Collection: Second Shards of Broken Glass

LIPSMACK

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“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

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
content is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

THERE

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“THERE” is a brief piece of confessional free verse that leans into psychological and existential poetry, using sparse language to convey emotional isolation and fractured identity. The tone is bleak, intimate, and quietly despairing, while the voice feels vulnerable yet emotionally restrained, as though the speaker can only approach their pain indirectly through metaphor. The poem’s greatest strength is its compression: in just a few lines, it establishes a powerful contrast between decay and emotional defense. Written for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, “Tome” appears in the “Second Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“THERE”

i don’t know
my rotting flesh
from the armor
that i bear
my heart is locked
in a black box
and i don’t have
the key to there

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
content is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

TOME

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“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

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
content is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

HELL AND EGYPT (REPRISE)

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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

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
content is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

HELL AND EGYPT

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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

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
content is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

CHURCH TO ME

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“Church To Me” is a lyric poem with strong elements of spiritual skepticism and romantic devotion, blending confessional and secular hymn traditions. Its central theme is the replacement of institutional religion with a beloved person as the locus of transcendence, grace, and moral reckoning, without requiring faith in God, heaven, scripture, or organized worship. The voice is a first-person speaker who is unapologetically flawed, agnostic, and self-deprecating, yet experiences the beloved as a sacred presence. Structurally, the poem uses a repeated refrain across five quatrains, each rejecting a traditional religious element before affirming that the woman’s supernatural quality provokes the same awe, sanctuary, and moral gravity as church. The language is plain, rhythmically steady, and undercut by earthy imagery that grounds the spiritual claim in bodily, lived experience. Written for the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella, this poem appears in the “Second Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“CHURCH TO ME”

i don’t pretend to be an angel
i’ve done my share of evil deeds
but something in her, supernatural
seems so much like church to me

i don’t intend to go to heaven
just roll my carcass to the street
but something in the air about her
seems so much like church to me

i don’t depend upon some jesus
cannot believe what i can’t see
but something in her eyes, like lightning
seems so much like church to me

i don’t attend saint paul’s on sundays
i naturally just oversleep
but somehow she’s my sanctuary
seems so much like church to me

i can’t defend the holy bible
i cannot reckon what it means
but something singing in her whisper
somehow seems like church to me

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
content is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

FOR GOD AND FOR DEVIL

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“For God and For Devil” is a narrative poem with a dash of Americana noir and a hint of Gothic undertone. It is, perhaps, an inverse of Romantic poetry, but its conceptual base is the question of propriety in the face of wickedness expressed in something of a confessional spirit. As such, the work provokes existential contemplation and draws elements of morality into the scope. “For God and For Devil” is a snapshot in the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” realm, and released as part of the “Second Shards of Broken Glass” chapbook.

“FOR GOD AND FOR DEVIL”

i.

jukebox booth sunrise diner
we are two of a kind
detectives and suspects alike

same damned light, same damned crime
snarling wolves, bone to grind
and it feels like the end of the line

there once was a girl
who showed up at midnight
every night, many months, her and me

and there once was another,
taken in by his mother
as daughter, he cried, family

ii.

so i told him the truth
and i showed him the proof
his lip quivered and a tear filled his eye

such things cannot be
if our eyes cannot see
so he lies, to himself, so he lies

as i was so compelled
to breaking her spell
i laid it out, science and art

i did her so wrong and
it serves her so right
with a stake driven into her heart

iii.

but what kind of fool
must believe in his mind
the tales of a whore to survive

he is weak, worn, and tired
yet as fool and as liar
that man is far greater than i

so i leave him for midnight
alone in the moonlight
blood in my teeth, thorns in my hide

what becomes of a man
when you’ve done all you can
is for god
and for devil
to decide

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
content is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

EMPTY CHAIR

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Originally conceived of in 1995, “Empty Chair” is a reduced and revised version of an unreleased work called “Silhouette”. The poem serves the “A Shattered Cup of Doom” novella as a piece of the back story of the narration character, a great woe on one man’s failure to lift off and gain traction into adulthood. “Empty Chair” is a Dark Confessional poem that occupies deep depression both in word and in structure. Trigger Warning: This poem whispers of soliloquy, therefore, the reader should proceed with caution.

“EMPTY CHAIR”

in a lonely room
in an empty chair
alone in the silence
i sit there and stare
it’s all the same day after day
month upon month
since we’d last parted ways
from the brightest of hopes
to the darkest of days

i woke up this morning
i wanted to die

in a lonely room
in an empty chair
alone in the silence
i sit there and stare

alone in the silence

it’s all the same mold and decay
time after time
the damn nightmare rewinds
an american dream that
the world left behind

i woke up this morning
i woke up this morning
i wanted to die

in a lonely room
in an empty chair
alone in the silence
i sit there and stare

alone in the silence
alone in the silence

it’s all the same white picket brain
wave upon wave of
infectious rejection
suspension detention
the dungeon of death

i woke up this morning
i woke up this morning
i woke up this morning
i wanted to die

in a lonely room
in an empty chair
alone in the silence
i sit there and stare

alone in the silence
alone in the silence
alone in the silence

it’s all the same young and insane
over and over, will this ever end
from my mother’s basement
to be born again

i woke up this morning
i woke up this morning
i woke up this morning
i woke up this morning
i wanted to die

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
content is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.