Forgotten Ground Regained
The Werewolf
An alliterative Shakespearean sonnet in iambic pentameter. Each line alliterates palindromically (xAxBxCxBxA).
Past light, I walk these ancient woods alone,a silver blade held firmly by my side.I needle through the cedars, thoughts unknown.Past stony creeks, I force my crooked stride.This place of death, this land where darkness prowls,commits its doom upon the dales, each Moon.We hide behind our doors and heed the howls —yet see, by morn, that death must meet us soon.Last month, the beast returned with bloody might.It loped inside my home. It slew my love.So, now I fight the woods. I face the night.That beast obeys the lit abyss above —its Moon is here! My wounds, they hurt me more...yet, frail, I’ve seldom felt so strong before.
Copyright © Anthony Etherin, 2023.
First published in Robots of Babylon