the adventures (from frederick and the enchantress – dance drama)

  (i) introduction

  his home in ruins
  his parents gone
  frederick seeks
  to reclaim his throne

   to the golden mountain
   he sets his path
   the enchantress listening
   schemes with wrath

  four desperate trials
  which she takes from store
  to silence frederick
  for ever more

 (ii) the mist

  softly mist suppress all sight
  swirling stealthily as night
  slur the sureness of his steps
  suffocate his sweetest hopes
  swirling curling slip and slide
  persuasively seduce his stride

  from following its essential course
  seal his senses at its source
  bemuse the soil he stands upon
  till power of choice has wholly gone
  seething surreptitious veil
  across the face of light prevail
  against this taciturn and proud
  insurgent - o smother him swift cloud

  yet if you cannot steal his breath
  thus snuffing him to hasty death
  at least in your umbrageous mask
  stifle his ambitious task
  mystify his restless brain
  sweep him swirl him home again


 (iii) the bog

  once more the muffling mists enclose
  frederick in their vaporous throes
  forcing him with unseeing sway
  to veer from his intended way

  back they push and back
  make him fall
  stumble catch
  his foot become
  emmired snatch
  hopelessly at fog
  no grip slip further back
  into the sucking fingers of the bog
  into the slush

  squelching and splotch-
  ing the marsh
  gushes and gurgles
  engulfing foot leg
  chuckling suckles
  the heaving thigh
  the plush slugged waist
  sucking still and still flushing
  with suggestive slurp
  plop slap
  sluggishly upwards
  unctuous lugubrious
  soaking and enjoying
  with spongy gestures
  the swallowed wallowing
  body - the succulence
  of soft shoulder
  squirming
  elbow
  wrist
  then
  all.
.
.
.
.
.
.


  but no
  his desperate palm
  struggling to forsake
  the clutches of the swamp
  finds one stark branch overhanging
  to fix glad fingers to and out of the maw
  of the murderous mud safely delivers him



 (iv) the magic forest

  safely - distorted joke
  from bog to twisted forest
  gnarled trees writhe and fork
  asphixiated trunks - angular branches
  hook claw throttle frederick in their creaking
  joints
   jagged weird
  knotted and misshapen
  petrified maniacal
  figures frantically contorted
  grotesque eccentric in the moon-toothed
  half-light
  tug clutch struggle
  with the haggard form
  zigzag he staggers
  awe-plagued giddy
  near-garrotted mind-deranged
  forcing his sagging limbs through the mangled danger

  till almost beyond redemption beyond self-care
  he once again survives to breathe free air


 (v) the barrier of thorns

  immediately a barrier of thorns
  springs up to choke his track
  thick brier evil bramble twitch
  stick sharp needles in his skin
  hag's spite inflicts its bitter sting
  frederick (provoked to attack
  stung stabbed by jabbing spines
  wincing with agony and grief) seeks to hack
  a clear way through
     picking swinging at
  the spiky barricade inch by prickly inch
  smarting with anger bristling with a thin
  itch and tingling of success - acute
  with aching glory the afflicted victim
  of a witch's pique frederick
  frederick the king snips hews chops
  rips slashes cracks cleaves rends pierces
  pierces and shatters into pointless pieces
  this mighty barrier of barbs - comes through at last
  (belzivetta's malignant magic smashed)
  to freedom peace of mind and dreamless sleep

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