Enjoy this bit of Dr. Seuss meets H.P. Lovecraft as we slide into the Halloween season. I suggest reading the piece before listening to how I imagined it so your own interpretation has a chance to exist for comparison sake, but you be you.
Let's begin.
They flapped and they twitched and they
crawled and they shambled,
They slithered and they dug and they ran
and they scrambled.
Out of basements and pits and from under
small beds,
Out of tombs and of caves and from out
troubled heads.
It was called The Tide of All Horrors in
the days before writing,
A monster army marching fast under
moon’s pallid lighting.
The chattering horde traveled as one to
gather at Court,
Their Lord had called to them a command
no power could thwart.
A time of accounting had once more come
again,
The Throne wished to behold Its kingdom
without end.
“Tell me of the world, and of Man, and
the things Man cannot see.
Tell me of your frights, your gifts, and
of the horrors to be.”
To their Caesar each gave a piece to the
puzzle of His land,
All spoke in a manner that only He could
understand.
The final ghoul had gibbered when their
Lord suddenly roared,
“There is one who has not yet come
forward from the depths of my horde!”
Walls thick as suffering flinched from
the anger in his word,
Once proud legions cowered low turning horde
into herd.
…the silent fear of millions pleased That
Which Sits Upon the Blood Throne…
“I obey, oh Terrible Sovereign who sits
above all!”
“Please spare me your rage for I was merely
crossing your Hall.”
Arachnids to zombies searched for the source
of the sound,
All hunted upwards and sideways and then
toward the ground.
Under gorgons, around hooves, and
through fungus covered wings,
Moved a piece of a wisp of a sliver of a
thing.
The King looked down upon this new denizen
of night,
“Tell us, small terror, of your gifts
and of your might.”
“I have none, oh Bloody Lord, as you know
quite well.
My name will never be carved with the Honored
of Hell.”
“So slight that I am, I fall far from any
sight.
I have not great jaws for the flesh to
bite.”
“The doors of homes, I cannot rend.
The wills of minds, I cannot bend.”
“Faith in Heaven I cannot uproot.
This monstrous existence I do not suit!”
Their mighty Lord howled at the small
one’s word,
Lo! To His anger, His laughter was worse
to be heard!
“You moved unseen by predators built for
night.
You moved unheard by lurkers who stalk without
sight
“Your words betray a fast and nimble mind.
So why have you left your gifts
unrefined?”
“I, whose name means death to Angel and
Elder God,
Want to know why you treat your existence
as a fraud.”
The Great Rending Thing’s glare bore
down upon the speck,
A weight like dirt and stone and darkness
fell hard upon its neck.
“I… I… listen and obey, my Wise and
Noble King.
Find bounty in bane for my true self to
bring.”
The Little Thing waited. It did not
move. No Thing moved.
…the fear of the Little Thing pleased
That Which Sits Upon the Blood Throne…
The chattering horde traveled as one to
scatter from Court,
Their Lord dispelled them with a command
no power could thwart.
Alone, It settled into dream realms of
terror after its little talk,
Moving easily as only the ruler of
Cain’s children can walk.
It will sleep and plan and plot for
centuries or more,
But Lo! What is that silent wisp creeping
under its closed door?
“Your words were true but only to build
a better beast to whip.
Sowing seeds is dangerous, my Lord, as your
aim may err and slip.”
“So sleep, oh precious Lord, in your far
and airy places.
Grow I shall before pushing sharp knives
into your soft places.”
It was teeny and tiny as a monster could
be,
But It never NEVER forgot that a MONSTER
it be.
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