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Ray Bear
Member since March 24, 2026
Member for 4 months, 23 days
recent new member
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134
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The Ash of Lilies
The graven doors of cedar groan and part,
he crawls across the cold, forgotten floor.
A sulphur pulse beats in his heavy heart,
as shadow pools against the temple door.
He drops before the altar's marble face,
and presses bleeding wings against the stone.
A creature cast away from light and grace,
now shivering and naked and alone.
His fingers harden like a blackened shell,
but clasp together in a desperate knot.
He weeps for every morning star that fell,
and all the blinding splinters that he wrought.
The sacred candles flicker blue and dim,
the statues watch with eyes of frozen jade.
Read the rest of the poem Show less
No angel comes to sing a saving hymn
for ruined hands that tore the sky, remade.
Yet from his eyes, the tears of scarlet fall,
they wash the soot from knuckles scarred and grey.
A silent, weeping phantom in the hall,
too terrified to speak, too broken to pray.
He breathes the scent of incense and of pine,
and begs the dark to let his penance start.
An exiled king before a silent shrine,
with paradise locked deep inside his heart.
Ray Bear’s timeline
- August 2026
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15 Sat
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12 Wed
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12 Wed
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12 WedReceived a critique
on CHAPTER 6 The Devils Daughters - When the Viper Strikes from @ritam
"Oh, I didn't. I will have to now that I know! Ty" -
12 WedReceived a critique
on A Phantom Paw Print from @Ray Miller
"That's a lovely poem, the rhythm is just right. My one suggestion would be to avoid the repetition of "quiet room."" -
11 TueCritiqued
"Letter to my future self" by @Clentin
"Its all good, syllable counts is when my OCD kicks in LOL. You shouldn't rely on artificial syllable counters because they are calculators, not speakers. They count characters and letter patterns, completely missing how…" -
11 TueReceived a critique
on A Phantom Paw Print from @kellustzall
""and waits for breath that does not rise or fall" is a freakin brilliant way to depict a scene where neither the party of subject and object could be seperated from each other because that sensation is apt for both, a q…" -
11 TueReceived a critique
on A Phantom Paw Print from @Geezer
"the quiet memory of a 'gone away' cat. Not able to have a cat anymore, [the wife turned allergic to them], but have great memories of previous feline beings. But yeah, I had a few of those moments where I had to do some…" -
11 TueReceived a critique
on CHAPTER 6 The Devils Daughters - When the Viper Strikes from @ritam
"The rhyme scheme works so well and the story. Look forward to the conclusion!" -
11 TueNew follower
@TheWanderer78
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11 TueReceived a critique
on A Phantom Paw Print from @TheWanderer78
"I really enjoyed this piece. It has a generally consistent 10 syllable pentameter structure, but the feet of each line lack a consistent form. Yet it maintains a rhythmic sense of prosody that can be difficult to achiev…" -
11 TueCritiqued
"Letter to my future self" by @Clentin
"Hi Geez would have to agree with you I counted 13 on the 3rd line The word promises has 3 syllables (prom-is-es). The stress is on the first syllable. For comparison, the singular form promise has 2 syllables (prom-ise)…" -
11 TueCritiqued
"Letter to my future self" by @Clentin
"Couldn't help it but the word promises has 3 syllables (prom-is-es). The stress is on the first syllable. For comparison, the singular form promise has 2 syllables (prom-ise)." -
11 TueCritiqued
"Red Apron" by @kellustzall
"You never cease to surprise me. Visceral, brutal, and stunningly vivid. The interplay between culinary butcher imagery and suffocating intimacy gives the whole piece a claustrophobic, dark-romantic pulse. Regards Ray" -
11 TueCritiqued
"Cinders" by @Ray Miller
"Bravo! A chilling but beautiful rewrite of Cinderella. Stripping away the glitter to show a dying queen nostalgic for the dirt and ashes of her youth, trapped by a fairy tale that ended too fast for a reality check. "En…" -
11 TueCritiqued
"Fading out of Myself" by @BlueSkies
"I really enjoyed this work. The shift from physical panic to out-of-body detachment here is haunting. That final line lands with such a quiet, sudden thud of reality. I think this was very well executed. Regards Ray" -
11 Tue
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10 MonReceived a critique
on Dark Necessity from @Lavender
"Hello, Ray, In reading this, I can feel both the silent pause taken before choosing just the precise language, and the raw urgency to say it. "...lost in a fading memory, I'd find you." Such strong devotion. Thank you, L" -
10 MonCritiqued
"Somnolent" by @Lavender
"I really liked this one as it sets the scene for a sleepy afternoon. Great imagery. Instantl I could imagine this as a series of seasons, next with a winter one in front of the fireplace and so on, Regards Ray" -
02 SunPosted a poem
CHAPTER 6 The Devils Daughters - When the Viper Strikes
"The healing man stands silent by the door," - July 2026
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30 ThuPosted a poem
CHAPTER 5 The Devils Daughters - A Healers Warning
"They walk back down the dusty, quiet street," -
29 WedPosted a poem
CHAPTER 4 The Devils Daughters - A Darker Fate Sealed
"The desert sand turns dark with Cora’s blood," -
26 SunPosted a poem
CHAPTER 3 - The Devils Daughters - The Trail of Warren Blake
"The four girls ride into the town of Dust Creek," -
24 FriPosted a poem
Dark Necessity
"Our love is a letter, written by hand, sent across a lifetime. A promise that eternity could not smudge the ink. We are that tempest-torn spark, the one that refuses to burn out, fueled by the violent thunderstorms of a love that won't behave and a lust that tastes like lightning. " -
23 ThuReceived a critique
on CHAPTER 2 - The Devils Daughters - From Burning Fire to Blood Red from @Misspoetrynportraits
"A fun read 😁" -
23 ThuPosted a poem
CHAPTER 2 - The Devils Daughters - From Burning Fire to Blood Red
"The heavy iron beams fall with a roar," -
18 Sat
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14 Tue
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07 Tue
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02 ThuNew follower
@Asa B.
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02 Thu
- June 2026
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30 Tue
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23 TueNew follower
@kellustzall
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04 ThuNew follower
@Cpwe Skele
- May 2026
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31 Sun
- April 2026
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30 Thu
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18 Sat
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15 WedHighest posting month
April 2026 — 19 poems
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04 Sat
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04 Sat
- March 2026
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30 Mon
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25 WedFirst critique offered
on "SCREAMING TREE!" by @Ebon Croe
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24 TueFirst publication
Gamble for your Life
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24 TueJoined Neopoet
Membership begins
First poem published 1 days later.
About Me
About me
From Sydney Australia. I love Villanelle and Lyrical Prose. Creative writing is a dual-purpose lens: it helps us zoom in on our own lives to make sense of them, while also providing a wide-angle view of worlds that don't yet exist.
I love adventure and write not only of my childhood but of cowboys, pirates and treasure hunters. Also Romance and undying love.
Location: Sydney Australia, AUS
Recent Work
The Ash of Lilies
Posted:
Five Minutes More
Posted:
Contest Wins
| Winning Submission | Contest | Contest Date |
|---|---|---|
| A Phantom Paw Print | Neopoet Weekly 08/09/26 to 08/15/26 | 9 August, 2026 – 15 August, 2026 |
| Demolition by Text | 06/26 Text Message Sent to the Wrong Person | 1 June, 2026 – 30 June, 2026 |
| The Embers Burn Low | 05/26 New Member Contest | 1 May, 2026 – 31 May, 2026 |
| Almost Glass | Neopoet Weekly 04/12/26 to 04/18/26 | 12 April, 2026 – 18 April, 2026 |
| The Violet Tide | 04/26 When the Sun Says Goodbye | 1 April, 2026 – 30 April, 2026 |
| A Brief Forever | Neopoet Weekly 03/29/26 to 04/04/26 | 29 March, 2026 – 4 April, 2026 |