Wednesday's Verse - Dangers in the Dark

This week’s verse moves from a science fiction poem about the dangers of an unauthorised planetary excursion to a fantasy verse about monsters and heroes. It is taken from Another 365 Days of Poetry, a collection of mixed-genre poetry released in 2019.

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Dangers in the Dark

With carapaces shining

and throwing torchlight back

our nemesis revealed themselves

a gleaming black on black

And we knew then why the miners

in all good sense had run

knew why those brave folk shook

and craved work in the sun

for, suddenly, we did the same

and our oaths we did regret

for we had sworn to clear the mines

and see all dangers met

We had though it orcs

or goblins or elves gone dark

We had not anticipated

multi-legged monsters

to come hunting in the dark.

We had thought bipedal,

bows and arrows, bolts and swords

We had not thought of mandibles

or stings or biting jaws.

We had not thought paralysis

or of being larval prey

as we lay helpless in the darkness

and they slowly ate away

but only now did we realise

that the miners had spoke true

that the danger came at lightning speed

and in dozens, not a few

for the ebon stalker was well-named

in all ways except one

and that was that it charged is prey

once the stalking was all done.

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You can find the first two poetry collections at the links below - although there are plans to reissue them with more genre-appropriate covers in the future. The third collection will be released later in the year.

books2read.com/u/mVLQZb

books2read.com/u/bxgyLd