The Secret Keeper

- "Canis lupus"

Late in the afternoon, I sat pondering in the concrete forest;

My thoughts wandering through the canopy, which was porous.

From my usual perch; I felt an unusual, lure of an ancient, alluring chorus.

Nine voices singing, tones rising and falling.

Nine times, I felt a drawing towards their calling.

Nine instances of my trepidation – stopping and stalling.

Like the tenth son, Sigmund, my body hung (as if upon a rung);

And like that honey-smeared descendant of the glorious Volsung,

By the tenth sun, from the mortal modern bonds – I was sprung.

Thus, in elation, I called out to the voices which spoke to me;

Desperate to have those spirits accept my plea, commitment in each knee,

Saying: “Provide my soul with the key, to unlock my mind, and set my spirit free”…

To this they, replied in, agree!

…Yet, they advised me, with a warning serenade

That: “Prior to ascertaining the next grade, you must first fade;

To have your conscious tried and weighed, by an ancient shade” – this, they bade.

So, before I knew it, I felt my attention dragged through a subconscious door.

I went past the threshold, of past fragments, and into something – more;

Old creations, and notes – runes reconstructed – grafted a fresh, new score.

I became the light, upwards, I (or the surrounding images) sped;

Within a jumbled tunnel, of sights and sounds, I traversed my head.

Abruptly, a flinch, a crash; and I saw only onyx, believing I was dead…

…However, I felt my vision swirl, in the endless streams of black.

I opened my eyes, at first, just cracked; and saw a sky’s mirror, looking back.

Disconcerted, one view was intact; a heavenly orb – I felt attract (a full Moon to be exact).

Patience, while I shall (poorly) attempt to express:

The deceptive perfection,

The perfect deception,

I had seen (at that time) in the strange wilderness.

Would – could – I describe the (still blurred) wood!

(The bewitchment, causes the pens voice to fail;

And any written portrayal, or comparison, is pale)

Like the environment, nothing illuminates where I stood.

As already stated, this area, was enveloped in night

(Save a sliver of shimmering silver light);

Therefore, to begin, could only sense sound.

Distant waves created the background;

Birch, Rowan, and Ash trees, swaying – so slight.

I also heard an owl in, her winged, flight.

Slowly, as my visual perception, had just begun to adjust

(My nostrils listening to the salty scent of the sea);

I noticed for the first time, the outline of the forest, I would see.

On some Weird sylvan island, I assumed I must be.

I attempted to deduce the location (the where),

And felt an overwhelming amnesia – no relief from scratching my hair.

After some time, I smelt smoke pervading the air;

Already forgotten my purpose, so I followed curiosity`s lust.

As I strode, a soft mist carpeted every step.

By only scents of direction, I was led, ahead I plowed;

As if, by a dread fervor, my form was swept.

The occasional screech, of the stalking owl, echoed aloud.

Her calls sliced, through the overall silence,

And cut into my courage – my intellect was in bitter defiance.

Regardless, the soles of my confused feet lunched;

On the bunched up dried leaves, which crunched – as toes munched.

Past Alder, Willow, and Hawthorne, I struggled – to remember how I came

To this plane, still forgetting all things – perplexed – my very name.

It was as if: some spying presence, against this would-be poet, plotted.

I walked further forward; and walls of fireflies, and insects, I swatted.

Eventually; the atmosphere, and toasted, smoke grew thicker.

I pressed on, and felt my pulse, and steps; both moving quicker.

I passed past lush flora, Oak, Holly, Hazel and Evergreen;

Beyond bushels of bushes, Vine, Ivy and the dikes in-between.

(Could I have recalled home, at that exact moment,

A splendid metaphor would have been evident – apparent: 

This grove was the crossroads of the world, on New Year’s Eve;

Before I go astray, through wild congestion I strayed, and continued to proceed).

Among the trees, their outlining, and fingers (which branched);

I followed the smell of cinder, to where a heavy vapor danced.

I cautiously drew closer; and noticed moonlight, joined another glow –

Among the crevices in branches, trunks, and thickets was brilliant shining show!

Ambers, citrines, sphenes, and rubies; shimmered, and flickered –

In my irises; the fire`s opal hues blazed, glimmered, and stickered.

Nearer, and nearer, the clearing; my ears heard logs crackling –

Clearer, and clearer, I was nearing; I thought, I heard cackling.  

“No…” I speculated, “…I`m fed up of my mind playing tricks”!

“Though…” my flesh, in the sticks, felt immersed in the river Styx.

“…Singing?” I noticed. I am unsure of what music Ulysses detected;

But, I reckoned that, this woman`s voice was: a sirens call – perfected.

My head, at that point in my journey, was in a total jumble;

Like, when an excess of punctuation, causes one to stumble.

I proceeded into a clearing, exiting out of the tree-line.

There, under the white Moon, I set my eyes on someone divine;

Next to the roaring fire, I saw a gorgeous woman`s back – nude.

I turned the sight, and cleared my throat, so as not to be rude.

Am I a man, and so; my chivalry, by instinct, was easily betrayed –

And these optics, peripherally, the sensually smooth body assayed.

In that instant, I felt as though, I was the father of Aeneas;

Like Venus, this Goddess, was elegant artistry – in a surplus.

The spirit of the fire danced, as the air began to blow, playing out taps;

And, these mortal eyes glanced at skin, as pure, as Olympus snow-caps.

Initially, she turned her head and reveled her pristine profile;

Her nose was hooked, and yet, her perfection was beyond denial.

Fresh blood, was the color of her moistened lips.

A bottle neck, was the shape of her barren hips.

Lapis lazuli’s sparkled, gemstones were her eyes;

While, mine traced the contour of her back, and thighs.

She subtly turned, completely, towards me – a full frontal perspective;

I mimicked, as well, all shy consideration – now shattered, and defective.

I was hypnotized by: the shapely mountains, and curved valley of her earth.

My flesh and bone tingled, invisible spiders, as I approached my full girth.

She began striding towards me with, an entrancing, crescent grin;

Under her spell, to the forest, all my adornments – were given.

The slim, champagne haired, deity took my hand; and led me, to her love den.

This journey, and memory (even, currently) is: that of the children of Hamelin.

I only remember: two together embraced, naked, coiled, and intertwined.

In ecstasy our carnal natures baked, bodies glistened soiled, and libidos were calcined.

Hands scratched and raked, reproductive plunders were spoiled, and the flesh was combined.

Our passion-making went on for an incalculable length – an eternity,

And though I felt only pure awe, and pleasure externally;

A foreboding terror, an ominous sense of error, filled each internal extremity.

I dismissed the cause, as that of surprise, and our potions were further mixed.

Obsessed with coitus, my entire essence was bound – to my master – transfixed;

Her legion of sutra tricks, her horde of curious licks, and her power kept me affixed.

Each break, we would lay; and she would play, grasping the haft.

On one occasion, my eyes grew wide with fear, and trembling;

Like two crazed madmen, my optics were opening, and resembling.

I felt (I would rather not say, but) two feelings: her lust on the shaft,

And the thrust of her jaws, upon my neck closing like jaws;

Her feasting on my throat, created an echoing applause.

Unaware, at first, my first reaction was that: of one blissfully daft.

It was not until, I noticed crimson sweat upon my chest;

That I sprung up in horror, realizing the trap of this fatal nest.

Her bite, had returned me to my better senses, and the cave`s aura switches:

Bloodstained bones, cobwebbed skulls, and splintered quills; lay in graves and ditches.

I wailed, the light became incense, and she transformed into many serpentine witches.

I stood in a pit of snakes; she stung me, with each repeated venomous addition.

My flesh rapidly swelled, my muscles – atrophy; and my soul was in perdition.

I fled, propelled, and impelled – solely by epinephrine, despite my poisoned condition.

I sprinted, but like a hare through the forest, she gave chase.

In horror, I screamed out, hopelessly – beyond any form of grace.

Running full speed, ahead; beneath an Elder Tree, I noticed a space.

My eyelids were starting to close, as I approached the only point of concealment.

I thought, I would reach the spot without a dent, when my back felt an indent.

Bones shattered, blood vessels burst, as her javelin hands puncture without relent.

It sounded like hail beating down on the roof of an automobile;

Each new puncture, boiled and spewed; fresh flesh, from the oven stuck with steel.

My gait as I approached the voids gate, was spiraling like the twist of a citrus peel.

Sobbing, sweating profusely, panting substantially, and throbbing in the hole I dove.

The depth was unexpected; and scared, scarred, and desperate descending I drove.

I was Alice, in anguish as I kept tumbling; aware and unaware downward my carcass would rove.

Upon reaching the root of the root, the bottom of that curious chute;

I lay broken on the base, and through cracked eyes, I noticed a short pathway.

The end of the channel appeared to lead back to my body

Standing, although dying and decaying; I hurried, feeling life left - stray.

I met, with one more test, one last spectacle of pure insanity;

A resolute wind began to shoot, trying to blow me back to, those in pursuit.

I heard the hags harrowing cries, and fought the infernal wind, which continued to rise.

My eyes closed, and I fell again; crawling, clawing towards the portal, before all hope dies.

In my heart, then I quit; but, ahead, I heard the low verses of my nine nymph allies.

Through a final push of the volition (I couldn`t hope to replicate), I gave my last breath to return.

Life from death, to my former position; against the winds of hate, every fiber burned.

In one last gasping effort; the foolish, frail Will revolved, and the spirit through (the door) returned.

Back into my normal reality I fell (mentally spent, but unharmed) strengthened by what I learned.

I sat still, smiling; although the meaning of the dreaming – I still struggle to discern.

Composed By: A.D.