Godfall - Part 1 - Ascension Poem by Navarun Mallick

O'er the distant mountains and seas
A cloudless, starlit night descends
Like a bejewelled queen, adorned with pearls.
Nyx in her regal, mysterious beauty
Watcheth over the darkening world.
Below, on the fecund body of Gaia,
Amidst a sea of the earth's fruits,
A lean old man hobbles on a cane.
His pace sloweth, but he stoppeth not.
His steps falter, his menacing air, not so.
It seemeth to the eye of the unsuspecting audience
That the frail old man shall die soon.
Yet he seemeth eager to go on,
An unearthly smile on his decaying visage.
The aura of a trickster seemeth to emanate
From the old man's slow, purposeful gait
And each step seems to speak of impending doom.
Above in the sky, the symbol of Thor's wrath
Zooms across the sky, cracking it asunder.
Fleets of clouds laden with the elixir of life
Gather in the sky like the legions of Jupiter
Blotting out the spirits of forgotten ancestors
Their light unable to pierce the blanket of mist.
Presently the old man knocketh on a door,
And a career, hoarse voice answereth from within.
"Who art thou, oh messenger of Bedlam,
That walketh abroad at this unholy hour? "
The door openers, the face of a weary man
Looketh from within. Handsome his coarse features
Must have been in his youth, but now
A haunted look inhabits his big eyes.
A portly frame hath he; an ugly face,
Ugly, stubby fingers; ugly, short, fat legs.
Yet this well-fed man liveth alone,
And liveth too, in a penurious shack.
The old man answereth with a smile,
"Kind sir! I be nought but an old man
Who seeketh shelter for only one night!
For one night shall I tell a story to you,
A story, or nay, rather a secret.
A secret to untenable powers, a secret to unattainable objects.
Oh, good sir! One night is all I ask.
Wilt thou not give me even so meager a gift? "
The landlord of the house looketh on suspiciously,
This old man was not to be trusted.
Grabbing his nearby knife, the landlord shouteth,
"Off with thy dying carcass, old man! Off!
Be off with thou, or instead of the prowling fox
I shall slay thee here in cold blood! "
The old man answereth, "Thou art as foolish
As thou looketh. Fear not, thou hast no power
To disobey me. That right, thou hath relinquished long ago.
Now now, my faithful scribe! Let go,
Let go of thy knife, and step inside!
Take up the quill and the parchment,
Listen to me, and write what I say! "
Helpless, unable to disobey, the landlord
Droppeth his knife with a look of surprise
And steppeth inside. On a table by the kindling fire
Lay an empty parchment and a fresh quill.
Sitting, awed, the landlord asketh,
"Who art thou? What dost thou want from me? "
And lo and behold! The old man changeth form
Now he appeareth as a handsome man of five-and-thirty.
The man bareth a smile. He hath sharp canines.
His eyes, his irises, seemeth deep red.
He sayeth, "From my long banishment
I have risen to overthrow my brother.
O my landlord, I am thy permanent tenant!
Thou cannot remove me! And the secret I spake of,
Untenable power it shall give! To you! To me!
To all of humanity! And then shalt I have
Overthrown my brother! And humanity,
Humanity shalt help me! " And now,
With a benign smile, the man with red eyes
Whispered into the terrified landlord's ears.
"I am the Devil, risen to wage war
Against Him, against my brother, God.
But now, this time, shalt not my legions
Accompany me. For this time, humanity,
God's creation, shalt aid me in my conquest.
And this, they shalt do of their own free will.
Writeth down the Devil's Gospels, my scribe!
God's words telleth how to make a perfect society
But the Devil's words telleth thou the bare reality!
Write, my scribe, write! And when thou sets
The quill against the empty parchment, know this:
The Day of Doom, the Day of Judgement arriveth.
The Devil hath returned from his banishment.
The Final Corruption of Humanity hath beginneth.
The End draweth near. And this all,
All of this, endeth with and in one thing,
Godfall"

_End of Part 1_