In Come The Wolves

…be Vigilant. If you see shadows,
they might be wolves.

So cry “Wolf!”

Or better yet,
just to be prepared,
consider:

what if it’s a pack!
there are six,
maybe twelve,

cry “Wolves!”
“Wolves!”
“WOLVES!”

or better, perhaps,
cry “Lions!”;
scream, “Tigers!”;
bellow “behold:

hence comes Fenrir,
destroyer,

hand-biter,
conqueror worm,
harbinger, bringer, and maker
of cessation,

hither, too, comes the Wolf-Man,
modern, tragic, capable of
infecting others
with his own curse,

or perhaps Anubis,
passing judgment,
Enforcer of Curses,
vitalizer of terrible oaths;

and approaching,
with terrible silence,
teeth,
teeth,
just teeth,
and
angry,
ravening
hunger,

here
come
the

WOLVES.

here come they all,
you’re sure,
you’re sure,

you’ve been told,
by reliable sources,
by those who surely wouldn’t lie,
by those who know what it is
to feel the Bite.

It’s a thousand wolves,
a hundred,
one wolf,
one very desperate,
very fatal
Eater.

You’re sure.
You’re sure.
You’re almost sure.

and if it’s but a shadow,
isn’t it better to be safe
than disemboweled?

only:

safety is more than instinct,
more than hindbrain.

the panic
which overcomes
flesh,
moves your heart so rapidly
that there’s no energy left
to move your legs,

~Jeff Mach


 

My name is Jeff Mach (“Dark Lord” is optional) and I build communities and create things. Every year, I put on Evil Expo, the Greatest Place in the World to be a Villain. I also write a lot of fantasy and science fiction.. You can get most of my books right here. Go ahead, pre-order I HATE Your Prophecy“. It may make you into a bad person, but I can live with that.

Jeff Mach Written by:

Jeff Mach is an author, playwright, event creator, and certified Villain. You can always pick up his bestselling first novel, "There and NEVER, EVER BACK AGAIN"—or, indeed, his increasingly large selection of other peculiar books. If you'd like to talk more to Jeff, or if you're simply a Monstrous Creature yourself, stop by @darklordjournal on Twitter, or The Dark Lord Journal on Facebook.