poor Minty sits down, all hope bereft,
she is so scared and worn out, no energy left.
Then, the death bell echoes around the dungeon,
silence, Minty waits in fearful apprehension,
then they start, screams of agony and torment,
she covers her ears, but the screams disorient,
her mind spins, she grows weaker and weaker,
Minty slumps to the floor, where sleep overcomes her.
SETKA
Minty sleeps soundly and the hours pass by,
but something stirs, there is movement nearby,
in front of Minty’s cell, the ground rumbles and vibrates,
she starts to wake as the sound dominates,
as she stands up the cell starts to shake,
what is happening? Minty wonders, “Is it an earthquake?”
The shaking stops, and the rumbling relents,
but movement on the floor increases Minty’s discontent,
outside her cell, the floor starts to bubble,
what a carry-on! Even more trouble!
Rising up, out from the dungeon floor,
a boy’s bold head, with blue eyes to adore,
still the boy rises, skin of golden brown,
chest and torso show, out from the ground,
he continues to rise, wearing a loin cloth only,
until he stands fully, looking haggard and bony,
his body is scarred, from fang and claw,
raked across his body, faded and not sore,
he is neither man nor boy, the in between years,
slowly changing, as the boy within disappears.
The boy stares at Minty, then gives her a smile,
she hopes he will not be hostile,
a ‘clunk’ of the lock and the cell door is open,
another chance to escape her abduction,
Minty leaves the cell, then stands before the boy,
who is he? Maybe a demon’s ploy,
sent to torment and cause misery,
to incite torture and brutality.
‘I know who you are,’ says the boy, ‘And why you
are here,
please trust me, you have nothing to fear,
for by helping you steal the wheel,
all but two trapped souls, will end their ordeal,
once the wheel is removed from within the castle,
the grasp of the Scobberlotcher, is then impossible,
’tis the wheel and thread, that gives the beast its power,
to lure and trap children’s souls, easy to overpower.’
Minty asks, ‘Who are you? Why are you here?
Will you be freed if the wheel is to disappear?’
‘Alice and I will remain for all eternity,
as the monster’s grasp reaches unto infinity,
while the monster lives, and draws breath,
we cannot pass into the lands beyond death,
the castle must fall, be utterly destroyed,
for us to leave this forever void,
Scobberlotcher and the castle are one, so as one they
must fall,
but death to the beast shall never befall.
My name is Setka, ‘the one forgotten,’
as the demon has unremembered my abduction,
I come from lands of pyramids, palaces filled with gold,
feats of engineering, truly wondrous to behold,
I am a pharaoh’s son, sworn to protect,
but the Lycanthrope came, showing no respect,
man, woman and child, slaughtered for fun,
a fierce battle then ensued, fortunately we won.
I fought a great white werewolf as best I could,
and tried bravely to protect my families blood,
but its savagery was beyond compare,
I failed my duty to defend those there,
somehow I survived, and taken to The Temple of Sleep,
as my body was broken, with savage injuries so very deep,
there, the high priests then enchanted a spell,
to send my soul to where the protective gods dwell,
for while my body was to heal and recover,
the deity, Osiris would protect me under his cover,
but Osiris was too late to protect my soul,
as out from the underworld Scobberlotcher came and
stole.
Minty asks, ‘May I ask about Alice? The only one with hair,
she is unafraid of the demon, and appears to give it a scare,
Alice says she once knew how to hurt the monster,
there could still be hope of escaping our abductor.’
Setka replies, ‘Any hope was lost, through torment
and torture,
Scobberlotcher’s brutality extracted something from her,
you see, Alice was no ordinary child,
she was special, her soul blessed and beguiled,
a divine light shone from within,
as though an angel hid therein,
but the demon did its job well,
the divine light within Alice, now does not dwell.
But, there is something about her hair,
to spin it, Scobberlotcher does not dare,
alas, this secret is now long forgotten in the past,
we two shall remain, bound together to everlast.’
Minty asks, ‘What of those who are now banished?
Flung down the mountainside, but yet remain anguished.’
‘They too, will be free, with the monster’s bonds broken,
to claim release, and find their absolution,
however, only you can set the children free,
a most unexpected appointee,
I fear though, that you will probably die along the way,
but you will certainly die in the cell some day,
do not give the beast an easy soul,
your fate and destiny are still in your control,
continue your journey, reclaim Juhee’s wheel,
defy the odds! Hear the Scobberlotcher squeal!
Follow me, I shall show you the way,
the path to take, to find the ascension gateway.’
SOFT HANDS UPON HARD ROCK
So, Setka leads Minty away from the cell,
they both have many tales to tell,
through darkened corridors, beyond cells used to
torture and terrorize,
up from the bowels of Scobberlotcher castle they rise,
suddenly, feint sounds echo in the gloom,
distant but clear, throughout the lost souls tomb,
a relentless chorus; chip, chip, tap, tap, chinkerty-chink,
“What can that be?” Minty does think.
Soon they reach some steep, slimy, stone stairs,
this passage is dank and dark, but ahead a dull light flares,
they walk together, side by side,
stopping at the top, before a tall chamber ever so wide,
the walls are solid, no windows in sight,
a fearful gloom prevails, the chamber feels sad without
any daylight,
’tis a circular place, walls of shiny black,
lit from below somehow, a dimly lit shroud rises taking
Minty aback.
The chamber is floorless, just a hole in the ground,
but there is a way across the chasm newly found,
before them a wide walkway sits upon single span arch,
leading to an ornate gateway, bedecked with flowers of
March,
hyacinth, daffodils, crocuses too,
a round wooden door, built into the rock,
Minty’s way forward, is hers and hers alone to unlock.
Setka and Minty walk towards the gate,
a golden glow from below helps to negate,
chip, chip, chip, chiperty-chip,
sounds rise up from below, sounds of hardship,
metal against rock, soft hands upon metal,
the collapse of rock, broken and brittle,
a chorus of noise grows yet louder,
Minty is bewildered, and wants an answer.
She says, ‘What is that noise? Who makes it so?
Tell me, I would really like to know.’
Setka leads Minty to the edge of the walkway,
to view a scene of distress and dismay,
down below, to the right and to the left,
are hostages of Scobberlotcher’s theft.
Zig-zag stairways are being built into the walls,
carved out by hand, by the demon’s thralls,
children work with chisel, axe and hammer,
striking rock all day, this is Minty’s answer.
Both stairways descend far, far below,
down through a haze coloured by fireglow,
the children struggle with heavy loads,
of chippings in baskets, brutal is their workload,
these are carried from bottom to top,
before tipping them over, into the bottomless drop.
Setka says, ‘The children have no escape, this is
their fate,
slaves to the monster, each day will never abate,
each day their hands are cut, bleeding and sore,
but the day after, they are soft and unhurt as before,
so their skin will never harden to the drudgery,
each day is an act of cruel Scobberlotcher sorcery.
Why the beast needs the stairs I do not know,
there could be nothing in the depths below,
or perhaps it could be the bottom of the world,
with a way into every child’s dreamworld.
Come now, you must go,
but before that, there is something you should know,
once through the gate, you cannot return,
succeed or die, you must quickly learn,
I am sorry I cannot give you more aid,
any knowledge of what awaits, Scobberlotcher forbade.’
But as they turn to walk away,
Minty sees a tiny figure, looking overcome with much
dismay,
waist length hair, dressed in black, struggling up the
stone stair,
she can barely lift the basket, her load to bare,
suddenly, she stumbles and falls over into the dark abyss,
falling silently, without fear as though nothing is amiss,
moments later she is back from where she fell,
there really is no escape from Scobberlotcher hell.
Yes, this is Alice, now a young woman,
this is the reality of her cursed abduction,
she cannot die, but dies every night,
only to live tomorrow, enduring a demon’s spite.
Setka and Minty turn and head towards the gate,
which smells of spring, looking pretty and ornate,
but Minty is troubled somewhat, the gate looks out of place,
here, in this dark and foreboding space,
as they stand before the gateway of ascension,
Setka speaks with calm apprehension,
‘This, is the only way to reach the castle top,
to find Juhee’s spinning wheel, and so Scobberlotcher stop,
reclaim the wheel from its own abduction,
free the children, grant them their redemption.’
Then, without warning Setka fades away,
Minty pushes the gate open, about halfway,
she pauses briefly, then takes a long deep breath,
then opens the gate fully, a gateway to her death?
She steps forward and trips over her beard,
this could be a problem, as Minty once feared,
she takes the beard, ties it around her waist,
then walks through, with scared ambition and haste.
THE CISTERN
Suddenly, Minty is sliding down a dimly lit tunnel,
triangular in shape, designed like a funnel,
she cannot stop, soon reaching the end,
sliding over the edge, into a chamber she does descend,
the drop is high, Minty lands roughly in a heap,
there is no way back now for the spellbound sheep.
She stands and looks around,
’tis a large chamber she has found,
mosaic tiling covers the walls and floor,
lit by many candles, dancing upon scenes to adore,
portraits of battles from long ago,
also scenes of torture and wondrous beasts show.
Minty sets forth to look around the place,
to find a way out as her path cannot be retraced,
a large, grey square stone sits in the middle of the chamber,
a thick rope hangs above it, could this possibly aid her?
But that is all there is in this place,
not even an old bedraggled and worn out staircase,
Minty looks up and sees false hope,
well, maybe not if she can reach the rope.
At the top of the chamber, away to the right,
an open doorway awaits, to offer escape from her plight,
three solid ledges, protrude from the wall,
that lead to the doorway, to help prevent a fall,
if Minty could only reach the rope,
she could swing across, perhaps there is still hope,
to find a way through the door,
into the unknown, to further explore.
Minty decides upon the stone to stand,
to reach the rope and bring it to hand,
this seems to be the only way to get ahead,
but the stone stands just taller than her head,
she pulls herself up and stands beneath the rope,
many times she jumps, but it is beyond all hope,
Minty just cannot reach it,
so with despondency, defeat she has to admit.
So, Minty gets down and sits cross legged on the floor,
head in hands, convinced she will remain here evermore,
upon leaning back against the stone, in anger and distress,
something happens you would never guess,
the stone moves freely, notably so,
revealing a large gold disc, inscribed with words that glow,
“Beware the demon, it is all knowing,
always there, always shadowing,”
prophetic words to you and I, a warning to take heed,
but Minty is oblivious, as she cannot read.
Then, she notices something from where she came
in,
a silver lever has appeared, from the wall within,
she cannot reach it, it is a fraction too high,
but Minty has an idea, so starts to apply,
she pushes the stone to rest under the lever,
then climbs on top,’tis just high enough to aid her,
but what is the lever for? What will it do?
Will it bring chaos and destruction she cannot undo?
However, Minty is trapped, with little option,
but to take a chance on the lever’s activation,
the lever is gripped with
both hands, then pulled down,
she waits for a reaction, as she turns around,
but there is nothing, Minty is dumfounded,
standing in silence, feeling utterly confounded,
suddenly, straight ahead at the other side,
out from the wall, a stairway appears that is quite wide,
it rises to the left, almost reaching the ceiling,
where another silver lever, the wall is revealing.
So, Minty goes over to climb the stair,
which rises steeply, she must take care,
the lever is pulled down, which becomes quite a struggle,
instantly, noises below ground are audible,
rumblings and grumblings, stone against stone,
Minty turns nervously at the sounds unknown,
the golden disc now rises up from the ground,
something beneath ascends, something black and round.
A circular column now stands tall,
underneath the rope, reminding Minty of her shortfall,
no, she cannot reach but has learned from before,
so moves the stone against the column, making a giant
step on the floor,
upon climbing the stone, she pauses before the column,
then jumps high to grab the top, her heart full of
optimism.
Minty now stands staring at the rope,
finally, a glimmer of hope,
she is sure if she can get a good enough swing,
she can reach a ledge below the exit, just waiting,
once she takes the rope and starts to swing,
the column quickly descends, leaving her hanging,
a sinister laugh and Scobberlotcher’s cackle,
fills the air, is there no end to the demon’s shackle?
The column disappears, leaving an ominous hole,
what lurks below? Waiting to arise and take control,
feint noises from deep underground,
something is rising, ascending rapidly growing in sound,
out from the hole, water gushes fast,
Minty must now be quick, her time will not last,
she tries her best to reach a ledge, but all in vain,
swing after swing, but a grip she cannot attain.
The chamber is now half full, Minty must climb
some more,
and the rope is in deep water, no more swings, no more,
she climbs to the top, nowhere else to go,
she waits and watches the water flow and grow,
as the water rises, candles on the walls extinguish,
The Lambshank Redemption Page 8