POETRY BY NICHOLAS TANA

Nicholas Tana is a writer, director, producer, and musician. He is the creator of the graphic novel Hell ’s Kitty, which spawned a web series, a feature film, and an award-winning, sold-out musical at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Tana has also written a dark prequel to Snow White for Disney Publishing and has authored numerous children’s books, including Monsters Are Afraid of Babies and The Little Lion That Listened.

Tana directed the Amazon Award-winning documentary Sticky: A (Self) Love Story, available on Amazon, and is currently producing We Are Animals, a documentary on animal rights with appearances by Moby and Alison Pill. 

Tana’s sci-fi noir comic eJunky is scheduled to be published by Scout Comics in June 2023 and the trade paperback in September 2023 by Simon and Schuster, featuring an alternative cover design by Darick Robertson (The Boys). Much of what he writes is a way of expressing the feelings that he and his family face while caring for a child in hospice.

DARKNESS AND LIGHT

Darkness everywhere
Through a tiny crack: sunlight
Now, it’s all I see…

WHERE DID YOU GO, JOHN?

Gone is the man who found comedy in horror,
Who helped us to laugh through tears.
Eyes half covered, fearing the fiendish child,
We reflect on our B-movie experience:
Life, a dance macabre!

It was brief, but memorable,
Two passing spirits sharing a love of music and film.
In minutes, we spoke of dreams, hopes lost and found,
Zen, meditation,
Life, death.

You asked about my child; I shared tears.
You know my pain!
Kindred spirit, we pray, check in,
Search for meaning; hope.
Let’s work together one day, perhaps, tomorrow?

No—
You’re dead, I learn, years later.
Took matters into your own hands—
Some might even pity you for it,
Others applaud you.

I for one will miss you
And, what might have been.
Still, I don’t blame you, new, old friend
You left your mark, as much as anyone.
What are we all waiting for?

For now, may your suffering be over.
May you find peace.
May the universe take you on,
One star among many;
Your gravity, your own.

Written for John Lafia (Writer, Chucky, a friend), Feb 1, 2021.
Rest in Peace!

BORROWED BONES AND DUST

Tossing tears into skull and bones
I stare into death’s hollow face,
As the scythe swings down, reflecting moonlight
And the day creeps into night,
Both eyes feel tight in anticipation of my plight!

Spinning around,
I take a floating bow, as we both fight;
Tumbling against cold and bitter wind
Screams of regret echoing into empty sockets
As I ponder all my sins.

The smell of mold and dried blood
Invade each nostril
Still, I draw slow and dire breaths;
Until, I spot, despite my strife, a shiny figure 
Behind me stands life!

Could it be that in this grim hour I have a choice?
To swing my sword wide, strike at death,
But with what results?
Ending death ends life
And all hope for everybody else.

No! 
In hope, nature, karma, something, we trust,
Until, we find escape, somehow, lest we forget—
Destined to return we must,
Leaving behind borrowed bones and dust.

TO GIVE YOU LIFE

I’ll face the world for you my dear
Let my heart shine bright like the sun
To burn away your every fear;

Bring on a thousand plagues, wars, tormented nights;
I’ll swallow them whole and hold you tight;
Take on the darkness, I’ll face it with my light.

If I must, I’ll wield my sword against the demons of your plight;
Let them ravage me whole and tear me limb from limb,
I’ll feed them sight, as they dine upon my eyes, no longer dim,
To give you life and let your every dream take flight.