Twisted Ink

by Cliff Lake

The legends float down the long ago,
Bone marrow memory breezes blow.
Tales twisted by manipulative ink:
Ancient truth shrouded indistinct.

They mechanized the magic and we lost,
They monetized the magic at cost.
Warnings couched in old fable
Myth the paid-for label.

Now we search for visions in the dust,
Or through prophecy covered in rust.
Chasing oracle because we must,
Hoping to catch a vision in the dust.

Tribes described experience,
Scribes guided by expedience.
Ancient knowledge thrown away,
So much less is known today.

Cataclysm and impending doom,
Catastrophe unknown looms.
Perils survived we forgot,
Retold by seers we count for naught.

So we search for visions in the dust,
Or through prophecy covered in rust.
Chasing oracle because we must,
Hoping to catch a vision in the dust.

Discount the olden ways,
Mistrust the ancient days.
Millenia that cloud the gaze,
Still we attempt to pierce the haze.

Searching for visions in the dust,
And through prophecy covered in rust.
Chasing oracle because we must,
Hoping to catch a vision in the dust.

What mysteries remain concealed?
What code is yet unrevealed?
Who overmasters the secret seal?
What cipher have we lost to steel?

Venerable cautions remain unread,
Through mechanical mazes we are led.
So through the obscure we stumble,
And the timeworn guideposts crumble.

They monetized the magic at cost,
They mechanized the magic and we lost.
So much less is known today,
Ancient knowledge thrown away.

Searching for visions in the dust,
And through prophecy covered in rust.
Chasing oracle because we must,
Hoping to read a vision in the dust.

Cliff Lake 6/24/2026
Copyright © Clifford Lake 2026