A party, late eve, a brief get together One night at Murphy Manor. Too many had arrived, and not enough left by the end of the night. I wanted to enjoy my evening, But I’ve been out of my mind, Skyscrapers are growing through my head. Angels are trespassing, And devils have an invite, Plus one. The only question is, Who killed the professor, Also, the composer’s been found dead too Luckily I, the poet, Am alive to tell the tale. The opera is only in act 3, And who knows who else might be found dead, By curtain. And ere we have a mystery, Who was the culprit, And what was the murder weapon? For each demon had an invite, And everyone had a plus one. Yet now that I am off the streets, My poetic imagery dissipates. ********** Onward ye sloth like selfless soul, For we a poem have to write. A mystery needs solved And my there’s so many in question, But where oh heavens do we start. During the murders at hand it seems as all parties were ceremoniously preoccupied. Gluttony occupied himself in the kitchen while Envy looked on in jealousy, Sloth took a nap in the upstairs bedroom while Lust hosted a variety of lovers on a pillow nearby. And Greed went through everyone’s coat pockets while Pride fixed her outfit in the mirror every few minutes. Asmodeus swears he was with Persephone and Beelzebub in the basement, surely getting high and plotting violence. And Lucifer, Baphomet, and Lilith were in the attic tripping far out on acid. I personally think that Shiva, Euronymous, and Dracula had most to do with the aforementioned crimes, but tracking them down is a feat impossible. ************* The night grows late and the shadows deepingly menacing, And the threat of more murder hides and heckles around each corner. Oh no! I’ve found my fate to late, For I am next to die. With knife in hand I at last learn, That I alone was murderer This whole time long.
Timothy Arliss OBrien is an interdisciplinary artist in music composition, writing, and visual arts. His goal is to connect people to accessible new music that showcases virtuosic abilities without losing touch of authentic emotions. He has premiered music with The Astoria Music Festival, Cascadia Composers, Sound of Late’s 48 hour Composition Competition and ENAensemble’s Serial Opera Project. He also wants to produce writing that connects the reader to themselves in a way that promotes wonder and self realization. He has published several novels (Dear God I’m a Faggot, They), several cartomancy decks for divination (The Gazing Ball Tarot, The Graffiti Oracle, and The Ink Sketch Lenormand), and has written for Look Up Records (Seattle), Our Bible App, and Deep Overstock: The Bookseller’s Journal. He has also combined his passion for poetry with his love of publishing and curates the podcast The Poet Heroic and he also hosts the new music podcast Composers Breathing. He also showcases his psychedelic makeup skills as the phenomenal drag queen Tabitha Acidz.
Check out more of his writing, and his full discography at his website: www.timothyarlissobrien.com