“Threads of the Story” offers a behind-the-scenes look at my upcoming novel, featuring poems that reflect its themes and early previews of scenes and chapters. Think of it as a quiet space where the heart of the story speaks. I invite you to take this journey with me.
Thread #1: Open Doors
“Hey lil man,” the driver yelled again. “Come holla at me.”
Darius stopped.
The man smiled.
The passenger door clicked open.
You were warned as a child. Don’t talk to strangers.
But life rarely announces the moment everything changes.
Sometimes it begins with a smile. A gesture. An open door.
One stranger. One mistake.
— A Thread from Savage Land
Thread #2: Don’t Cut Me Out
“Len, we’re friends,” she said. “Don’t do this.”
“Don’t cut me out,” she pleaded with him. “Just tell me.”
“You don’t wanna know about this stuff, Cara.”
Sometimes the people who care about us most can see we’re hurting long before we’re ready to admit it.
We tell ourselves we’re protecting them.
Protecting them from the burden. Protecting them from the truth.
But sometimes the walls we build to keep our pain in only end up keeping everyone else out.
— A Thread from Savage Land
Thread #3: The Chase
She felt a rush of adrenaline flow through her veins as she approached the crime scene.
Red and blue lights flashed amidst the wet and foggy night.
This was her game.
Most people think obsession looks like passion.
They think it looks like dedication. Commitment. Purpose.
But obsession has a way of disguising itself.
Sometimes it wears a badge. Sometimes it calls itself justice. Sometimes it’s just the need to win.
— A Thread from Savage Land
Thread #4: This is Family
“All I’m sayin is, you don’t abandon your family. Especially when they got ya back like I do.”
— Razor
Every organization has its creed. Its rules. Its promises.
The most dangerous ones convince you that loyalty and love are the same thing.
And by the time you realize the difference, you’re already in too deep.
— A Thread from Savage Land
Thread #5: Lost Boys
“Lost Boys” is a poetic reflection on fatherlessness, street life, and the desperate search for identity and acceptance. It explores the emotional and moral struggle of young men lacking the guidance of a father figure, feeling abandoned, drawn to the streets in search of belonging, only to find loyalty to a destructive code and a brotherhood rooted in pain. The themes in this poem lay the emotional foundation for the story told in my novel.
Lost Boys
Solitude of the suffering soul is suffocating
It yearns for the company of others
Even if only misery is awaiting
The agony caused by this loneliness
Drives a desperation for acceptance
Even if that acceptance is by a band of devils
Driven by evil, digging their own graves
And each demon with their own shovel
They are products of their environment
Setting everything in their path ablaze
In a city with no firemen
But how can a boy become a man without parameters?
They are lost boys without fathers
Left to their own devices
In line for a slice of the Devil’s Pie
Eager to auction their souls for lower prices
The lonely soul is blinded
As they trade in their morals by being loyal to an imaginary code
A one-way ticket on the path to destruction
Each walk this road
Seeking shelter and solace among the hoard
Loving the streets
Finding shallow comfort in a dap and a hug
All the while blinded to this fact:
The streets got no love
— A Thread from Savage Land
Thread #6: Lion Among Wolves
“Lion Among Wolves” explores the inner conflict of a young man raised in a violent world, struggling to preserve his identity and purpose while surrounded by chaos. Though he possesses strength and dignity—like a lion—he questions his place among those driven by rage and survival, wondering if he can truly walk a different path while running with the pack.
Lion Among Wolves
He was born in a world
Where innocence is lost by boys and girls
At a young age
And after that, the only thing they have left is young rage
Trying to find an exit off this road, but it’s a one-way
And sidewalk executives settle disputes with gunplay
Wasted potential and talent is what he fears
But with every step he takes to step aside, he feels his fate drawing near
Running fast, but demons are drawing close and approaching from the rear
He’s a lion running with wolves, so does he even belong here?
— A Thread from Savage Land
Thread #7: Among the Condemned
In this poem, we journey deeper into the darkness surrounding our protagonist, as he is shaped by violence, betrayal, and the harsh realities of street life. With the loss of his innocence, he embraces a brutal path, learning that in a savage world, redemption is a luxury few can afford.
Among the Condemned
His fate was not chosen
Instead, the Fates chose him
To deliver death to the front steps of his foes and those who oppose him
A foundation built by blood
The outcome of desperate men who wanted their day in the sun
But instead, were left bled in the snow, face frozen
Ten paces then turn
The young boy with high hopes
Lost his innocence as he came of age
Set the streets of blaze
And let it burn
Whether his destiny be the cage…
Or early grave
The lesson that was there for him to learn
Was that in the land of savages, there is not one soul that can be saved
— A Thread from Savage Land
Thread #8: Harsh Realities
“Harsh Realities” confronts the brutal truth of survival in a world ruled by violence, where mercy is weakness and honor has no place. It captures the cold acceptance that in a savage, heartless land, peace is a fantasy—and violence is the only language understood. This sets the stage for the choices that the characters make in this story.
Harsh Realities
The attempt to avoid war is in itself an act in futility
Because the stage is already set
It is best to accept that violence is a utility
That is your best bet
Because there is no room for the forgiving man, a yielding hand, or honor among thieves
In a Savage Land
You now walk within the corridors of darkness
Gone are the days of seeking sympathy or solace
None of that exists in the land of the heartless
— A Thread from Savage Land
Thread #9: A Mother’s Plight
She is a woman of grace, her hands calloused from work, her heart lifted daily in prayer. She wears many names—daughter, wife, laborer—but the one that anchors her soul is mother. Yet even love this deep cannot shield her from fear. For her son walks among shadows, tangled in the streets that hunger for him. And so she waits, prays, and pleads with heaven—caught between hope and heartbreak, strength and sorrow.
A Mother’s Plight
She lives her life for her children
She will give her life for her children.
She works a full day, then comes home and ready herself for the second shift
The cook, cleaner, and caregiver
The disciplinarian and also the one who uplifts
She reads her Bible, and she prays
Amidst her struggle, she remains faithful to God
She never strays
Trustful in Him and His mysterious ways
She is the worker and the queen, one in the same
Remaining steadfast as the family’s foundation
Ever present, through the sun and the rain
But the cold corner, it catches souls
The mean streets breed monsters
But she raised a good boy
Did the very best she could with what she had
Yet it was never in the plans for her to raise a young man without his dad
But even with her King in prison
She is a woman of God, mindful of his wisdom
She is vibrant and beautiful
But despite all the glory of what she has done
At the end of the day, she is a mother
Worried about her son
— A Thread from Savage Land
Ronaldo Gilley 