‘Will you take us upon your back, and gently glide,
down to Juhee valley, away from this hillside?’
‘Yes my friend, I am delighted to give you aid,
but hold on very tightly, and do not be afraid.’
So it is, Daventh The Merciless takes them down,
Minty’s beard blows up, down, around and around,
but they land at the start of an eerie dell,
this is the point Kira and Daventh say farewell.
Kira says to Minty, ‘You must go on alone,
this is your responsibility now, to seek out the unknown,
Daventh and I cannot continue, you see,
we are not allowed into the Valley of Juhee,
remain on the path through the dell, and you cannot
come to any harm,
but stay out of the trees, they are cursed by magic charm,
this will be the last time we speak,
so farewell my friend, may you find all you seek.’
‘Wait!’ Minty cries, ‘Please, you cannot go,
there is still much that I need to know,
where am I going? What will I do?
I still need help from both of you.’
Daventh moves forward saying, ‘Kira is right,
only you can now resolve your plight,
find Juhee, tell her your tale,
you must be brave along your trail,
when you find Juhee, please speak of my shoes,
I would love some more, as my feet cut and bruise.’
And with that, Kira and Daventh fly away,
leaving Minty alone, her mind in dismay and disarray,
she takes the path deep into the dell,
nearing the end, Minty encounters a wonderful smell,
the aroma of summer flowers fills the air,
Minty steps out from the dell, and Juhee valley is there.
Across the land purple and white flowers sway in a
breeze,
she sets forth into the flowers, that stand just above her
knees,
the white flowers are small, many petalled in clusters
of three,
the purple flowers are larger, looking like a bell to you
and me,
Minty hums a tune as she walks through,
strangely, she feels quite happy despite not knowing
what to do.
Then she stops, upon hearing feint sounds,
bell like noises grow louder all around,
Minty sees the bell like flowers move at will,
freely in all directions, as Minty stands perfectly still,
a crescendo of bell sounds ring out,
a ring, ding and a tinkle, an alarm call no doubt.
The bells stop ringing, their toll is done,
tiny purple and white fairies rise from the flowers, each
and every one,
all the fairies are identical, and slowly morph together,
to make a solid Fae form, a sight to truly bewilder,
Minty cannot believe what she sees,
as the fairies now transform into the earth elemental,
Juhee.
JUHEE’S WHEEL
Standing before Minty is a figure, elegant and fine,
she smiles at Minty, an angelic figure so divine,
the earth elemental Juhee is here,
she radiates tranquillity, Minty feels no fear,
everything about Juhee is white and purple,
she is one with the land, created within its cradle,
Juhee is a magical entity, living as one with the flowers,
a force of nature, with special powers.
Juhee wears an ankle length, light purple gown,
long white, wavy waist length hair, falls gently down,
between her wings, almost transparent,
she is of fairy folk, it is now apparent,
Juhee’s hair dances and sways in the breeze,
a beautiful creation, made from a thousand fairies,
soft and gentle features, skin of purple and white,
that is always moving, but only slight,
her eyes however, have a hint of green,
they look down upon Minty, but do not demean.
Juhee smiles at Minty, then does say,
‘Why have you come to my lands this day?’
Minty explains her journey undertaken,
from farm to present, the reasons for Juhee to reawaken.
Minty says, ‘Please, I beg, can you help me?
You are my only hope to set me free.’
‘I can help,’ replies Juhee, ‘But a price must be paid,
for I need help myself, before I can give you aid,
come with me, let us meander,
through the grass and sweet smelling bellflower.’
They both walk quite a long way,
deep into the valley, about halfway,
a hill either side rises high into the sky,
protecting a temple like structure sitting nearby,
eight marble like columns surround a square,
again, marble like, raised off the ground by single stair,
both vine and flower have taken root,
purple and white flora, a covering absolute.
Juhee leads Minty inside,
where a single item sits, invisible from the outside,
an old wooden framework, stands upon three legs,
below is a foot pedal, on top stand three tall pegs,
’tis an old fashioned machine to make yarn and string,
’tis a spinning wheel, a charming and graceful thing,
but something is wrong, it is incomplete,
the wheel is missing, the machine now obsolete.
Minty asks, ‘What is this device I see?
Is this what you will use to help me?’
‘Yes,’ replies Juhee, ‘This is what I must use,
but for an age it has lain idle, fallen into disuse,
with it I would create thread and string,
to make finery, fit for queen and king,
as I sat upon stool, spinning each thread,
blessings of the flowers I would embed,
but now the wheel that drives it has been stolen,
by the creature Scobberlotcher, a creation of abomination.’
Minty says, ‘So you cannot help, I am utterly forsaken,
to lead me here, Kira was sadly mistaken.’
‘No, all is not lost, but it is up to you,
for any chance of transforming back into a ewe,
but you must promise to give me a hand,
to break the spell, and your body to withstand,
the enchantment placed upon your soul,
and free yourself of a leprechaun’s control.
You must go and retrieve the wheel,
from Scobberlotcher castle, a frightening ordeal,
but be warned, you may never return,
forever trapped, your freedom, an eternity to yearn.’
Minty asks, ‘Why should I retrieve the wheel?’
‘Because I do not need it, you do to heal,
you must help me to set you free,
return the wheel, your freedom I guarantee,
so, I ask again, will you give me a helping hand,
the answer you give is a binding command.’
Minty pauses, as if on reflection,
‘I have no choice,’ she says in much dejection.
‘What does the wheel look like? Where will it be?
If I am to retrieve it, then you must help me.’
Juhee replies, ‘I know not where the wheel will sit,
only that you must search the castle to find it,
the wheel is wooden, with ten crafted spindles within,
maybe the Scobberlotcher has its own device, and the
wheel sits therein.’
‘I shall go,’ says Minty, ‘And find the wheel,
although I do not like to steal.’
Juhee says, ‘You do not steal, the wheel is mine,
the thief Scobberlotcher holds it by malevolent design,
go now, take the pathway through my land,
until a large amphitheatre appears at hand,
take the steps to the ground below,
pass through the dark entrance, for the way to go,
follow this path, then climb the stone tower,
the rest is up to you, my blessings I empower.
The last piece of advice I give,
will see you either die or live,
listen closely to what I say,
for you have only one chance to reach the
Scobberlotcher’s hideaway.
A light against the dark, lay upon twinkling blanket,
sitting forever, proud and exquisite,
silver light shines behind yonder castle,
rising up slowly, for stones to assemble,
the path to the castle, cannot be seen,
patience is needed, for the light to glean,
step onto the light, always moving, never still,
there you must remain until,
the next step forwards is revealed,
out from the darkness, no longer concealed.’
Juhee smiles, then says goodbye,
her body explodes as a thousand fairies fly,
into the air, flittering and fluttering around,
throughout the valley, purple and white fairies are abound.
THE AMPHITHEATRE
Minty sets forth, once again into the unknown,
for the first time in a long while, she is alone,
as she walks through the valley, heading for the stone
tower,
a haze of Juhee fairies surround her, before finding
their flower,
’tis late afternoon, but the sun is still quite bright,
nearing the end of the valley, an amphitheatre comes
into sight.
The theatre appears to be very well kept,
sloping tiers of seats, look freshly swept,
it stands before a tall rock wall,
the only way forwards is through a foreboding dark hole,
out from this hole, large green frogs emerge then scatter,
before taking a seat, and all sitting together.
They start to hum and sing their own song,
as if waiting for something else to come along,
then, here it comes out from the dark,
a large beetle struts into the arena, and pauses to hark,
completely red, with two blue antennae,
it approaches the frogs, who silence immediately.
Minty is intrigued so takes a seat, without them
knowing,
she watches silently, as a performance gets going,
the beetle conducts the frogs masterfully with each
antennae,
a sublime frog chorus fills the amphitheatre beautifully,
they sing as one, a perfect choir,
Minty is so happy for this to transpire,
time passes quickly, Minty is enthralled,
when the performance ends, she stands to applaud.
But the skies have darkened, a storm looms overhead,
lightning strikes the theatre, filling the frogs and beetle
with dread,
large raindrops fall, gently at first,
before quickly turning into a tempestuous cloudburst,
both frog and beetle make haste from the arena,
oblivious to Minty, not having seen her.
And so, Minty stands in the rain, soaking wet,
hair and beard cascade with many a rain droplet,
lightning strikes again, thunder rumbles all around,
Minty begins to take the steps down,
into the arena, to leave this place,
she trudges onwards, then vanishes through the dark space.
THE LOST CHILDREN
As soon as she enters, Minty is passed through,
into marshland, her quest to continue,
a lily clad lake dominates the land,
surrounded by marshes, a great distance spanned,
but there is no shelter for Minty to rest and take cover,
she keeps moving onwards, her path yet to discover.
Night time is falling, Minty sees a pathway
alongside the lake,
a storm rages, darkening skies light up and the ground
does shake,
the great hole that punctures the sky,
lights up spectacularly, as lightning strikes to electrify.
Minty’s path leads to the end of the marshes,
where she stands looking down, at vast expanses,
of a scary landscape far below,
her path is now clear, laid out is the way to go,
in the distance, Scobberlotcher castle sits upon tall
mountain,
the stone tower stands close by, surrounded by hissing
fountain,
a reservoir of steam and vapour rise up, to shroud the
tower,
a product of this land’s natural power.
For either side of the castle, rivers flow,
one of ice and one of fire, that meet down below,
they join at the foot of the mountain,
a violent collision creates a spectacular cauldron,
this protects the castle, there is no way to pass,
just a steaming, troubling bubbling mass.
The tower itself is a jagged red stone column,
rising mountain high, but between castle and tower is
a chasm,
a strong wind now drives the rain,
taunting Minty, as it howls around the harsh terrain.
How can Minty reach the ground below?
There is no way forward, no path to follow,
but a flash of lightning then reveals the way,
hiding in the gloom, sits a hidden passageway,
this leads to old stone steps, carved into the land,
that descend precariously down to the lowland.
Down Minty goes, as careful as can be,
trying not to slip on steps covered in algae,
the night time darkness will soon invite,
itself over the land, to swallow the light,
but there is still a fragment of daylight to spare,
just enough for Minty to safely descend the stair.
She reaches the bottom, onto a land of rock and
stone,
Minty has a feeling, that she is not alone,
but she is alone, who else could be here?
upon walking towards the tower, she does hear,
music upon the wind, in the encroaching night,
she has heard this before, it gave her a fright,
whilst staring at the stars, from Daventh’s den,
the music grows louder, just the same as then.
Minty nears a narrow bridge, leading to the tower,
over and through the land’s raw power,
lightning flashes while angry thunder crashes,
as Minty steps onto the bridge, she stops and glimpses,
ghostly figu
res rising within the vapour,
she steps slowly backwards, as this frightens her,
more and more figures appear inside the hissing haze,
they glow slightly, Minty freezes with fascinated gaze.
A hundred or more gradually start to appear,
then, out from the haze, the figures start to near,
the figures are human, but only small,
they are just children, each one and all,
the children seem whole, but are they real?
Their body is dissolved, almost ethereal,
boy and girl alike, glow softly in the night,
looking sad and lonely, enduring a cursed plight.
Each child wears a white hospital gown,
different styles from across the ages, now ripped, torn
and stained brown,
all the children stop, to just stand and stare,
then, one walks forward who has no hair,
this child is the tallest, maybe the oldest one too,
through the lightning, it nears the gnome once a ewe.
The child is a boy, maybe ten years old,
his Victorian gown is threadbare, speckled with mould,
he stands before Minty, a ghost in the night,
then speaks of the children, and their horrifying plight,
‘I am Augustine, are you here to set us free?
To break our bonds, for our souls to flee.’
Minty is shocked and unsure what to say,
looking around at the children, who look on in dismay,
haunting music on the wind grows louder still,
what Augustine says next, upsets Minty and gives her a
chill,
‘The music you hear, comes from castle upon the
mountain,
’tis Scobberlotcher’s home, a place of terror and abduction,
the music is enchanted, upon a spinning wheel it is
played,
as the wheel spins a thread from a child so afraid,
the wheel spins slowly, removing the child’s hair,
as the Scobberlotcher laughs, while sitting upon chair,
once all the hair is gone, and its thread spent,
the Scobberlotcher leaves, with wicked intent.
For the thread it spun and music made,
is a lure and a trap for children, that cannot be disobeyed,
it is beguiled by the Scobberlotcher’s hands,
to entice children’s souls from far away lands,
as they lay in hospital, in sleep that cannot be woken,
lost in a void, while their body lay sick and broken,
The Lambshank Redemption Page 6