C.J. Lane Poetry

"The Dead of Night" is a poetic meditation on the dark night of the soul one experiences during the dissolution of a relationship.

I've taken a bit of a break from posting and writing because I've been going through some stuff in my personal life. I took a little trip to a park in town today to try and clear my mind in nature. I was glad for the beautiful early Autumn day and that I was able to capture some photos of the waning Moon over the Yahara River. I'll be back to posting my writing soon.

I got my proof copy of "Dream Poems & Oblique Scenes" today!! The text was exactly how I wanted it, though I'm going to have to do a little work to get the cover exactly how I want. Either way, I couldn't be happier! So, of course, I had to pose with Calliope, my poetic familiar.

"Crossroads Waltz" is my contribution to this week's prompt, hosted by and . I, of course, had to write a poem dedicated to Hekate, focusing on her aspect as a liberator through change. I got a little creative with the language here, so I felt like I should offer some definitions. First, corposant is another word used for St. Elmo's fire, which is when electrical discharge creates balls of plasma during certain weather events. Second, are pileus and liberti. Both of these words are related to Roman slaves who, when freed, were given a felt cap called a pileus and gained the title liberti.

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"The Time of Monsters" is a poem inspired by the following quote from Antonion Gramsci, "The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters." This quote refers to what Gramsci called the interregnum, which was the liminal period between social orders in which greatly positive or negative change could result. Now is such a time.

"A Dirge" is a response to the tragedy that continues to befall the children of the United States.

"The Black Forest Rite" is my contribution to this week's from and . I decided to stick to prose this week since I don't write prose poems nearly as often.

"Parting Clouds" is a little poem about the illumination that can come with peace of mind.

"Samael's Symphony" was inspired by the September prompts from . It is also a reflection on the increasing revelations of the utter evil, some of the wealthy and powerful among us harbor. To hurt a child is one of the most reprehensible acts a person can commit - all who do deserve an eternity of suffering.

On the Autumnal Equinox, the dream unravels, the scene shifts, & a new collection is birthed.

I'm excited to share that my next poetry collection, "Dream Poems & Oblique Scenes" will be available on Kindle on 9.22.25, with a print version available later. The poems in this collection are woven from dream itself.

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"De Vermis" is another experiment in surreal automatic writing. Lately, when I've been writing, I've been putting myself in mind of the states I experience during sleep. There is something uniquely special about the dream realm.

I recently found an old hard drive with a bunch of poems I wrote years ago and never published. "Catoptric" is one of these poems, and it's a meditation on the mystical nature of mirrors, especially the black scrying mirror of the magician.