Taylor's works:

The Battle
Dream Behind A Mirror
Phoenix
Rodeo Heroes
Epic of Nivoh
Taerone Days

"The Battle"

How ShadowStar came through the fray,
I do not know--but it may be,
That Irotana's blessing came around
to us.

It strengthens knights,
Gives auras to mages,
Harmonizes war songs,
Gives artists eyes
That they may see,
Shadow's long forgotten
History.

How ShadowStar was willed along,
I remember not; but it is true,
That Irotana murmured blessings, spoke:
to us.

She strengthened knights,
Gave auras to mages,
Sang war songs for us,
Gave workers hands
That they might fight,
Shadow's now remembered
Enemies.

"Dream Behind a Mirror"

The mirror
A gateway to other worlds
Where the unexpected happens
Knights tame dragons
Mages create spells
Good fights evil
And usually wins.
Balls and banquets
Rule their lives
Wars and battles
Punctuate the peace
Change joy for sorrow
Health for pain
Excitement for monotony
An unknown for a hero

Odd things happen
Behind the mirror
Of dreams and stories untold
The mirror, a portal
To a long corridor
And each door leads
To places unknown.
This door here leads to the stars
This one to the moon.
This leads to the unicorns
That one leads to certain doom.
Demons, angels, merfolk, elves
Strangers become friends
Kings become neighbors
When fighting for the common good

The dreamer of the mirror
Finds himself often the unlikely hero
Who overcomes all odds and fears
To fight for freedom and justice.
Befriending the talking animals
Learning to use a saber or glaive
Exploring the exotic beauty of
A world that only exists through
The dream.
In the dream the hero
Doesn't always fail.
Sometimes he runs away
And falls into a bottomless pit
The worlds behind the mirror
Are wrought with pitfalls

Only the brave may conquer.

"Phoenix"

Bird of fire
Rise to greet me
With the morning sun
Settle down
When the day is done

Life from death
Thy fire continues
Though fire and dust
You will survive
When all is lost

Hope of tomorrow
Never is lost
For with every death
There is life
Through every breath

Fiery healer
Rise from the ashes
Thy tears will heal
Many scars
No pain you will feel

Immortal hope
Let silver cinders
Light your wake
As you fly
From night to day

When day is done
May you rest
Return to the ashes
From where you came
Until morning adjourn

"Rodeo Heroes"

Bucking bulls and pounding hooves
Dust is settling around a man
Whose time is best and riding strongest
Circling barrels at breakneck speeds,
Dodging left and right on a well broke
Sorrel gelding to separate calf from herd,
Swinging ropes in great circles and tossing
To catch that wayward steer.

A steer dodges left, the horse and man follow,
The man hangs from the saddle, reaching, reaching,
Almost there, wrap the arm around the neck,
Grab the steer by the horns, slide off the horse,
Onto the steer and wrestle to the ground, once again.
Time's announced, is it fast enough? Crowd cheers.
More pounding hooves, two horses and a calf.
A rope flies, catches the heels, another catches the horns.

A lone man runs into the ring, distracting and dodging
As an angry bull charges a fallen rider.
The bull looks left and right, undecided, deciding,
Charges at the clown who jumps and dodges away
Behind a barrel, over a fence. Ropes the bull, fallen rider escapes.
Men on horses chase down stray broncs to contain them
After a rider falls. Horses run wild and clowns chase after
This is their job and their heroism. This is their life.

Many scenes form one picture. The winner stands, raising his prize
The rodeo queen poses for her picture. Groups of riders gallop in
Showing off their brilliant paces to honor the champions.
The clown applauds the competitors, smiling, grateful for one more
Day of life, a day for the winners and losers to celebrate.
He walks away to find a soda while participants un-tack and go home.
Looking forward to the next show are the horses and riders.
In hopes that one day they will be the winner and someday famous.

"Epic of Nivoh"

The ancient song is ever in tune
The singers are the same
Thousands of years have passed
While the song continues on
The unicorn that walked this place
Was ever beautiful and strong
She sang the song to make this place
Her music made it grow

She planted many warriors here
Her magic she did give them
Guardians of the peace were they
The Ctsu Klarn did she name them
Under their protection was placed a stone
Of great and glorious power
But lost it was unto a Void
And it passed into legend

A thousand years have come and gone
And Irotana weakened
She fought the evil Void with all
The strength that she could muster
A brave young girl crossed through a Rift
To regain her Master's memory
Changeling and Faery guided her
To where the stone was hidden

She fought a monstrous unicorn
Whose coat was burnished black
His evil powers nearly killed her
Just barely she did escape
Inula and her friends continued in
Their search for the mysterious stone
They passed through darkness and void
They passed through moonlight and fire

Once more they met the evil one
Who guarded the magical stone
He set a challenge before them that they must overcome
If they would fail, the light of day they would not see again
Six friends there were: Equine and Gryphon,
Changeling, Ctsu, Apprentice, and Faery
They were to duel with six dark unicorns
And if they lost, death was certain

The battle began, and the friends struggled
A struggle for a light in the darkness
The Ctsu apprentice fought her best
Her bonded equine bravely followed
Through sunset and through sunrise the battle raged
The Ctsu master lacked her memory but could fight
Her gryphon helped her to survive
For two evenings and a morning

The changeling queen was swift and strong
A magical knife she had in her belt
She threw the blade into the chest of the blackest unicorn
It pierced his heart and felled the beast
And then the tide of war was turned
In their surprise the unicorns fought with evil power
They wounded the little Faery queen
Who fought back with her rage and pain

The young apprentice wounded one and Equine slaughtered two
The gryphon pounced upon another, baring claws and teeth
Two unicorns yet remained to conquer now
Their fear was evident as Apprentice Inula
Advanced and drew her blade as did the Changeling
Their faces grim they challenged the two dark unicorns
Who made their last great stand against the Six
Blood flowed and then the morning dawned

At break of day when the rising sun looked down
The scene showed six survivors surrounding the evil unicorn
Demanding their prize for their fight
The unicorn demanded one more thing however
A quest through a labyrinthine cave in which he'd hidden treasure
Inula shook her head and demanded he back down
Sword held high she charged the evil one bravely
Horn pierced heart and sword pierced throat and in pain both fell

The brave apprentice nearly breathed her last
She reached for the Starstone that hung around the Dark One’s neck
At last the stone was safe once more
And healed the six friends immediately became
To ShadowStar they did return where Nivoh peacefully lay
Nareyo regained memory; Inula’s arm was healed
And so they feasted till break of dawn
Celebrating the defeat of the dark unicorn

"Taerone Days"

Wind on the plains
River on rocks
Snow on the trees
Stars in the sky

Silver-lined clouds
Blown on a breeze
Foam on the water
Pine-covered hills

Down in the valley
A large busy city
Carriages line the roads
Uphill to the west

A clock tower chimes
A trolley bell clangs
A church bell rings
Saying goodbye

The sun sets quickly
The land disappears
Gone are the mountains
To a new day's home

Day breaks
I've left home behind
Gold in the east sky
Brings new day, new life

Gone is that valley
With the running river
Bright is the future
Like snow on the hills

Golden like sunset
Silver like dusk
Gray like tomorrow
Transparent forever