Secret Taboo

 Black rooster, white sky.
Crowing in the morning light.
Wakes me from my sleep.

The haiku forms as I think of you,
in the brightening light of dawn.
Your laughing eyes dance merrily,
in memory.
Your dancing hands tell a story.

(We have a secret.)

I remember the days of elation,
when we played, as kids.
I remember the stories you told.
It was always, "Once upon a time."

Yeah, once upon a time was then.
Here I am now.
I've grown older and easier.
I've become the old one, somehow.

 (Our secret will never be known.)

That summer, when we were kids...
Up in Auntie Betty's barn loft.
We learned about the birds and the bees,
in shafts of sunlight under the beams.

Our own special secret.
As cousins, a taboo.
What did they expect would happen,
when we were left alone?

(Do you remember the day?)


We haven't spoken in years -
the secret too wicked to keep.
I hear that you're happy.
I hear that you're in love again.

We have a secret that will never be known.
It's been kept all these years.
Do you ever remember...
those exhilarating days, when we were young?

(I'll never forget. I'll never forget.)

©Ellen Pepper 2026

I Saw What You Did

I saw what you did to her,
you monster,
you beast.
I saw her blood on your guilty hands.

I'll follow you until you're found
and I will never let go
until you're punished
and dead.

I know where you live.
I know who you see.
They all think you're innocent, but
you can't hide from me.

Just saw that you changed your name.
That won't change your fate.
You'll never wash the blood
 from your soul.

Her battered face and body
will haunt you forever,
but only if your conscience
hasn't already been destroyed.

I follow you,
day and night.
I want you to face the law,
And be put to death.

I see you've dyed your hair.
That won't fool me.
You've sold the car that
you used on that night.

You can run, but
you can't hide.
I'm in the alley behind your house.
I'm in the car beside yours.

Ah, I see you now,
with someone else you'll kill.
I have the law on speed dial.
Look up, monster, we're coming.

CAUGHT! AND IN CUFFS!

You're going down, Richard Alder.
I saw what you did.
I saw her blood on your guilty hands.
Your killing life is over.

©Ellen Pepper 2026

Strangers

 We are strangers to each other.
You don't even know my name.
You stand in the shadows of my mind.
Are you playing some sort of game?

(I don't know you.)

At first, I thought you were joking.
You came at me so fast,
without warning.
Why did you want to know me,
was it something that I said?

(You don't know me.)

I'm not sure it's such a great idea,
for us to get to know each other.
Your words don't always make sense.
Or maybe I just don't understand.

(We don't know each other.)

I know it could be exciting
to get to know a stranger.
I know that danger exists, as well.
It's hard to tell who to trust.

(I don't know you.)

You have kind eyes, but...
I've seen that change in others.
There's no way to know what will happen.
Only time will tell.

(We may not have time to tell.)

Let me give this some thought,
before I commit to discovery.
Tell me more about where you stand.
Maybe we can talk it out.

(We're all strangers to each other.)

©Ellen Pepper 2026

You've Seen Too Much

 I know you're jaded.
You've seen too much and too many
self-seeking,
cold-hearted,
unfeeling people.

(You're not alone.)

You've walked into rooms filled with
unspoken rancor, hostility, cunning and
vaulting ambition.

(Love still exists in some hearts.)

You could smell the deceit in the perfumed air.
You saw the side-eyed glances of the envious.
You heard the tremor in the fearful voices.
You felt the fumbling touch of the lost.

(You're not alone.)

Walk through the garden of love.
Sniff the aroma of flowering hope
that all will be well.
Stand solidly and remember kinder times.

(Love still exists in some hearts.)

You can give joy, find it within.
Be steadfast in your expression.
Don't accept that this is the way
that the world will spin.

(You're not alone.)

Take the hand of the lonely.
Hold tight to the shattered ones.
Give strength to those broken
by fate or cruelty.

(Show the love.)
(You're not alone.)
(Show the love.)
(Show the love.)

©Ellen Pepper 2026

What Came After...

 He drops the ring on the table.
It clatters a bit, then falls silent.
His eyes meet hers with steady intensity.
They were to marry today.

The relentless rain slackens to drizzle.
They turn away from each other.
He's at the window. She's at the stove.
The clouds part, and a silent sun begins to shine.

Neither one knows what to do now.
They came close to speaking vows.
They stopped before they were bound by law.
And now, they ponder their future.

A shaft of sunlight illumines his slack face.
A kitten curls up in a cushioned chair.
The man reaches out to his woman.
She looks away, indifferent to his need.

They didn't know it would end like this,
when first they met.
The days then were bright with laughter.
They had plans for union and a home.

Somewhere it went wrong.
Some when they lost hope, and laughter stopped.
Sometimes they didn't speak.
Some days the silence overwhelmed.

She takes a suitcase from the hallway closet.
He watches her climb the stairs.
A door slams. He jumps in surprise.
The sunlight mocks his tears.

©Ellen Pepper 2026

Sunlight Has No Sound

 Sunlight has no sound.
Thunder booms, it rumbles, it claps.
Wind  howls, it whistles, it gusts, it's a zephyr.
Rain has varied tones and strength.
Sunlight and falling snow sound not.

His weary mind leans on the window wet with rain.
He's filled with dismay already, but
the afternoon's apathy has not yet set in.
The gold ring's in his back pocket.

The woman studies him from her chair.
She questions his faraway gaze.
There's no point in asking.
He doesn't know what goes on in his mind.

The rain speckles the glass.
He wipes his hand across the pane.
He sighs. 
Time passes gently.
The grass  is sparkling with sky teers.

She heads upstairs to bathe and dress.
Today's the day they'll marry.
The judge awaits their arrival.
They're late, and may not show.

The man stands at the door.
He says nothing about the time.
She finally slips into shoes.
They head out in the sad rain.

To the courthouse, they come sodden and dismal.
The judge starts the ceremony, reluctant in  tone.
Their eyes meet as vows are to be taken, and...
they turn to leave, without speaking.

The judge sighs and closes his book.
They venture home,
 unmarried.
The rain continues to fall relentlessly.
The man returns to gazing out the window.

Sunlight has no sound.
Thunder booms, it rumbles, it claps.
Wind howls, it whistles, it gusts, it's a zephyr.
He drops the ring on a table.
Sunlight and falling snow sound not.

©Ellen Pepper 2026
 

Tell the Truth

 I won't ask you how it felt.
You wouldn't answer anyway.
I won't ask where you went or why.
You'd just tell another lie.

(Tell me the truth now)

What's so hard about being truthful?
Why do you shy away from it?
What is your damage?
Are you a fool in knight's armour?

I know your name.
I saw what you did.
Your fierce words ...
left a deep, festering wound.

Sometimes, I forget the day it happened.
Sometimes, I wake up from nightmares.

(Tell me the truth)

When you return, as you will,
tell me everything that hurt you.
Tell me what got in the way.
Tell me how you survived the horror.

Let us find a way to forgive.
Can we restore the joy?
Where and when will you settle down?
When will you sleep deeply again?

(Tell the truth, if you can)

There's regret to be noted.
Somewhere in time,
we'll meet again.
Let healing release you from pain.

 ©Ellen Pepper 2026

To Scourge the Fiends

What should happen to monsters.
Remove their worldly riches.
Sell their homes to compensate
those harmed by their evil ways.
(Scourge the fiends!)

Imagine them sealed away
 in solitary confinement
 for the rest of their lives.
Have a camera capture every moment in their cells.

No tv, no books, no phone.
No contact with the outside world.
No comfort food.
Only gruel and water for sustenance.
(Scourge the fiends!)

Have a video screen show the names and faces
 of the millions of people
whose lives they've destroyed.
 Let it run 24 hours a day.
(Make them suffer!)

Let there be no visitors
other than those they've damaged.
Let their victims tell their stories.
Force them to pay attention.

Give them no sunlight,
Give them no escape from the torture.
Let the world watch them suffer.
Remove their names; address them by numbers.
(Let them suffer!)

No medical care.
If they die, so be it.
Never, ever set them free.
Let them suffer.
Let them suffer.
(Let them suffer!)

 ©Ellen Pepper 2026

Bed of Secrets

  Listen to the thunder.
The rain pelts the pane hard and fast.
His calloused hand  caresses her delicate skin,
moving along her thigh.

She sighs.
He watches her smiling face.

Rain mesmerizes.

He speaks of his life.
Its joys and sorrow.
His women and their talents.
His many betrayals.

She heeds his words,
seeking truth in the telling.

Thunder bangs in the sky.

He strokes her silky hair.
Looks intently into her hazel eyes,
seeking her untold secrets.

Thunder peals. Rain pounds harder.
The lights are out, the room is dark.
It's 11 in the morning on a Saturday.
No need to leave the bed, so they don't.

Satie shapes the mood.
Scent of petrichor surrounds, somehow.
Sheets are tangled with love and heat.
The wind blows fierce, in the terrace trees.

Thunder excites their senses.

It's time to enter the day,
Leave the bed of secrets.
No one will know what's been done.
No one will sense their joy.

The storm stalks away.
The sudden silence rings out.

©Ellen Pepper 2026

TICK. TICK. TOCK.

 Tick tick tick...

A drunken worker laughingly claims that he's ok
as he drives his machine into a ditch.
Dismounts and topples over into the muck.
Nobody recorded it. It won't go viral.

Tick tock tick.

A mother walks a pram,
the holes in her soles are seen.
The baby squalls and she heeds not,
Her mind is on the money track.

Tick tock tick...
Tick tock tick.

Leaves are unfurling all around.
Birds are nesting.
Animals breed.
The greening ground is slick with rain.

Tick tick tick

A woman on a treadmill feels pain,
Chest, neck, jaw.
Wonders if the heart is attacking.
Decides it's too complicated
to ask for help.

Tick tick tock

An old man still abed at noon.
No movement or sound.
No snore or audible breath.
Suddenly, a foot shifts.
He's still alive.

Tick tick tock.
Tick tock tick.

A blade snicks out of a boot,
Slicing will open tough skin.
Blood is lost, rancour grows.
Running feet are heard.

tick tock tick...
tick tock tick tock.

Time is not like a river.
Time is a collected series of events.
Vignettes.
What was once... and will never be again.
Tick tick tock

©Ellen Pepper 2026

Cracks in the Pavement

 Someone who was once part of your life
becomes part of your memories.
There's nothing you can do,
they're gone.
She's gone.

There are cracks in the pavement of love.
People trip over them all the time.
You can't step into the future,
when you're  stumbling over what's broken.

He lowers the blinds in his moldy motel room.
He has no plans for the future.
He needs to break this addiction, this habit.
This want for her touch.

The sweet scent of her hair.
The heady blue of her dissembling eyes.
Her glowing aura of falsity.
Her aching betrayal of his trust.

He sits on the sagging mattress
 and stares into space.
So utterly alone. Bereft.
She went to Toledo,
She never came back.

Is it death or is it defiance?
He'll never know.
He pays his bill and gets in his car.
He's going to find her.

She's not in Toledo anymore, he finds.
She's gone to Arizona now.
He rests his head on the steering wheel,
He'll drive to Dallas, instead.

He'll release himself from this need.
He'll start a new life.
All he has left is the memory...
of trust betrayed.
He is broken...

©Ellen Pepper 2026

I Won't Say Goodbye

 "Play the Adagio at my funeral," he said.
We looked into each other's eyes.
"People will cry, " said I.
"I've waited my life for that, "said he.

We were walking through High Park in the Spring.
Cherry trees in blossom.
A chill in the air that the sun dispelled.
Passersby didn't see that you were dying.

(I won't say goodbye.)

Remember when we were young?
Remember all the plans we made?
We were going to storm the world.
We were going to make it in the wild.

Your plan was to write, act and direct.
I was going to tend to others.
We meant to succeed and change the world.
But now you're dying before...

Before you've finished.
And I only have time to tend to you.
Our dreams failed to come true.
And...I'm losing you.
(Let's not say goodbye.)

I was there when you learned your fate.
You faked nonchalance, but
I know you well enough.
We clung like limpets to each other.

The funeral plans are set now.
I mourn your loss already.
You're fading by the day.
The spark has left your eyes.

(You'll soon say goodbye.)

I wish I could go with you.
The world will soon be too dark.
You'll be fine on the Other Side, I know it.
I'll be here without you.

Where will I store the memories?
Where will be my home...
when you're gone?
I won't say good bye.
I can't say goodbye.
Please stay.

  ©Ellen Pepper 2026

Standing on Shaky Ground

 We're all standing on shaky ground these days.
What would we do without each other?
Minds and hearts are dark with grim thoughts.
(We're standing on shaky ground)

Fake wars, fake leaders, fake money, fake people.
It's all falling apart.
Some days are worse than others.
What would we do without each other?
(We're  just standing on shaky ground)

The slumlord presses to evict.
The supermarket raises  prices  20% overnight.
Fuel costs are rising exponentially.
We're all standing on shaky ground.

Tectonic plates are grinding.
Volcanoes girding to pop their lids.
Wildfires burning up the world.
What would we do without each other?
(We're standing on shaky ground)

We're losing our jobs to robots.
The kids aren't being schooled.
People being stripped of autonomy.
We're all standing on shaky ground.
(Standing on shaky ground)

People are stolen from home, school and work.
Sent to foreign prisons without trial.
Murdered by the leader who despises them.
Billionaires flouting laws and ruining the planet.
They know their time is coming to an end.
(They're standing on shaky ground)

Where do we go from here?
There's so much change to be made.
We must get to a place of loving security.
We can't fix anything without each other.

What would we do if we didn't have each other?
(We're standing on shaky ground)

 ©Ellen Pepper 2026

Eulogy for a Quiet Man

 He spoke righteously,
if he spoke at all.
Oh, how the plethora of charmed women
hung on his every word,
albeit his type, they were not.

His black,wavy hair will no longer impress
the ladies who swooned.
His stately manner of dress decaying,
forgotten in his musty cupboard.

George NoMan is gone from this plane.
His like, to be seen no more.
A quiet man, cards held close to vest.
Saying not an extraneous word.

No one can claim to have known our George.
He kept to himself. He liked it that way.
No ties that bound 'til life was snuffed. 
No joys that taught of impending sorrow.

George had no living companion.
He preferred to be alone.
No one to care for.
No one to care for him.

He spent his days creating,
a stockpile of witticisms
to share at arms length.
Not wishing for fame, not prideful.

So now we lay dear George to rest.
His mouth silent forever.
So many secrets kept within. 
So many lies untold.

Our beloved George is NoMan,
for now - he is but a fading ghost.

Requiescat in Pace

©Ellen Pepper 2026

L'arôme des Anges

L'arôme des anges était présent dans ma chambre
 pendant que je dormais la nuit dernière.
 Ils sont venus m'escorter dans les profondeurs.
Nous avons descendu vers l'océan.
 Les vagues tourbillonnaient à notre entrée.

Et on déménageait...
(profondément...)
(profondément,)

Descendant plus profondément...
Dans l'océan.

L'eau est chaude comme un liquide amniotique.
Les couleurs, indescriptibles.
La myriade de formes de vie nous accueillit tels que nous étions...

(profondément...)
(profondément,)

descendant plus profondément...
dans l'océan.

Je me suis souvenu d'événements perdus dans le temps.
 Il y avait des moments où...
nous avons été blessés et des moments qui nous ont guéris.
 Voyant les visages de ceux qui m'avaient précédé,
 J'ai pleuré, mais j'ai ressenti de la joie.

Et nous étions encore...
(profondément...)
(profondément,)

Descendant plus profondément...
Dans l'océan.

Dans... La tranchée de Mariana.
 Nous ne pouvions pas aller plus loin.
 La ville y était illuminée de l'intérieur.
Nous sommes entrés dans le globe qui entourait,
et rencontré les êtres qui y vivaient.
Les anges riaient et s'amusaient partout.
L'air était frais et enivrant.
Nous avons parlé de beaucoup de choses.

Et puis, il était temps de revenir.
 Les anges portèrent mon âme vers le haut,
Se lever.
En montée.
Vers le haut.
Montant et montant.
S'élevant vers le haut.

Je me suis réveillé dans mon lit,
Au lever du soleil.
Les échos des rires anges étaient partout.
 Ils ont dit qu'ils reviendraient.
Ce souvenir a donné de la joie à mon esprit.

Les profondeurs de l'océan
ressemblaient à une visite dans l'espace.
Il y a une vie secrète dans l'abîme caché.

©Ellen Pepper 2026