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The Cyrillic Runestone

A journeyman once spelunked in a cavern beneath a marsh, Whose oily layers of algae and water made his mission harsh. For the cavern's entrance stood in the middle of the massive swamp Full of gators with sawtooth mouths which would gulp you in one chomp. His goal was to determine whether some stories are really true Of a stone inside the cave inscribed with cyrillic magic runes. A Ukranian, the man had known the foreign alphabet Which he needed to decrypt the words on the stone beneath the wet. Carried voices claim that in Russian script the stone had read Three words pronounced in Roman letters: legkiy, vody and breth. The man knew what these three words had really meant, In order from left to right, they had read: light, water and breath. Having trounced across the swamp avoiding being torn to shreds He proceeded through the hidden hole which to the cave it lead. Darkness devoured him as he was swallowed by the hollow rock Whose stalactite teeth dripped and dropped as the seeker walked. His lantern's flame danced in flckered circles upon the limestone walls And guided him towards a tunnel which to him, it seemed, it called. Chancing his intuition, the man meandered down the passage Slowly and desperately yet with somewhat clairvoyant advantage. For the tunnel he had chosen lead him to an illuminated room By sunlight which snuck between the cracks of the cavern's gloom. In the center of the chamber was a triangular shapen stone With three words ablaze in sunlight, the cyrillic script was shown. Water, breath and light read upon the igneous structure Which formed when volcanic domes beneath the cave had ruptured. The origin of the inscription had not yet become known For this man was the first to lay eyes upon the words which had glown. As he gazed upon the words in wonder and confusion He felt as if he were waiting for some sort of trick or illusion. Then, as curiosity crept from his cranium, his head began to hum And he felt a violent burn upon his arms which were growing numb. Water began to fall within the room and the cave began to collapse To the horror struck unlucky man who was stuck inside this trap. Swampy water surrounded the man who began to heave And after submerged beneath the liquid, he realized he could breathe! For the runes upon the stone had granted him three gifts of might The ability to breathe in water and to see in darkness without light. Now he lives beneath the cave, Helping those in need of being saved.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2017




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Date: 2/20/2017 5:07:00 PM
An engaging adventure of a write! A poem worthy of a beckoning for movie rights ;) that was deep fun, thank you! mo
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B. Joseph Fitzsimons
Date: 2/20/2017 5:43:00 PM
glad you liked it, Maureen!

Book: Shattered Sighs