I am nothing. I am a pillar in the temple of my god.
I breathe not air but fire, those flames that consume me
but do not extinguish my very existence.

There are tremors in this earth, there are floods in this field
my blood has spilled over the walls and have trickled down
to all who have seen me.

I am freedom, I am that which has experienced euphoria
and her rage but return with peace and her calm
I am bound no more

I experience the power of life through the smallest of silences
I exist not only to exalt but to uphold
to challenge and to testify of your secret transactions, your derelict love

Thee I charge, thee I assault with conviction
you have buried the hatchet of shame in your own flesh
and yet you seek to take apart and destroy that in which you do not understand

assail me not your religion, teach me not your limited understanding
for it is the perfect divine and not thee of which I drink
Hallelujah, behold the Bridegroom, behold that fire and fury

That comes to bring rebirth in it's fuel and oxygen, it's cinder and smoke.

J M Prater

Dear Friend,

It’s Christmas Eve and I haven’t yet heard a word. Waves crash the shores and the light house searches for your ship in the harbor. The oil in my lamp burns low in this midnight hour. There remains a hope in me despite my impending loneliness. This is the first Christmas I’ve spent alone.

The stars are out and I can see homes lit up for miles. And yet, here I am, in this attic, beneath the firelight as warmth turns to cold, as love turns to loss. Make it home dear friend, sail your ship beyond the sea and let the anchor fall. I wait for you dear friend, I’ve been waiting for you since the moment of my conception.

I know not what is bestowed upon me, only what I have to bestow. My pockets are empty, but there are gifts for you yet. In my absence I give you love that you may sprinkle your days with the laughter of god. In my tears I give you joy that you might water the earth and let it bring forth all good things. In my sorrow I give you comfort that your beauty salt the earth, not by the outward, but the inward. Lastly dear friend, in the hour of my death I bestow upon you life, that you may live without ceasing.

Do you hear it? Do you hear the water on the rocks? The waves have calmed. Look, first the stars show the night. I hear a voice on the seas. Is it you?

“For I am going to lay me down
the fire is dying, the stars have come out
For I am going out to the sea
He’s waiting, he’s watching, he’s calling to me.”

J M Prater

She’s krept into the daylight, gently infusing the air with her death
the sky is a false promise, the sunlight moves to beckon us and then
leave slowly as his brother the night takes over.

I’ve been infected, without cause or merit and it began with disinterest.
And now, the disease has taken hold wiping away the joy of all things known.
It’s metastasized beneath this flesh and fury, this alzheimers of the body.

The devil is a cunning warrior, his tactics the best of the worst.
I’ve denied him everything reasonable, leaving him to steal the unreasonable. Passion.
And there is nothing left, a hollow, a shell, an indifference, an agony of always.

I’ve been infected by a deadly strain, not knowing the night for the day, not caring.
My body is riddled with the passion of nothing.
This prison is a promise.

J.M. Prater

Completed Pieces That I posted for sale on Craigslist

Here is where my passions lie.
"For so great a treasure, words will never do."

Well, here she is, the first in a CANCELED series of 4. Quite frankly, I hate how she's come out. I'm nearing an artistic meltdown. I feel like I can't do anything right, whatever right is. I'm at about the end of myself creatively.

It takes me a while to update this page, I don't do it very often because ultimately I don't think anyone gives a shit. I don't say that as a bid for pity, I say it because it's true.

Here's a stage of my latest project, a doll, one in a series of 4. I'm retreating back to more personal work. I like my canvass work, but I'm not confident in it.

Here's the doll. Her name is EARTH. Now how fucking pretentious is that?