Collection: First Shards of Broken Glass

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

Copyright © 2026 Robert Myrnyj | All rights reserved.
The poems and literary works presented here are original creations by the author.
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APRIL DAWN

May 24, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

“APRIL DAWN” is a lyrical free verse poem centered on renewal, intimacy, and emotional rebirth, carrying the tone of a quiet devotional or love lyric. This piece feels tender, hopeful, and restorative, with a gentle voice that speaks through reverence rather than anguish. The poem’s greatest strength is its musical softness, with repetition creating a soothing refrain that frames the speaker’s awakening as both emotional and spiritual. Seasonal imagery functions effectively as metaphor. The language is restrained and uncluttered, allowing warmth and sincerity to emerge naturally. Particularly compelling is the poem’s ability to suggest transformation without dramatizing it; the awakening feels gradual, earned, and deeply human. Written for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, this poem appears in the “First Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“APRIL DAWN”

smile, she says,
and so this awakens
so bright, so warm,
she rises softly,
a prayer aloft for the heavens beyond
this april dawn,
she calls for me
to come along,
and spite the weathered wear
of our wintry miles.
smile, she says,
smile and we are there
and so this awakens

SKY COME DOWN

May 24, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

“SKY COME DOWN” is a minimalist apocalyptic lament that blends elements of modern free verse with the repetitive incantatory structure of a dirge or ritual chant. The tone is despairing, exhausted, and almost nihilistic, while the voice feels isolated and pleading, as though the speaker is calling into an indifferent void for annihilation, transcendence, or release. Repetition is the poem’s central strength: the recurring invocation “sky come down” creates a hypnotic rhythm that mirrors obsession, grief, or spiritual collapse, giving the poem the feel of a mournful refrain from a post-apocalyptic hymn. The poem’s restraint works in its favor, allowing atmosphere and cadence to carry emotional weight without over-explaining its meaning. Written for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, this poem appears in the “First Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“SKY COME DOWN”

these are the ruins

sky come down
come down
come down upon me

shards of broken glass
from a shattered cup of doom

sky come down
come down
come down upon me

what for, to come to pass
a corpse for buzzards to amass
I call out through the window of my room

sky come down
come down
come down upon me

sky come down

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

ALWAYS

April 25, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

The poem “Always”, although tiny in stature, packs a large structural punch that interlocks two souls in a single space in time, and for all time. It is an expression of the remnants of a doomed romance trapped in time, yet timeless, holding only the distant memory, maintaining no presence, and having no hope for any future. It is at once happy and sorrowful, at once triumphant and somber, and at once blessed and cursed. The poem is classified in the Lyric tradition while employing a distinctly minimalist and free verse style. A snapshot in the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, it is released as a part of the “First Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“ALWAYS”

always
there you are
in the place
that I
last left you
waiting
in the place
that you
last left me
forever
waiting
always and forever
there you are

ALL YOU KNOW

April 15, 2026 by Robert Myrnyj

An example of Lyric Poetry, “All You Know” is a self-talk done in blues form. The words are taking the wisdom of a friend and instilling them as one’s own mantra of a new anti-discipline: letting oneself go. It is part of the narration character’s backstory in the “An Empty Cup of Doom” novella and appears in the “First Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“ALL YOU KNOW”

when the clouds get heavy
don’t they rain
when the clouds get heavy
they just go ahead and rain
when the weight
of the world
is on your shoulders
and all you know is pain
you can cry
just like the clouds
you can cry

when the sun gets tired
don’t it sleep
when the sun gets tired
it just lays right down and sleeps
when the dark
of the night
falls upon your soul
and all you know is grief
lay to die
just like the sun
and let it die

maybe the moon will rise
maybe the stars will fall
when i look to the skies
i realize
after all this time
that i know nothing at all

when the clouds get heavy
don’t they rain

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

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