One dark afternoon, a dark afternoon
A shadow streaked quick through the fields
Where rain had wet and winds had swept
All was peaceful except where it leapt
The ground fizzled and burned,
Flowers shrivelled and withered
From green to black they turned
All life had ceased and hardened
It crept beside the footpath,
Under the bridge and over the trees
Where birds dropt from atop
T’was a lifeless menagerie
Then finally the scent was strong
And it leapt with greater strides still
If you listened carefully, you could surely hear its song
It would definitely give you a chill
And now the cursed house was in sight
Where the cursed ones dug a grave of their plight
Not earth, not water, but they demanded flight
So blinded and greeded by the tempts of might
There in a circle they sat breaths abated
Their hands clasped round the other’s
And their pulses united, seven souls mated
As they waited for the hour, t’was fated
Off went the lights, and there was no flicker
Then the room was filled with a chill
As it approached you could hear faintly its snicker
Was it too low or too shrill?
The damned souls sat, and still they waited,
For a circus show was not what they wanted.
Blood had been shed, an altar created
Their intentions could be no more blatant.
First one voice started, and the others joined chorus,
The call to invoke the Evil.
More flesh was cut and still more red dripped;
Seven souls, sins, all in a swirl.
It laughed and it cackled at the amusing display
And swooped around for a bit more.
It brushed their black hearts and kissed on their tongues
For now was the time to play.
–
“Come forth holy spirit
And grant us thy presence
So is our wish upon thee
Such is the want of thy children
“Five cups we’ve shed
And five more at speed
Thus far we’ve been led
By the guidance of the script”
Then again:
“Come forth holy spirit
(oh no i’m not holy)
And grant us thy presence
(you are undeserving)
So is our wish upon thee
(you wish? you wish?! you wish!!)
Such is the want of thy children
(i never did burden you weaklings)
“Five cups we’ve shed
(for what have you bled?)
And five more at speed
(who are you trying to feed)
Thus far we’ve been led
(not by me unto me)
By the guidance of the script”
(but by fools to a foolish end)
So it cackled once more, amused for sure,
At the actions of these puny mice.
As they kept chanting it rose one last time
Before bleaching their souls with his ice.
They gaped and they choke, all eyes uprolled,
As the creeping of freezing took control
Bodies fell back and tongues fell out
As their spring were bent back, what a toll!
What white and what red emerged from their eyes,
Ears, mouth and every hole
As the spirit caressed in its gentle arrest
While tightening its unending hold.
Their bodies were broken and crumpled and bloated
The pain that no human has felt!
Nor dreamt of feeling, much less comprehending,
And yet they stirred and they knelt!
From head hanging back and arms falling slack,
To the white of the eyes and loll of the tongue
Nay, was this them, this great upset
But the pulling on the string by the master.
Too much anguish, it did not vanish
Their souls threatened to escape
But the cold hands pulled and kept them in
To endure more pain, what a fate!
They bled and they bled,
And their bones burst within,
As bodies became useless bags,
With nothing but lumpish filling.
Then when it had bored itself of this fun,
Out came the souls, violently flung
Down fell the bodies from their position
And silently the corpses wept.
The seven souls waited, still burning, still hurting,
As they were snatched up by the head
In grasp of one giant unforgiving claw
Of the force that they foolishly reckoned.
“They have been punished and taken, my master
All ready to act at your bidding”
“Then come, my son, you have done enough,
I have other tasks that are more fitting”
Through darkest earth and blackest space
The seven corrupt whispers were dragged
To a place of more howls, a very strange place
The home of the damned and the butchered.
There they were tossed, onto a burning heap
To await whatever next came.
Verily their suffering would be naught but unending
To toil every day by the flame.
Cursed in life, cursed in death,
Every bit of existence was stained.
When much had been given, more had been desired:
That was the start of their game
That would lead to no end that a sane man would recommend,
That would stir others to repent
Had they seen what lay await,
What, do you think, would have been?
–
Now their bodily remains by found by some chance,
By a fellow, oh dear how unlucky!
But then he would know the dangers that mask
Behind all that is nice and shiny
He retched and he cried at the sight of the mess,
Of pink and of white, red and insides,
Laid about bones and some skin,
Eyes all burnt from within.
Quickly he ran to the town crier’s house,
Where the holy man was also close by.
He told of his finding, so hard he was crying,
“Someone tear the putrid sight from mine eyes!”
“Come now young man, you shall have a bath
In holy water as I say prayer.
Remember, however, God has you preserved
For He has ensured you will remember
“Remember that He is the only Light,
And we only turn to Him.
Remember that no good can come from another,
For He is the one True Creator.”
“Yes I’ll remember, I won’t ever forget,
That He is the only Creator
God bless, how I recall what I would have done
Just a day after this!
“I am a poor man, there is much that I want,
Yet nothing has come from my prayers.
I was so desperate, so very intent
On turning to the Damned one for pittance!
“Oh thank you my Lord, for bringing me back,
And showing me the harsh consequences of my would-be act.
I nearly forgot, and nearly leapt off
To the path of no deliverance.”
The man had his bath, then a hot meal (he ate quick),
Then the three of them set off from there.
The town crier he did, what only he could do,
And soon the whole town was aquiver.
The tale had been told, the word had been spread,
What a fair warning to the people, too.
All day and all night, the town was abuzz
With the tale of the wretched crew.
On the next day, just before dawn,
A group marched on to the house
(That wretched house)
With torches and oil and holy books
(As they marched to the wretched old house)
They were solemn and walked in silence,
Each praying in his heart
(For who knows what lurked in that wretched house?)
For protection, for forgiveness
(As well as for the wretched ones).
As they silently trudged out of town
They finally came to it and wasted no time,
Oiling the path to be burned,
Chanting their prayers in unison,
Lighting the torches and casting the flame,
To send back to hell what stubbornly came,
To clean up the land and to make it safe,
Ridding the evil and bringing in pureness,
And clearing the mess deep within,
The mess of once people now abominations,
No one would set eyes on those villains,
And the earth would not take their remains.
The task was complete,
They made their retreat,
And walked in the glow of the sun.
18/9/09