Ways Of Men & Beasts

All things wicked aren't only found in books. Take for instance this poem, from an oral tradition, that was told for centuries by my ancestors. It was supposedly taken from a black obelisk high in the mountains of the Lapland near Mount Kebnekaise. It has been translated from an old Sámi language, into Swedish and, finally, the Queen's English.

ways of men & beasts

in the reek
of caves
& the bosom
of the black earth

madness

copulates

the foul seed
of carnal things
writhe
& bleed

in the ways
of men
& beasts.

Paroxysmus

From the green book:

Paroxysmus

As it was
so shall it be

when mother
has rid
of all
her fleas

will she
be lush
sanguine
full of life

long
may she run
by day
and by night

freedom
from plague
mortals
and sin

from the blight
of her children-
kith
and kin

only then
may she
live again.

Bound

It seems fitting that this one was found amongst the pages of the red book. Interestingly, it was handwritten on a scrap of paper and not actually part of the text itself. The paper was old and brittle and the handwriting smudged but I was able to transcribe the verses thusly:

Bound

the body
without life
pinned to the earth

a sword
through the soul
standing in the dirt

the dead
travel fast
but not very far

with the spirit
willing, interred
in the flesh

and the flesh
chilling, in turn
in the earth

the rod is steeled
stern
in the ground

so quiet
the apparition
bound.