Deep, deep underground –
the hoary troll
counts moonstones with a flickering pierce,
casting pale shadows in the glow
of incandescent suns –
slashing the dark with hungry
cadaverous teeth.

A grinning seabird
perched and waiting on a rubble pile
surveys the scene. In his eye
a nebulous sea tolls the hour.

Now, our fiendish companion
hammers out contractible alloys;
his beating sledge
sparks off the anvil ground. A searing rod
emerges sparkling from stagnant
fountain depths. Overhead,
a starless firmament applauds.

Casting pale favours over its abeyance edge,
an ivory smile
gaping at this abysmal slave
petrifies its seasons.