Shadows of Myth and Legend
Page 3
His rules you must forever abide
Do not look upon him
No peeking from your cottage
Or angry Dullahan will
repay you with bloodshed and carnage
Lashing out with his whip
The spine of a former guide
He’ll tear your eyes from your head
Where up until then they did reside
He opens up his mouth
Terrifying grin spread wide
Prepares to call your True Name
Sending your soul to the other side.
Prince of Lies
Our great pious
Benefactor
Works tirelessly
With our Rector
Completing our
Great library
Books set beside
Cinerary
Relics and maps
Sit with statues
All treasure of
Worldly value
This man who brings
Items of worth
He is our guide
While on this earth
So fortunate
Are we brothers
To have him and
One another
The one who brings
Knowledge to us
From far places
Wild and wondrous
Places the book
Upon the shelf
The Prince of Lies
Satan himself.
The Morrigan
Clothed in dark hooded cloaks of crow feathers
Black against the night
Morrigan appear on the battlefield
Causing such a fright
All three raise their arms up to storm filled skies
Drawing deadly might
Eyes roll back as they look at the battle
With prophetic sight
Not happy with the outcome their shriek casts
A green sickly light
Soldiers on one side begin to sicken
With strange plague and blight
More poor soldiers catch the Morrigan’s eye
Sword and spear gripped tight
The men turn upon each other killing
All on left and right
Satisfied the Morrigan in a flurry
Of feathers take flight.
Water & Ice
Sating the Selkie
On a splintered and sodden plank
You float upon this misbegotten sea
With bodies floating upon its surface
Like a corpse filled cup of tea
Beneath these depths you dare to dive
Past sirens who do wail
Whilst Selkies feast on the skin stealers
Who in the blackest night set sail
Come to me my love
My tasty morsel of blood and bone
I wish to once again sink my teeth
Though I will end up all alone
Alone alas, yet sated
And that my dear is the catch
I must drink deeply and feed fully
If my little ones are to hatch
Once I bring them forth
Into these dark tumultuous waters
I will no longer be alone
As I swim forth with my daughters.
The Winter Queen
In the dark world of Shadow
During Solstice the Longest Night
The Winter Queen stirs
While her dreaded frost minions
Take flight
In this land of cold and fear
Stands a palace of ice and stone
Where locked deep within
Sits the Winter Queen upon
Her throne
Awareness returns to her
As she tries to open her eyes
Memory and pain
Erupts, but ice seals away
Her cries
The only thing not frozen
Are Winter Queen’s immortal tears
Which sparkle as they
Flow down her cheeks mingling with
Her fears
No one dare enter her realm
No man will ever kiss her lips
For death lingers in
Her embrace, into abyss
He’ll slip
So on this dark Solstice night
The Winter Queen sits upon her throne
Knowing she will sit here
Forever frozen and all
Alone.
Grindylow
Come hither now my child
Step near the water’s edge
There is something waiting for you
Just beyond yonder hedge
Walk just a bit further
Onto the moss slick stones
So the Grindylow may take you
So he may break your bones
Grasping with long fingers
Wrapped around your leg
Grindylow will crack you open
Just like an uncooked egg
He will pull you under
You cannot breathe to scream
He will drag you all the way to
The bottom of the stream
There he will feast upon you
As he dances through weeds
Lost children are what sustain him
Your flesh is all he needs
Unless you now listen
To your old gran this day
And stay far from the water’s edge
When you go out to play.
Ghost Ship
Ghost ship on the horizon
Creaking of rigging and mast
Sailing out of fog and mist
Ship sailing out of the past
Seaweed covered rope and wood
Sail cloth rotting and tattered
Faces stare out from the deck
All their hopes and dreams shattered
Eyes full of naught but sorrow
‘till they remember the lies
Malice wakens in their hearts
A red glow lights empty eyes
Promised wealth and adventure
They willingly left this shore
Sent into Hell’s gaping maw
Cursed to sail forevermore
Left out upon dark waters
Never again to touch land
Reaping souls of men who dare
Walk upon this stretch of sand.
Garden Pixie
There is a Pixie in my garden
Spreading plant seeds and pollen
Nurturing flower and herb blossoms
Though Autumn leaves have fallen
Coaxing seedlings and saplings to sprout
Up through hoar frost covered loam
Waiting for his dearly departed
Dead wife’s spirit to come home.
Banshee at Water’s Edge
The Banshee wails
As your death draws near
Her keening cry
Emanating fear
Hag of the mist
Goes down to the lake
As twilight nears
Your soul she will take
At water’s edge
She pulls forth a shirt
Covered in blood
Not dark stains of dirt
Washing your shirt
The water runs red
Once it runs clear
You will be long dead.
Hippocamp
Little Hippocamp
Stallion of the sea
Poseidon’s servant
Never to be free
His chariot glides
High atop the waves
Pronged trident in hand
Pulled by sea horse slaves.
Wendigo
Corpse gray man eater
Denizen of ice and snow
You come down from the dead North
When the arctic windstorms blow
Smelling of decay
You rend with sharp tooth and claw
Forever to wear
your curse
You dared break our sacred law
Glutton from the North
During that winter long ago
You murdered and ate your kin
Making your vast hunger grow
Gaunt faced Wendigo
Always hunting your next kill
Hunger cannot be sated
You can never get your fill
Cruel ravenous beast
Feast on human hair and skin
Obsessed with your foul cravings
You commit the gravest sin
Corrupted creature
On blood and entrails you feed
Vile appetites and longings
Damned by your terrible greed
Sick loathsome monster
Gnawing on cold flesh and bone
Forever ruled by hunger
Eternally cast out alone.
Kiss of the Korrigan
Take care brother
As you fetch water from the well
Beware the spiteful Korrigan
Be sure to ring your silver bell
Avert your eyes
If a beautiful maid be there
Singing a lovely ballad
And combing her long golden hair
You must beware
The evil temptress lays in wait
For a naïve man of the cloth
Since we bring out her deepest hate
Plug up your ears
Do not listen as she sings
Her song is imbued with power
Once entranced, death is all she brings
The Korrigan
So like a female praying mantis
She lures to her a foolish mate
Then kills him with her fatal kiss.
Swan Maiden
Take me down to the shore
Where the wild grass grows
We will sit by the marsh
Water lapping our toes
My words may be harsh
Full of hatred and no’s
Please dear see through my lies
You’re the one for me
Lift me up to the skies
Where all the birds soar free
The wind blurs my eyes
With you I long to be
Come dear save me this day
Change out of this form
Feathers take me away
As swan I’ll face this storm
Nothing can make me stay
Feather cloak keep me warm
You brought to me my cloak
Love me forever
Before my captor woke
His head I did sever
Words a gurgling choke
No longer so clever
He thought himself so smart
On that fateful night
My feathered cloak to part
From my body in fright
Forced me in his cart
Beneath the pale moonlight
Beware to all who dare
Approach pond or lake
With splashing maidens fair
For your bones I will break
and rip out your hair
Then your life I will take.
Kraken
Sail across the surface
Shadow against the sky
He will always see you
With his all-seeing eye
Beneath the sea he waits
Kraken the Ocean King
Alert ever watchful
Forever listening
For the heartbeats of men
Who enter his domain
The blight and pestilence
That putrefy and stain
In their vessels of wood
Scurry on his waters
Dumping their poison wastes
Harpooning his daughters
How dare they dump and spill
Barrels of corruption
Always bringing with them
Sorrow and destruction
A realm war has been waged
Blood oaths have been spoken
Peace will be achieved when
All your ships are broken.
The Bestiary
B
Banshee
Barghest
Basilisk
Black dog
Brownie
C
Changeling
D
Demon
Doppelganger
Dragon
Dullahan
Dwarf
E
Elf
F
Fafnir
Fairie (Fairy, Fae)
Fetch
G
Gargoyle
Ghost
Goblin
Grindylow
H
Hippocamp
J
Jiang Shi
K
Korrigan
Kraken
L
Leviathon (see Kraken)
Loup Garou
M
Mauthe Doog
Morrigan
P
Phoenix
Pixie
R
Reaper
S
Seer
Selkie
Siren
Spriggan
Swan Maiden
U
Unicorn
V
Vampire
W
Wendigo
Werewolf
Z
Zombie
From the Shadows
DARK, DISTURBING, HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL
978-0984247509
www.FromTheShadows.info
About the Author
E.J. Stevens is the author of From the Shadows and Shadows of Myth and Legend.
E.J. is a graduate of the University of Maine at Farmington with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. E.J. Stevens has worked in a variety of jobs that demonstrate the human condition including schools, psychiatric hospitals, and (*shudder*) shopping malls. She currently resides in a magical forest on the coast of Maine where she finds daily inspiration for her writing.
Connect with Me Online
www.FromTheShadows.info