Genre: Dark Gothic – FLYFANDANGO.COM

SMOKE AND DOOM

May 25, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

“SMOKE AND DOOM” is a richly atmospheric noir-gothic narrative poem that blends occult romance, dive-bar Americana, and supernatural suspense into a cinematic tale of betrayal and reckoning. The tone is smoky, seductive, and increasingly ominous, while the voice carries the swaggering cadence of a late-night folk ballad told by someone half-drunk and fully haunted. One of the poem’s greatest strengths is its immersive world-building: neon-lit bars, whiskey-soaked card tables, and spectral witchcraft merge seamlessly into a coherent emotional and visual landscape. The poem excels at momentum and escalation, moving from grounded details of gambling and masculine bravado into something mythic and uncanny without losing narrative clarity. Its imagery is especially vivid, creating a palpable supernatural tension that transforms a barroom into a ritual space. The recurring archetypes deepen the poem’s thematic obsession with temptation, jealousy, and fatal attraction. Written for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, this poem appears in the “Third Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“SMOKE AND DOOM”

with taillights red, a witch ascends
and disappears around the bend
and out beyond his line of sight
she hooked a left when home was right

she soars off to master midnight
some old wolf who wears her bat bite
and wishes on this shooting star
and lives on main atop a bar

and downstairs where the neon burns
where whiskey rules and tables turn
and cut-throat spades and smoke and doom
a golden blonde entered the room

just playing cards and scarred and jinxed
while waiting on his midnight minx
and he was falling far behind
drew a two, bid seven blind

replete with beer and losing hands
and broken dreams and one night stands
he ate the minus seventy
and then the blonde pulled up a seat

and no one seemed to take it strange
how suddenly his luck had changed
she bucked up next to where he sat
and rubbed against him like a cat

and like new money on skid row
another round for all his bro’s
joking laughing bold and young
stuck in that old seattle grunge

no one heard them steps a-comin’
through the thudding and the strumming
but who could ever trust the moon
when sometimes midnight strikes too soon

unseen but all could smell the sin
like black smoke she just drifted in
and hovered there til she took form
and drew the wolf across the floor

the world stopped spinning, time had ceased
the witch drew all the air to breathe
a whisper from some black beyond
asked master midnight

who’s the blonde

Copyright © 2026 Robert Myrnyj | All rights reserved.
The poems and literary works presented here are original creations by the author.
Unauthorized copying, reproduction, distribution, modification, or public display of this
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LIPSMACK

May 25, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

“LIPSMACK” is a compact neo-gothic character sketch that blends noir romance, modern decay, and fairy-tale distortion into a sharply stylized portrait of seduction and self-destruction. The tone is cynical, alluring, and darkly playful, while the voice carries the cadence of a modern folk ballad crossed with spoken-word incantation. One of the poem’s strongest qualities is its dense concentration of imagery, creating a vivid world where glamour and degradation exist side by side. The poem excels at mythologizing ordinary contemporary details, transforming cigarettes, bottled water, mirrors, and makeup into symbols of ritual, vanity, and emotional ruin. Structurally, the rhyming couplets give the piece a quick, chant-like momentum that reinforces its fairy-tale-meets-back-alley atmosphere. Written for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, this poem appears in the “Second Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“LIPSMACK”

a wish upon a fallen star
cost everything you have so far
and all you take and all you spend
gets all accounted in the end

a midnight pumpkin princess car
a bat trapped in a pickle jar
across the lane a street light glares
a flash of lightning in her hair

her candle is a newport light
and bottled-water is her wine
the altar of her sex and lies
the church of many men’s demise

mirror mirror on the visor
who’s the fool, who is the wiser
lipstick lipsmack war paint red
poof the hair, puff up the head

who’s the blonde

PULSAR

May 25, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

“PULSAR” is a surreal romantic-gothic narrative poem that combines heartbreak, mysticism, and modern Americana into a haunting meditation on desire, deception, and intuition. The tone shifts between dreamy infatuation and creeping dread, while the voice remains intensely cinematic and emotionally charged, moving through the scene like a slow-burning fever dream. One of the poem’s greatest strengths is its vivid fusion of mundane detail and occult symbolism. This blending of grounded specificity with supernatural atmosphere gives the poem a distinctive identity and strong visual texture. The language is musically dense, full of internal rhyme and rhythmic momentum, which enhances the hypnotic quality of the narration. Written for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, this poem appears in the “First Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“PULSAR”

love is a fever, love is blind
and they say that time will tell
can a match be made in heaven
with a girl who is raising hell

hand in hand and winter’s landing
staircase to a household door
the lantern lamplight far too dim
for him to ever see for sure

her words invoke numb placation
a lie so cold so bold so bright
she laid her hand upon his heart
and then she kissed the man goodnight

patchouli haze, and dazed, he prays
that she is not yet going home
but her low-top doctor martens
romper stomp through the driven snow

nissan pulsar witchcraft death star
a broomstick parked out on the street
and there, alone, a queen enthroned,
who sits there in the driver’s seat

mirror mirror on the windshield
ultra blue white lady hoodoo
her lips of red hold lies unsaid
like tombstones shaded from the moon

fit of twisted intuition
shivering a silver chill and
then behold, a crystal vision
from somewhere else, beyond her will

ancient eyes with swiss precision
ahead in time while time stood still
she saw clear to her derision
a golden goddess seated
on a throne
upon a hill

who’s the blonde

NIGHTSTALKER

May 24, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

“NIGHTSTALKER” is a dark mythic narrative poem that fuses gothic horror, apocalyptic prophecy, and folk-ballad cadence into the portrait of an almost supernatural avenger. The tone is relentless, severe, and judgmental, driven by a voice that feels both biblical and cinematic, as though recounting the legend of an unstoppable hunter sent to punish corruption and evil. The poem’s strongest quality is its sustained momentum. The imagery is vivid and forceful throughout, creating a world steeped in violence, judgment, and religious symbolism. The poem also succeeds in balancing archetypal grandeur with accessible diction, making the central figure feel both legendary and immediate. Particularly effective is the moral ambiguity surrounding the character: though positioned as a destroyer of wickedness, his total lack of mercy gives the poem an unsettling edge. Written for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, this poem appears in the “Third Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“NIGHTSTALKER”

the nightstalker feeds
on death and on sin
the wealth of the devil
means nothing to him
he reads from a scroll
of murder and lies
and abominable objects
that men idolize
the nightstalker sees
through the ancient of days
and he tracks like a wolf
onto blood and decay
the light he draws down
is a fistful of sun
silver-eyed certain
he knows what you’ve done
the nightstalker wastes not
and works all alone
and he tramples on demons
with boots hewn from stone
each footstep a hammer
brought down on a nail
the men bow in shame
and the womenfolk wail
the nightstalker prowls
with an ear to the ground
there’s no sinner silent,
and no innocence found
there will be no doubt,
no pity or remorse
there will be no mercy,
there will be no recourse
the nightstalker creed,
destroy the destroyer
falling like hailstones
on down to gomorrah
so waste not your breath,
he hears not excuses
the dead one’s are clever,
insane, and elusive
the nightstalker feeds
on death and on sin
and the cries of the wicked
mean nothing to him

TOME

May 24, 2026May 24, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

“TOME” is a gothic horror narrative poem steeped in occult imagery and oral-storytelling tradition, evoking the atmosphere of dark folklore and campfire legend. The tone is ominous, foreboding, and theatrical, driven by a prophetic voice that sounds both warning and witness, as though recounting an ancient evil newly awakened. Structurally, the poem succeeds through its ballad-like cadence and repeated framing lines, which create momentum and ritualistic tension. Its strongest qualities lie in vivid cinematic imagery, which establish a rich supernatural setting with economy and clarity. The poem also balances archaic diction with accessible phrasing, giving it the feel of a modern folk-horror tale. Particularly effective is the escalation from mystery to revelation, culminating in the chilling final warning that transforms the poem from mere narration into apocalyptic prophecy. Written for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, “Tome” appears in the “Second Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“TOME”

well i’m gonna tell you once
and it’s all i’m bound to say
a force of holy hell has been
exhumed this very day

upon a craggy mountain
in the dirt atop a grave
when the full moon luminescence
strikes the handle of a spade

an old gray white beard hermit
with a lantern and a cane
brought a pyre of dry hemlock twigs
and white oak logs to flame

the sacrifice cursed thrice
in a prayer of ancient ways
was a tome of profane dark and deeds
laid out plainly on the blaze

while the book of evil burned
the shovel stabbed
the shovel turned
the old man wiped his brow
and drew his light

there carved in the casket lid
old church slavonic
script that bid
beware the one who
feeds upon the night

well i’m gonna tell you once
one more time i mean to say
a force of holy hell has been
unleashed this very day

MISGIVEN

May 23, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

“Misgiven” is classified generally as Dark Gothic and Romance poetry, a mythic love curse and gothic duet. Two damned figures are locked in a sulfurous circle. The strength is the compression, how for example, “one misgiven kiss” dooms them both. The imagery is fierce, original, and unapologetically baroque. The poem suggests a mythic dimension to a particular woman’s relationships that transcends naturalism. As a newly written poem for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, it has not yet been assigned to a chapbook.

“MISGIVEN”

a warhorse storm
of hades, she,
and i, condemned
to her by fate
she drifted in
to shoot the moon
and feed on souls
of low estate

a nightmare on
her blinds, i was
and she, condemned
to me, the same
i, the rage of
brimstone blazing,
who grabbed the midnight
by the mane

a night mare gallop
reigns in hell
our sulfur circle
wishing well
the curse of
one misgiven kiss
and all roads lead
us both to this

STRATUM

May 16, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

“STRATUM” is best categorized as a gothic narrative poem blending dark fantasy, supernatural horror, and military gothic within a modernized ballad structure. Its strongest achievement is the sustained atmosphere of mythic dread, created through vivid, cinematic imagery and tightly controlled tonal consistency. The poem evokes the cadence of an old oral legend while presenting a layered descent through grave, earth, tomb, and hidden relic that mirrors the title’s geological symbolism. Particularly effective are the concrete visual details, which give the work a tactile, haunting immediacy. The restrained approach to exposition strengthens the mystery, allowing the poem to suggest an entire hidden mythology without over-explaining it. The piece succeeds as a dark, atmospheric ballad of buried violence, dormant power, and memory entombed beneath history. As a newly written poem for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, it has not yet been assigned to a chapbook.

“STRATUM”

drawn with casket from his grave
an old ghost soldier bold and brave
with cold steel eyes that never slept
for many years in vigil kept

into the starry skies he stares
calm and cool the midnight air
and buried last in silver chains
that hobble so his last remains

for one day he was called to life
he howled and drew a kabar knife
and joined in spirit to his flesh
in hot pursuit of sin and death

but now he’s flat upon his back
and bound this day to not attack
and whatever next the orders be
he waits prepared when he’s set free

and there beside the coffin door
a shovel stabs the garden floor
the moonlit shadow that it casts
extends far off into the past

and in the hollow of the dirt
six foot into mother earth
an old man cussing pains out loud
and wiping sweat off from his brow

the old man sweeps away with broom
by torchlight cast into the tomb
a stratum tier of fieldstone rocks
that hides from sight an old black box

HELL AND EGYPT (REPRISE)

May 24, 2026May 16, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

This poem, the continuation and stark follow-up to the longer “Hell and Egypt”, is likewise a lyric narrative within the gothic and confessional genres, having strong elements of ballad and theological complaint. Its central theme is the trafficking and abandonment of a child by a mother who herself had been sent off as a baby. It speaks subtly to the notion of generational curse under the horrible torrent of grave misfortune. Written for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, this poem appears in the “Second Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“HELL AND EGYPT (REPRISE)”

she was sworn to not reveal
that she had been the devil’s whore
and so her wrath and agony
is shade upon the boy she bore

and so the shadow falls on him
she left him lying there alone
who allowed this to occur
she left her baby on the stone

she sold him off to hell and egypt
her running blood, her like, her kind
like some cold slab of bovine carcass
and she rode off, left him behind

she sold him off to hell and egypt

CAULDRON

May 16, 2026May 11, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

This poem is a lyric narrative within the confessional and trauma poetry genres, with strong elements of gothic balladry. Its central theme is the aftermath of rape-induced pregnancy and the impossible choice forced upon a survivor who was left with child of her offender. The poem explores maternal sacrifice, theological rage, and the enduring, unquantifiable depth of suffering. The voice is a first-person confidant and witness, attentive, present, and ultimately humbled by the immensity of the struggle shared with him. Structurally, the poem employs a recurring refrain structure across five stanzas, with repeated lines creating a ritualistic, almost liturgical rhythm. Striking imagery abounds. The poem’s theological question hangs unanswered, reinforcing the speaker’s helplessness. This poem is is included in the novella “A Shattered Cup of Doom.”, but is newly written and has not yet been assigned to a chapbook.

“CAULDRON”

molly swore me to her secrets
draws the curtain to confess
i hear her
pandora opens up her chest
and tries to bring her heart to rest
i hear her

molly told me that november
that her soul became dismembered
when the savage ravage rendered
her with child of her offender

the bird gets worse, the more it sings
a mother forced to cut her strings
to leave her own to what fate brings
what kind of god would do these things

i know because she told me so
the numbers, names, her every tear
i could write a book about
the things she wanted me to hear

molly the princess of pains
the darkness of those days remains
how deep the cauldron of her bane
even she, herself can’t say

HELL AND EGYPT

May 24, 2026May 10, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

This poem is a lyric narrative within the gothic and confessional genres, with strong elements of ballad and theological complaint. Its central theme is the trafficking and abandonment of a woman, the subsequent shattering of her faith, and her defiant but self-destructive turn toward forbidden love. The poem also explores inherited trauma and the seemingly unanswerable question of why darkness befalls the innocent. The voice is a third-person omniscient narrator who shifts between anguished witness, theological interrogation, and tragic chronicler of the woman’s internal collapse. Structurally, the poem unfolds across eight stanzas of irregular length, mixing quatrains and couplets. Repetition of key phrases creates a refrain-like meditation on desire, suffering, and divine silence. The title phrase suggests both a literal place of exile and a biblical resonance, with Egypt as the land of bondage and hell as ultimate abandonment. The woman’s rejection of God and her choice to lie beside “a priestess of deceit” frames her rebellion as both liberation and damnation, symbolized by quicksand imagery. Written for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, this poem appears in the “Second Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“HELL AND EGYPT”

they sold her off to hell and egypt
her running blood, her like, her kind
like some cold slab of bovine carcass
and they rode off, left her behind

who set her naked on the stone
and who allowed this to occur
who left her lying there alone
why did this shadow fall on her

and what, dear lord, in darkness breeds
the heart it wants and the heart it needs

she swore to hell and heaven then,
with hand on heart, forevermore
that this would never be as such
no not again, no never more

and so forwent, and then she severed
whatsoever ties and binds
even unto god most high
and then, again, and for all time

for he allowed this woe to be
who tames the storms and calms the seas
they say he sees our darkest thoughts
and hears our cries, our prayers, our pleas

but she chose not their ancient one
in vain, she deemed him obsolete
and chose instead to lie in bed
beside a priestess of deceit

but the moonlight whispers marking time
the quicksand of her very sin
and though the kicking of her legs
she drifts and sinks much deeper in

she was sworn to not reveal
that she had been the devil’s whore
and so her wrath and agony
is shade upon the boy she bore

the heart it wants and the heart it needs
but what, dear lord, does darkness breed

MOLLY BLACK

May 10, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

This poem is a lyric incantation, drawing on the traditions of chant, folk magic, and gothic verse. Its central theme is the summoning of forbidden or dangerous feminine power, blending erotic obsession with spiritual transgression. The voice speaks in imperative commands within a ceremonial circle. The tone is hushed, urgent, and reverent, building toward the whispered climax of the curse. Structurally, the poem consists of heavy internal rhyme and near-rhyme that mimics the repetitive nature of spellcasting. The juxtaposition of sacred imagery with profane or transgressive language aligns with the “A Shattered Cup Of Doom” novella’s recurring tension between salvation and damnation. Originally titled “Draw Down The Moon”, “Molly Black” appears as a snapshot in the “First Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“MOLLY BLACK”

open the circle,
open the door,
draw down the moon,
draw out the whore.
the greenwood floor,
the quarters, four,
the witch, she whispered
the curse d’amour

TIME AND TIME AGAIN

May 11, 2026May 10, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

This poem is a lyric poem, with strong elements of confessional and gothic poetry. Its central theme is the cyclical nature of suffering and redemption—specifically, the journey from suicidal despair and imprisonment toward spiritual rescue through love. The voice is a first-person speaker, who oscillates between raw anguish and hard-won salvation. Structurally, the poem uses stark rhyme, repetition, and fragmented imagery to mimic obsessive thought and emotional relapse. A new work, “Time And Time Again” is not yet assigned to a chapbook.

“TIME AND TIME AGAIN”

the darkest night of all my days
mousetrap house rat in a maze
some angel shoulder old crow sings
one-eye jack go suicide king

the knight is still without the moon
lately death can’t come too soon
an ounce of cure, a pound of rock
beat the dead horse, beat the clock

marking time and time again
i’m living hell and back again
again and again
and again
again

the prison gate reverberates
scared straight date where fate awaits
lightning striking, hallowed hall
shadow creeping up the wall

she sat beside me on death row
her eyes a blue electric glow
my heart plugged into supercharge
the second hand remains at large

travel time and time again
i’m back from living hell again
again and again
and again
again

she stood to rise and took my arm
and led my spirit clear of harm
due time done did doing time
a simple love, a simple rhyme

energized amazed enthralled
her picture nailed onto the wall
the undeath of the valley stir
every time i think of her

TWENTIETH & SIXTH

April 25, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

The mystical and darkly spiritual work called “Twentieth & Sixth” is something of a ghost story, a snapshot in the back story of the antagonist character in the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella. The poem is an Urban Gothic type with a note of Melancholic Lyrical that conveys the haunting memory of a particular crossroads and emanates from the battered psyche of one particularly troubled witch, an unlikely villain silently seething with vengeance and relentlessly nursing a vicious agenda. The poem is released in the “Third Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“TWENTIETH & SIXTH”

lonelier, yet,
than just alone,
ghost of passion
bastard drone
undead adrift,
chained to a myth
of some church
twentieth and sixth
where some are born
and some are cloned
but all them boys
are turned to stone
the fruits of one
ecstatic kiss
all avenues
lead me to this

BLUE VIOLETS BLOOM

April 9, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

“Blue Violets Bloom” is a mysterious text assembled in 2025 as a snapshot in the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella. Very Gothic in tone, there exists within its layering an image of budding romance, an origin story of fate unfolding on a not-so-ironic foundation of doom. “Blue Violets Bloom” appears as part of the “First Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook collection.

“BLUE VIOLETS BLOOM”

in the throes of torment,
of blood and toil and of strife,
the wonder that is life breeds death
and the rancid stink of death feeds life.
in a room of darkness
in a world of doom,
knee deep in the dead, they dance
where one day yet blue violets bloom

and nothing there is true,
and yet everything is, somehow, too,
ghouls that languish on, forsaken
too young to die, thy flesh consumed.
in a room of darkness
in a world of doom,
their fate awaits them where, by chance
where one day yet blue violets bloom

RUST AND THISTLE

April 9, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

“Rust and Thistle” was written in 2026 as part of the back story of the narration character in the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella. It is a Dark Gothic work wrought with ghostly tones and woeful elegy, developed most ironically out of roadside decay. It is a snapshot given in the “Third Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook collection. This poem warrants a trigger warning, so be advised.

“RUST AND THISTLE”

a low wind moans and
flutters basted tufts of roadkill bristle
gangly shadow fingers
scratch and claw at grit and grizzle
fly fandango carcass
bloated rancid and abysmal

along the river road

on the cemetery lawn
a sleeping fawn,
she was my bride
once upon a time
wrapped in linen lace and
scabs and gauze,
a memory survived
once upon a time
but when the shadow of
the butler touched
her shoulder from behind
once upon a time
the mirror of her soul
collapsed to fragments
in her mind
once upon a time

once upon a time

an old wind moans and
mutters distant puffs of railroad whistle
and there ahead i am, i am
a tin can wrapped in rust and thistle
the skulking shadow lingers
last remains but no dismissal

along the river road
once upon a time
along the river road

NOT FOR THIS LIGHT

May 23, 2026April 9, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

A Dark Gothic and inversely Romantic poem, “Not For This Light” was initially created as a significantly longer piece in 1995. It has been reduced to its present state in 2025 as a snapshot for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella. “Not For This Light” is present in the “First Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook collection.

“NOT FOR THIS LIGHT”

platinum hair
and vacant eyes
and a way with
pretty, little lies

she swaddles death
in baby’s breath
and drapes the dragon
robes of white

it is to him
that she aspires
the lord of flies
the ancient liar

stars on the night
but hers is a fire
gehenna glows
the moth’s desire

but it’s not for this light
do the roses reach;
nor for her falling tears
do they crave

though abused, they abstain,
they refuse, they refrain,
and so die in the vase
and are cast to the grave