FOUND IN A HIDDEN CAVERN

FOUND IN A HIDDEN CAVERN, written and read by Colleen Anderson

 

Found in a Hidden Cavern

Notations on Artifacts & Manuscript

I

in icy seas black as a villain’s heart

in depths the sun fears to touch

lies the last of a knowing race encased

in a shell, waiting for that moment

between breath and death

to be born carrying wonders the world hasn’t known

 

A hard, translucent sphere, dark, viscous fluids swirling

 

II

a mermaid’s love is hard to find, her tears are even rarer

when the sun no longer paints the water

a dolphin’s soul swims out of sight

and oyster’s irritation births newborn elegance

then tears roll from limpid eyes

caressed in currents and ocean swells

molded from the heart’s memory

 

A tear-drop shaped crystal, blue, fired with crimson

 

III

faeries, contrary to belief, wear myriad wings

of hummingbird, dragonfly, bee, or even angel

as well as bat, dragon and devil-made conveyance

their stature matters little

when wind whispers in their wings

wishes loft them in enchanted fields

 

A bee’s wing, but of an emerald hue

 

IV

here is where fey gold is mined

each worker collects tawny nectar

of sunflowers

feeds it into larval ingots that crawl forth

as dazzling as the sun

An insect carved(?) in amber, 12 legs, 2 heads, something pulsing inside

 

V

this is the last of the faery world’s essence

born in a state forever preserved

only a dying plea will soften it, unfurl, weep petals

when all life is lost this rose will bloom

A dried rosebud, gently pried open; inside a tiny embryo

 

VI

coins of metal from any land

their worth, the weight of all lives full

they will ferry you across the Styx

held on the eyes or within the mouth

stamping story’s end in every common tongue

A coin from no land known; handle carefully, causes frostbite

VII

deep down where troll hearts thrum

down down where the dwarves drum

kneeling with great earthen thighs

seeking treasures as the mountain sighs

down down where the dwarves hum

they probe and they pull at their swarthy gums

their jewels will save them from pressing need

the riches of the dwarves are their stone-hard teeth

A perfectly formed tooth of quartz, blood found at the root

VIII

the mouse read the secret message

that you have yet to write

the hidden names of magic

unknown textures of the rainbow

it learned the mystery of the sea

and wished to be part of it forever

immortal now it stands guard

over all these hidden gems

A shell mouse, tendency to move, keep caged

 

IX

beware these keys

they unlock—

Rest of manuscript missing

________________________________________

Colleen Anderson is a multiple award nominee, with poetry widely published in six countries, in such venues as Andromeda Spaceways, Lucent Dreaming, Shadow Atlas and Abyss and Apex. Colleen lives in Vancouver, BC and is a Ladies of Horror Fiction, Canada Council and BC Arts Council grant recipient for writing. She has performed her work before audiences in the US, UK and Canada. Her fiction collection can be found in A Body of Work, Black Shuck Books, and her new poetry collection, I Dreamed a World, is available from LVP Publications. www.colleenanderson.wordpress.com