Part II: The Scarabs

The paths in dreams oft turn scary. But wait, maybe this is not a dream]. Yes, a scarab, two feet long, is coming at me; He is stone black, and, aye, he has six legs; With wide eyes that reflect the light, he sees me; Stunned with horror, I stand, watch, puking my dregs. Frozen to the spot, my terror won’t let me jump; Tho the scarab draws closer, ever closer to me. He’s within reach, but I can’t touch the ghastly lump; Too scared to skate, I just wait, my fate to see. He’s upon me; eyes flutter closed, turn off my sensors; I await the pain that his bite or sting might bring. I feel a faint touch, not much of a brush, no pincers; Looking down, ‘tween my legs he’s gone, and drinks at a spring. Relief rushes over me, like a kind, warm sea wave, It was not me he was after, after all; Wanting water, he passed me up, his body to lave; So I head down the tunnel, quite steep now, and try not to fall. Downward, I plunge, through my slicky-sliddy shaft; Feeling like I’m walking in an intestine; The scarabs are many, but past me they draft, Looking for things that are more interesting. Some are as big as the first, while others are much smaller; They all have a menacing look, but with me, they do not bother. They seem to regard me as an expected guest, a known caller; I see rabid mad dogs, who might instantly turn to slaughter. Scarabs or not, I must go down, there is no other way; Turn after turn, in the tunnel sublime, nothing changes; The scarabs go up, I go down, the rules we seem to obey, But way ahead, around a veer, white light with dark exchanges. Hurriedly I flee, the white light to see, the way out, maybe? Running, falling, I make the turn, and scramble to my right; There is the opening! The full light blasts me, I’m blind again, you see. The dark was too dark, but now the light is too light; no sight. So, I sit once again, and wait for my eyes to adjust; For human eyes were not made for such extreme changes. With sight slowly returning, I crawl like I must; Hands and knees grasp rock and stone, and other sturdy phalanges. Aha! When I come into the opening, sight is fully regained! And I gaze out into an underground cavern, vast and far; There is no sun; it is lit with a light [how is it obtained]? I look in wonder at the land before me; in the sky, hangs one star. I can see mountains and turrets [maybe a castle?] afar; It looks like salvation, but, wait, how do I get there? Slowly I stand, surveying my options, from my spar; I stand on a precipice, so high it rises the ends of my hair. It must be a thousand feet or more, to the valley floor; Should I choose to just walk straight off. Etched in the face of the cliff are paths, rather poor; One to the left, one to the right, which would I rather fall off? For both are perilous, and fraught with danger, With barely room for a human foot. The joy I felt at seeing the light, now leaves me like a stranger; Fear once again freezes my body, and I turn to leave, forsooth. But guess what I see, in the tunnel you see, the one I just left; But the thousands of scarabs that I passed on my descent. Their intent is clear, kill me they will, should I re-enter the cleft Now I know, my choice is none, into hell I must be sent. So here I stand, making choices, standing on the Brink; Should I go right or left, or perhaps, which way should I die; Death seems certain, there appears for life to be no link, “I’ll get you, Bzarradon!” I say, but don’t even know why. [Bzarradon? who’s that? Even I don’t know what I’mDeeper, deeper, into the dream that may not be a dream... Written August 26th, 2001 © on Aug 26 2001 03:09 PM PST, Brazos Mason   0 • 10