The Upturned Rookby Frater Pyramidatus

That which is not deadBut can eternal lie

And with strange aeonsEven death may die

Within a dim and lonely cellA nasty place to dwellDid lay the hero of our taleHis visage etched and pale With all the heartache that plagues great menHe knew not where, he knew not when

King Lamus Only monsters far belowCould fathom out my worldly woesOf these confines and dark spun fleshI never fly nor ever restThis so called life is buried deepIn muck of slime, and nightmare's sleep

When will I snap the filthy bonds?Is there utopia far beyond?The putrid corpses, the dusty air Worm infested and turgid lairThis cursed casket, this hollow roomThere is no birth from such a womb

My rancid fingers are raw to touchThis empty prison is far too muchFor my crippled soul to somehow bearThe rags which I am loathe to wearI shuffle with a croaky moanAll is torment, I am alone

Some dark, insipid ectoplasmLurks with this broken chasmI see the devils writhe and twistThrough the vague and sombre mistMy only exit, the one sole hopeTo languish from a hangman's rope

Who will help me? Who will come?To kill this pandemonium?The ceaseless pain, the breathless curseWith crawling silence even worseAll hopes are dashed, there are no plansThis mausoleum of the damned

My mortal frame is numb and stiffOn this chill floor I slowly shiftEndless suffering, incessant painMy spirit feeble, and still the sameAcidic sobs of venomous tearsAre wept across the hateful years

The ooze of grey and harsh lamentIs voided from the fundamentTo permeate my sickly beingI pray that I had never seenSuch foulness and sick disgustPlease release me, you must, you must!

And with this heartfelt tokenMuch to his surpriseA hidden door did openLamus opened up his eyes

Prison Warder Who is this wretch upon the floor?This cur that knocks the unseen door? Thou that begs to be redeemedIn the mirror is the fiendYou committed the cardinal crimesNow squirm and wriggle in the slime

The desperate twist of exiled snakeShall gnaw your brittle bonesAnd all the ages acrid acheShall smite you with their moansYou did fracture the ancient lawNow howl within for evermore

The ebony blood that palpitates your heartThine kinsfolk have forgotAnd all thine worldly toils of artSuccumb to endless rot

An interminable waitAn inescapable fate...

The portal it was closed againWith a great cruel thudAnd the shadow of a thing insaneWent creeping in his blood

King Lamus The vacuum of this clutching hellPervaded by rank and foetid smellI opt to conjure a purging burnFor sweet finality I ever yearnOnce there was a sunlit soulNow its just a barren hole

Burn me! Turn me! Spark the fireA conflagration must be madeTo cleanse the muck and sullen mireMy hanging tissue must be flayedOust the mould and cleanse the sinWith Phoenix blaze from deep within

A torch from the invisible gateSignified some curious fateLamus thrilled with lissom glowWith vibration quite unknown

Prison Warder You now must exit, please take leaveWe grant this one concise reprieveA thousand years, or a handful of daysThere is no variance in the mazeYou have been outside the circles of timeAnd somehow completed a perilous climb

Go from here, but remember thisYou are now an alchemistThat grabs sore guilt and bleeding shameAnd washes it in morning rainLay firm on pain thine secure holdAnd transmute shells to unmixed gold

In the sphere of spirit playYou have suffered endless daysOf sharpest grief and hooks of sorrowBut in the playpen of tomorrow

You have merely slept an hourBarely one season of a flower

Now emerge and thank the worldFor all the roses still unfurledIn anticipation of the sunBe no longer the only oneFrom the draught of love you will takeA morning yawn, and be awake

A thousand spectres from his headTook their leave and quickly fledLamus now knew he was a kingThe master of innumerable things

King Lamus What breed of vision have I just dreamt?What reason plumbed? What meaning meant?I am forsooth a sturdy kingNot some grubby underling

My palace is stalwart, my gardens growAll does prosper, I do not knowWhat foul phantasmHaunted deep that filthy chasm

My kingdom it does surely thriveThe proudest island of the earthAll my subjects are aliveWith gratitude and mirth

With illusion do I not bleed?Curious the throbbing painA crystal answer I now needWill I ever be the same?

Queen Cornelia My lord from deep dreamsYou have stirredAnd now it does seemYou are here in the world

King Lamus Only in fraction am I in this placePlease don't glance upon my faceSuch midnight terrors I have seenTo black perdition indubitably been

Queen Cornelia Indigestion it may beThat perhaps has troubled thee

King Lamus Leave me! Your snivelling must ceaseYou whining hog and stinking beastI am withdrawing, and going soonFor many a year, for many a moon

My regal office, this golden crownThe silver orb and purple gownI do renounce and fling awayAnd my resolve it is today

To turn my back on being kingWith all the eminence it does bringAll Life's jewels inevitably mustBe ground to ashes and worthless dust

With my blue blood I will hasten to fillThe gutter buckets and by divine willGive my bed to peasants and trampsI shout and scream! I wail and stamp!Upon all empire and worldly graceMy lofty throne shall be defaced

Queen Cornelia Are you mad? Do you feign To totter from your golden reign?

King Lamus My marrow's struck with ancient painSo now I view my life mundaneEven being a forceful kingIs still a loss, and just a thing A dead leaf tossed into the breezeMotioned by grace, and toppled with ease

The marble of my throne is eatenBy the Father of TimeAll morale of my isle is beatenI have crossed the line

Queen Cornelia You are mad! You have the sicknessHave you eaten of poisoned fruit?I will hasten to find a witnessAnd lay my sword fast to the rootOf all this babbling and derision

And of your strange and quick decision

King Lamus Do what you will my so called queenBut do know that if you had seenSuch evil and unholy dreadYou too would wish the king was dead

Queen Cornelia We must take task to our high courtAnd pry the kernel of your thoughtCavan the doctor, Domingo the priestGreeley your aid, this trio shall ceaseThe complication of this madnessReplacing it with grateful gladness

Cornelia from the chamber fledTo gather up supportKing Lamus lay upon his bedThat he did now abhor

Before the king could quick vacateThe grand and royal roomThree friends now tried to placateThis new found sense of doom

Cavan My queen has posited a queryBorn of odd and dire theoryThat you are stricken and very illYour majesty I have a pillTo sooth the roughshod aching painAnd make my lord complete again

King Lamus There is no tablet that may moveMy ache, nor unction surely sootheThe deepest, darkest hellish acheNo manly potion I could takeYour medicine is merely trashThat dragon's fire will turn to ash

Domingo You must take hold, my king confessWithin the chapel of holinessDreams of sin and convolutionMay be healed by absolutionCome to the bosom of the ChurchLet the Lord assuage this hurt

King Lamus An atheist, or man of GodWill by the end still slowly plodThe fiery road to the black bellThat opens up the door of hellAn endless labyrinthine prismA hopeless and eternal schism

Greeley Granted I am not a priestOr wise in medicine wayYet admit me this at leastThat my lord must steadfast stayWith his proud kingdom of the yearsOr else your subjects shed the tearsOf desertion and derisionMy highness halt your bold decisionAt least the short length of one dayUntil your fever's fled away

King Lamus Greeley, the wisest of them allShall plummet also and quickly fallInto dark hungers of the pitOf devil dung and demon shit

Queen Cornelia I know all toys shall turn to rustBut what of joy, and what of us?Does our long and ageless loveHave place in heaven far above?

King Lamus Avert such sobbing from my gaze Turn your heart and face awayThere is no archetypal loveOf the serpent or the doveTo calm or soothe my bitter stingNo poem wise, nor words to sing

But one voice from a western wind One omen alone. I am destined To kingly fetters sharply sliceAnd regal office sacrificeI will quickly expediteMy egress from royal rite

From the palace Lamus ranInto the dusty streetsOnly bedclothes on the man

And nothing on his feet

For the space of one mad hourHe sprinted to the outskirtsWith little grace but all the powerUnless his heart did hurt

King Lamus At last I am wholly freeFrom all the world's iniquityAbove does roll the cloudless skyWith waxing moon and sun on highI will walk rough lengths of earthAnd keep well hid my royal worthBut a million men espyI must be hid and don disguiseAnd shift from one so consecratedTo a ghost that isn't ratedAmong those of royal bloodRather a peasant of the mud

Adorned by sunlight, by air caressedWith ointment of such lovelinessWho would want to be a king?It is indeed a hopeless thingBetter instead the freedom of fineIntangible things that elevate mindFrom the kingdom of muck and realm of the earthTo a rectified state of far greater worthI am now the secret childOf all things open and all that's wild

We must close the hermetic lidMy true identity must be hid

God must have seen his sudden plightFor in the corner of his sightWas a monk, sprightly and blueThat slowly walked into his view

King Lamus You that tread barefoot on roadConcealed within a humble robeOne fast favour I do askTo thou behind the cloth that masksYour age and beauty, your name and raceAnd everything about the place

From where you came and where you'll goThere's one thing that I wish to knowWill you give your monk's attireTo a king that seeks the Higher?

Monk My lord imperial, my royal highnessI wish one could respond with kindnessBut no man may earn this robeWithout renouncing all the globeWith all the purses of its pleasureAnd pleasant chords of such fine treasure

King Lamus I spit out what this planet offersAnd all rare gems of ancient coffersMean about as much to meAs bitter salt within the sea

Monk Threefold is our ancient lawBend thy frame if you want more

Although the king was most respectedHe had thrown far his crownAnd to the monk he genuflectedBowing slowly down

Monk I do declare from this time henceYou will have obedienceAnd in the name of the one LordPure and simple your rewardTo higher wisdom we make hasteIndefatigably chaste

The trident of the ancient seaObedience! Simplicity!But the greatest of the threeStill remains as Chastity!

Solemnly do give your wordThat all instruction has been heard

King Lamus I swear it!

The chaste monk was not a prudeCos in a moment he was nude

Monk Before we dropped from divine GraceBeing sky clad was the normEden garden was the placeOf natural and naked form

As bare white candles burning in blissWe were unashamedOur only clothes translucent mistWe had not mortal names

Our skin was kissed by orb of sunWe had not cares at allProtected by the glorious oneNo pride from which to fall

Before you the monk assumeRemember this one rhymeThat to eat the fruit that loomsOn twisted tree of crime

Is poison without compareA certain inebriationThe darkly splendid serpent's lairBeyond all comprehension

The snake and Christ they are the sameBoth offer you the tasteOf sustenance sweet and derangedAlthough of different place

The blood of Christ, the sweet wine redThe harvest of the serpent's headOne limply hanging from the treeThe other sweet simplicity

King Lamus What riddle do you cunningly speak of?What sense from senselessness thereof?

Monk Do you eat of the corrupt tree That grows beneath the sky?

King Lamus Verily I've tasted treatsAnd drunken all the wineWith every delight in many realms!Fermented fruits may overwhelm

The fairy folk of yesteryearBut my monk please have no fearThat some sodom apple might uprootMy indulgent mindNor any flower nor any shootMake my sense unwind

Monk Yet ye still have nowhere swallowedThe toxin of the keenest sorrow

King Lamus No need for such a sacramentOr desire pang for that lament

Monk Why do you seek the elder god?Why would ye yield the golden rod?

King Lamus I merely crave the simpler fareAway from guilt and drab nightmare

Monk There is no grace, there is no guiltThis is the law, do what thou wilt

King Lamus What do you mean?

Monk Shame. Because thou seekestI'll not reveal the arcanaYou alone must keepestThe pivot point of karma

We must now part to divergent waysAnd roam about the landThroughout the twisting forest mazeYe will find the great god Pan!

Lamus donned the sky blue robeAnd hastened to the woodsHe hurried down the woodland roadJust like a pilgrim should

King Lamus I hazard to the green abyssTo leaf and branch of wildernessWith dew I will be baptised pureAnd travel deep into the lureOf treetop silence and mystic windAmongst the fauns and satyr kin

From a king to monastic manWho seeks the pedestal of Pan!

Ethereal steam rare and fineLeisurely twisted in his mindBarefoot he strode in threadbare robeCompassing the unmarked road

The tender orb of setting sunWithin his heart the pendulumOf royal days and rotten nightsCeased by shafts of orange light

Sombre droop of mellow duskSlowly threshed his kingly huskThe world an oyster, the sun his pearlBlended azures of peace unfurled

Each star become a silver studOne could hear the gentle thudOf Earth itself in cocooned sleepUnsealed arenas, nocturnal beasts

The badgers, foxes and vigilant owlsEach in turn gave midnight howlsThe moonlight with it's austere potionFilled all hollows with silver lotion

King Lamus leaned on oaken oldEmbraced by its ancient holdIn that moment all things royalWere surrendered to the soil

His bed a carpet of dead leavesCrowned with unseen purple wreathHe plummeted to onyx deepRepose of silence and cradled sleep

The great god Pan did surely deemA king did dream the dreamless dreamBefore Nature's lullaby had been spokenHe had sudden and quick awoken

King Lamus How long did the lord of acorns keepMe wrapped up in woodland sleep?

It is a quiz to surely guessThe extent to which the wildernessSheltered my in its green handsWas it one night or one lifespan?The riddle playing on my mindNot one of space, but one of time

Let's get on our naked feetAnd forage something fast to eat

Lamus with impatience soughtYet all his searching came to noughtTo find black truffle or tasty shootLet alone delicious fruit

After he had desperately scoured The wood for many hungry hoursHe happened on a verdant clearing With sun and cloud for gentle ceiling

With mushrooms it was quite surroundedThe little soft ones did sprout unboundedSo with his robe he made a cupAnd pick by pick he filled it up

And by the time the sun did diveBeyond the silhouettesHe had compressed a goodly findWithin the blue bent net

King Lamus What venom lurks within these sporesThese mushrooms from the grassy floor?

My body's sweetly numbYet throbbing overcomes

Me....

I was the king of a great nationNow bitter sweet intoxicationHas me in its violet gripThe core of mind doth languid slipTo a kiss of infinite proportionsAnd endless drugged distortion

Let's dwell in the wildernessWith Pandemonium's poemsWith the ode of fiery furnaceWith leprechauns and gnomes

With...

Flexing circuits of tree twisted bloodFlow throughout the midnight mudSacred floods do softly nourishThe neon flowers that skyward flourishAnd all proud trees that softly quiverFeed upon an endless river

A bleeding well of diving springThe mother of a million thingsFilters through the veins of leavesGushing into ruby streamsThe heartbeat of a hundred oaksIn scarlet fluid gently soaked

The willow root it stretches downTo drink vermilion wineThe sacrament it stirs no soundNor consciousness of timeI languish in a sweet retireUnto this blood I do aspire

Pan! Great gnarled god and beastInvite me to your mighty feastFill my void and aching heartFrom the wine press of thine artDrench me in the bitter lakeWith great Gaia's blood to take

The chasm is open, the colours floodWith iridescence on the mudDeep purple of moonlightVague orange of sunSilver blue flecking and whiteOf the One

Who is the God that makes the grass green?Where is the blood and river that teemsIn the puppet garden of Pan?

Deep within untrodden landsThis drugged kaleidoscope Pupil of the Eye of HorusIt turns pitch darkness to hopeWith its rainbow and its chorus

We cannot simply cease or desist Surrounded by colours that do not existThe prism refracted from pole to poleThe schism reflected from soul to soulA golden lock and silver keyThrills with electricity

Turn the lock! Burn my brain!It is a gift to be insaneLet the colours sharp infectMy dull and worldly intellectOpen me up! Let me die!Rip my heart out! Let me fly!

From treetops greener than the grassFrom flowers bluer than open skyOne simple token I do askPlease let me in this moment dieAnd spill my life more red than rubyLet Life's sweet panic swiftly move me

Drive your ancient crystal swordInto my weak and willing trunkMake sweet death my last rewardThe mandrake eaten, and hell broth drunkLet me burst! Rend me asunder!With your proud and hungry thunder!

Out of dusky, crawling depthsLamus heard the loud footstepsOf hoofs breaking the bones of the treesAnd panic's nerve did slowly seizeUpon his dark inebriationAnd the blacker concentrationOf a fearful, bitter dreadCloser the clamour did slowly tread

King Lamus Are you Pan? Are you a man?

Erwin You flatter me sir, to call me the kingBut by all means you mustCavort with us, the nightshade thingsAnd lend to us your trust

King Lamus What are you? Why do you not show yourself?Are you gnome, or faun, or fairy or elf?

Erwin My friends call me Erwin, and I'm from the placeThat has no name among your raceBefore you may see me in my truest formTo answer a question is always the norm

King Lamus Ask it.

Erwin You that would conjure the great god PanIs he a god, a beast or a man?

King Lamus He is all three yet also noneFrom divine paradox is he spunA beast that talks in words of silenceA god that blesses thee with violenceA horned man, a learned goatThere is no higher noteThat can with music still expressThe poems of his loveliness

Erwin You tongue is true

The first thing that Lamus espiedWas Erwin's purple piercing eyesTwo twisted and gnarled shining hornsWhiter than sunlight, brighter than dawnAn ebony frame some seven foot tallWith razors for teeth and sharp bitter clawsCovered in auburn and orangey furHis clothing a dizzy and hideous blurOf forest leaf, bone, feathers and branchMulticoloured and still breathing plantsHung around his muscular chestA silver pentagram proudly did rest

King Lamus My mother warned of fauns like youNever to trust, she always taught true

Erwin My mother was a western windUpon which seven voices were singingShe taught that man is full of sinThat was my upbringing

Enough of talk with human tongueThe bell is struck, its voice has rungNow you must drink the fiery brothUnleash within the night of wrath

King Lamus Without hesitation I will drinkPass me any bottleWithout contemplation I do thinkI will surely throttleIts contents loose within my bowelsAnd let rip the beastly howls

Erwin It is no vessel of artifice earthlyThat I do here mentionI doubt whether you are worthyForgive my condescension

King Lamus A fruit guarded by a snake?

Erwin It will give rise to belly acheAnd awful pains beyond beliefA certain sting, and sudden griefAnd only if you do not dieMay you come a fraction to lieWithin the astral hood of night And then receive the sapphire lightOf us! The secretive night breedThose born of lust and demon seedYou shall barter your humanityFor a sure and sharp insanity

King Lamus Lead me to this fruit of deathI offer up my last breath For a bitter fruit to tasteIndulge me now and please make haste

Erwin I cannot simply offer upEven one sip from such a cup

King Lamus But I have tossed away my crown

From an isle of great renownEvery pleasure of the earthAll the delights, every worthFrom a king to a monk to what?What will be my final lot?

Erwin Indeed a man of sacrifice greatBut you must patiently waitA crown of thorns is still a crownPiercing your mortal and bleeding frown

Of us there is no timely sorrowNo silver yesterday or golden tomorrowAlways here in endless danceWe never leave our timeless trance

The dilemma you are inAnd the question deep withinIs to die a mighty kingOr devour the stealthy thingTo live evermore as feral creatureMarked by vile and obscene feature

Your palace you cannot mendYou have lost your only friendIt seems you are truly lostIn old cruelty of the frost

The Abbey of Thelema you must seek

King Lamus What is this that you do speak?

Erwin Are you not swathed with their sky colour?It is formless, purest blueNay! Even sunlit heaven's dullerThan the cyan that surrounds you

King Lamus I cannot fathom these last two daysMy mind is sunk in confused hazeI merely wish to vacate the nightThat bred such hateful, icy frightAll the pleasures of a robust kingWere dashed by the demons it did bringI cannot relive that fearful dreamThat dire crater of unheard screams

Erwin Without doubt of one slight grainYou are confused in the mainWith the pressures of a kingForget yourself, begin to sing

King Lamus I could not bear it

Erwin I still swear itThe Thelemic Abbey you will findTo cleanse the sorrow of your mind

King Lamus If your hell fruit won't cleanse my angst Perhaps I should go join their ranks

Erwin Rather than biting demon seedWash thine woes with angels' meadThe monkish draught it may fare betterThan the fixed immortal fetterOf us the night breed in this woodGo and find beatitudeUnravel your dire complicationWithin the Abbey's consecrationThis path to tread thou really mustAshes to ashes, and dust to dust

In that moment of far profoundErwin the faun did cease to soundHis wisdom and his sage opinionAnd went back to the countless minionsOf Pan the great and mighty godThe wielder of the golden rod

Some darkly bird of unknown typeWith scroll held tight in beakDescended from indifferent skyAnd relinquished at his feet

A cartography of where to findThe conventicle of holinessThe home of mythic wineAnd end to his dire loneliness

It marked out crude the coast of GuyonNear the Mount of Peace

By the rocks that sturdy lie onThe border of the sea

King Lamus My countenance it has a smileThanks a thousand for this planThe Abbey's merely thirty milesBarefoot trek across the land

Just one gold day to quick traverseAnd then of things divine converseLet's hope the wisdom of these monksWill fill my bare and empty trunk

The vacant hollow with aching queryWanting pinpoint and secure theoryOf why all matters of the worldHave been by me so quickly hurled

Into a bottomless abyssThronged with dark and creeping mistsI am the lost yet fervent seekerI am no more my brother's keeper

Erwin's advice did reinforceHis efforts to briskly strollThe blue veiled king took rapid courseA monastery his goal

The sands of time they quickly fledAnd half a day was goneThirty happy miles were treadWith glad verse and joyous song

Yet instead of edifice proudLay sprawling open groundIn the middle stood the doorAnd writ upon this deep etched law The Portal DO WHAT THOU WILT above the gate,

True freedom is your golden fate,A year of toil, a time of strain,A link within the iron chain,If high initiation's what you want,Thou must first become a Postulant.

Next, one must forge the mortal frame,To one of strength, and surely aim,Towards a body of tempered steel,A toughened spoke within the wheel,The Novice is the second grade,Be thou athlete, unafraid.

Then, we arouse thine intellect,To seek all cause, and all effect,Three years of study, science and books,Preparing to receive the LVX,Disciple is the triune grade,Seeking to yield the inner blade.

Four years of sincere magick work,Where angels sing and demons lurk,The Aspirant seeks the planets seven,And vows to keep the spheres eleven,Theurgy high, and goetia low,This grade commands the astral glow.

If all rites are duly kept,Then thou may progress to Adept,Five years of silent contemplation,Thou wilt strive through meditation,Seek to unite with cloudless sky,Answer the query, Who am I?

Fifteen years of thine devotion,Of settled work and calm emotion,And thou hast the Master's word,To the profane one is unheard,Thou art crowned with scarlet fire,Freed from the shackles of desire.

If for ten moons thou art well hid,Within the depths of pyramid,Make lead to gold, ego to id,Do only as the gods would bid,The Abbot earns divinity,Borne of austere simplicity.

King Lamus Where's the abbey? Where's to findThis house of old ApolloWhere's the path? What certain line

To tread and then to follow?

Indeed a door without a keyBounding the unboundedAn entrance to the anarchyOf woodland far surrounded

Upon the gate lay bare a bellWith brass clanger on orange ropeHe bashed it hard and rang it wellHis last and only hope

The copper metal sounded deepInto the brown recessesA resonance that slowly leapedWith proud and loud excesses

This violent resounding triggerMade appear a blue clothed figureFrom out of nowhere he appearedHis hooded face did slowly leer

Sentinel Behold thou the mystic flame,The one immortal token,Shimmering its silent name,And force ever unspoken.

The stillness of the water's face,Reflects thine pure devotion,No feeling leaves its coloured trace,Or tainting of emotion.

The night is one, the air is still,No rustling leaves below,The silent sky no clouds do fill,With all the stars on show.

The globe it turns, this world it spins,Our orbit goes around,The axis of a million things,Without the slightest sound.

O thou Satan come not hence,Thine legions are no more,The wand it brings divine defence,

From Elohim Gibor!

Leviathan! Bid thy legions,Lay locked in depths of hell,Come not to this sacred region,In the holy Name of El!

Lucifer! Command thy servants,That from this place they fly,Let there be no sly transference,In the Name Shaddai El Chai!

Away from here, thou proud Belial!All thine armies must divest,Their demon swords, and not defile,In Adonai Ha Aretz!

We pray by this sacred pyre,The fire that can't be lost,To help our dead man thus aspire,To the holy flame Qadosh.

We pray that the heavens high,Give one drop from above,A man thus dead, he cannot die,The quintessence known as love.

We pray that on the Plane of Swords,His mind be true and ready,Even a dead man needs his thoughts,To be single, clear and steady.

We pray for strength of mortal frame,And body free from ill,Help this dead man strongly aim,His instrument of will.

The one Hadit, the core of fire,Pushing forward to break the bar,To the space depths we thus aspire,Thou distant diamond and lonely star.

We swim through the vast expanse,Our souls they ever yearn,The planets spin, and moons they dance,

The constellations turn.

Thou art the one true Queen of Space,Thy song runs ever through it,The chorus of love does ever race,Through the firmament of Nuit!

We praise the labyrinth so vast,The infinite adytum,And legacy of distant past,Thine pinnacles still heighten.

King Lamus What is this? And who art thou?What riddles do you keep?Answer me this here and nowWhat mysteries you speak?

The gatekeeper gave signs of silenceWith tokens of potential violencePointing to a pyramidBy pine and oak it was well hid

Lamus knew within his heartThe reason of this angled archFor ten moons a silent stayUntil that great and diamond day

He would emerge from the cocoonThe warm and peaceful wooden womb

He drew nearer to the prismAn oubliette of NuitThe endless silent prisonAnd quickly jumped into it

The sloping walls they were adornedWith elemental sigilsTo frame calm dusk to crazy dawnAnd comfort his slow vigil

A platinum chain with amulet crestedLay still snake on the floorWith one precept alone investedSILENCE HERE FOR EVERMORE

The capstone was invisibleAnd lay open to the skyHis resolve it was invincibleTo ten months herein lie

The first moon had a long allureWith nought but rainfall to give tasteHe slowly made his body pureAnd breathed out all the waste

Following this he taught his mindTo only dream of archetypeThe central kernel he did findIn pure and astral light

The third was spent in subtle verseLamus studied long and hardHe strove to find the roots of wordAnd all the poet art

To master passions and deep emotionWas the task of the fourth moonHe settled all the loud commotionWith silent, settled tunes

A contemplation of the sunIntergalactic songOccupied the next long monthOf golden orb so strong

To free himself from proud carnalityThe sixth moon was devotedLamus renounced with strong finalityAnd The Devil was demoted

The seventh was of intellectTo purge all logical defectsHe sought to plumb all contradictionAnd relieve his mind of constant friction

The third month was perhaps the longestThe truth of unplumbed sorrowHe sought in that great ocean strongestA hope for some tomorrow

Change was the penultimate keyThe ninth moon occupiedLamus began to slowly seeAll karma thus defied

The final month it was austereWith meditation of the OneHe partly thought the end was nearAlthough it had just begun

Two hundred and eighty little marksUpon the pyramid wallGave sure proof the ordeal was pastKing Lamus stood tall

He climbed outside the polygonAnd to his staggered sensesThe forest and the sky had goneReplaced with royal fencesOf his velvet palace bedFour oaken posts in regal red

He had returned unto his palaceFar from Nature's dreamOr demoniacal maliceAll was quite serene

Queen Cornelia My lord from deep dreamsYou have stirredAnd now it does seemYou are here in the world

King Lamus How long have I slept?

Queen Cornelia For ten hours you have keptA secure and solid holdOn rest within your purple fold

King Lamus The labours of a king grown old!