Cthulhu - a H.P. Lovecraft inspired poem by Adam White, poet

To kick off a month of Lovecraft inspired poetry, here is a poem about everybody's favourite Ancient One.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie
And with strange aeons, even death may die."
H.P. Lovecraft
"A mountain walked or stumbled."
H.P. Lovecraft

I awaken tossed in bracing foam,
It's subtle fingers turn my stomach's walls.
I cling to what remains of my lost home,
It's cradling bed and soft and silent halls.
On driftwood should my tale so sudden end,
Soaked and drowning, lone upon this sea.
So distant is my liberation sent,
The shape of some dark island calling me.

The hours pass but fill me with some hope,
That shore's salvation ever closing now,
The hand of madness loosed from 'round my throat,
Some God's embrace would guide my vessel's prow.
Though not a faithful man I must consent,
No other explanation crossed my mind,
Why the island would, despite the winds dissent
Blow my sail away from where it lies.

Though clogged with joy, my mind was soon to fill
With memories of frequent dreams heinous.
The vision of a mountain that had spilled
From an ocean body that was much like this.
No, not a mountain, nor a thing of flesh,
Or any tissue I could understand.
A writhing face of feelers, forming fresh
It's body bulbous, tentacled and grand.

At last, I knew the horror stalking me,
The waves crashed by, the sea conveyed my boat,
As fast as nature could attentively,
But on tides of death the horrid thing encroached,
And reared from deep amongst the crashing waves,
On leathered wings that tore its body from
The veil that hides a dimension that raves
In broken sanity long lost and gone.

It's name, it filled my head and I awoke,
My bed, my room, my prison in this world,
With scattered pillows, sheets all freshly soaked
With seawater in which I'd crashed and whirled.
Such knowledge long has scarred my waking days,
Those awful words my mind won't stop screaming
That in his ancient house at R'lyeh,
Vast, dead Cthulhu waits always dreaming.

If you haven't read any Lovecraft, I would recommend this story to get you started. The link is for Amazon.ca and as you can see, super cheap but if you're in the US, UK or anywhere else, go to their site instead.



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