had he pushed her onto it as his own grip wasted away. He felt the current pulling him under and consigned himself to this fate…at least she would live.

  Two days later his eyes fluttered open. The room was dark but he could hear a steady beep…beep…beep and he became aware that someone was holding his hand. He turned his head and saw a pile of black hair on the bed next to his leg. He tried to sit to get a better look and the woman lying there sprang up.

  “Oh thank God!” she cried as she looked into Elliot’s eyes. “You’re here. You’ve come back to me.”

  Moments later the room was abuzz with nurses and doctors checking and probing him and asking a million questions. His head pounded with a headache and yet his eyes never left the mysterious woman who had been by his side. She was on the phone talking excitedly and she smiled wide when she noticed him looking at her. One of the nurses tried to get her out of the room but she would have none of it.