Lycanthrope (returns)

“Blue Wolf” drawn with ink on paper by Sanford Ross Bender
“Lycanthrope ” composed and performed with vocals, guitar, concertina, and banjo by Sanford Ross Bender on August 7, 2026.

Lycanthrope

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Darting furtively through the mist,

Cursed under lunar brightness,

The valiancy of my heart,

Slashed by razor teeth,

Became my darkest side.

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Evil enclosing,

My nocturnal lair,

Mud tracked prints,

Find me sprawled,

In the dawn of twisted sheets,

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Like tormented trees,

Gnarled from remembering,

What blackened life,

Is forever gone.

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But only the music,

Of wind and owls,

And the crackling rain,

Had abided my incessant howls,

Until yet another night,

When gliding clouds,

Reveal another full newness of moon.

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-Poem by Sanford Ross Bender

A sturdy heart

“Chair Pond Head, Petit Manan Wildlife Refuge – Hollingsworth Trail, Maine” photographed by Sanford Ross Bender on July 7, 2024.
“A sturdy heart” composed and performed with harmonica, guitar, and slide guitar by Sanford Ross Bender on July 9, 2024.

Your thoughtfulness

“Tiny landscape” painted with watercolors by Sanford Ross Bender
“Your thoughtfulness” composed and performed witrh guitar by Sanford Ross Bender on December 16, 2023

Once I had a sweetheart (roughly interpreted)

Once I had a sweetheart (roughly interpreted) on guitar by Sanford Ross Bender on November 1, 2022

This traditional song of which I only play guitar was most memorably played and sung by Bert Jansch on his record album entitled “Rosemary Lane”. Bert Jansch (since gone from this world) was probably more influencial than many other musicians on my psyche (human mind, soul, and spirit). My improvised version is imperfect and perhaps flawed in its brevity, but nevertheless is expressive of the vulnerability that is revealed in matters of the heart. S.R.B.

“Poinsetta, Holly and Pine” drawn and painted with ink and watercolor by Sandy Ross Bender