From The Deep There Were Drums

Through darkness thick and darkness deep

Well footing and instinct may serve very well

Always wondering if this is all an image of sleep

And reminding ourselves this is the waking realm

 

Gripping the edges of walls and ready to draw the sword

Struggling along trying to keep a steady pace

Once these were halls in golden light and once adored

Now given way to foreboding in an empty place

 

From the beginning we knew there were dark feelings

And at the other end into the sun, still warnings we must heed

Past these tunnels and roads, hollow, vast limestone ceilings

Going on with only the faintest idea of where it may lead

No markers between and guessing from rumor we're halfway through

No matters from the outside world could again be more pressing 

If the twinkling of only one tiny star could be mirrored in this pool

It would seem the mountain were small and so the strain of guessing

 

Walk carefully and know that each sigh is felt behind and ahead

I cannot tell if something awaits further on or if I'm afraid

Because sometimes long ago tales we've heard spoke of such dread

In such a gloom and only barely a dim torch, everywhere can fade

 

Scattered treasure that once had value in whatever it served

The few words we speak now and a memory of song as it comes

Feels as though the more treasure is regarded, the more obscure

The silence is broken for from the deep there were drums

 

Perils had been reflected upon and measures taken, and the danger noted

But the path that would have been easier to turn away, that's when we were brave

Whenever it all happens, we shall find a way, were the words once quoted

They made sense then, but never reached an end, no direction they gave

Twisting and turning ways around massive rock walls and long buried halls

Coming through one menacing path which only leads to another

Grasping my hand over my my chest so the beat of my heart slows under footfalls

An occasional breeze slips through the air under this immense cover

 

Everywhere there are signs of death but instead of frightful, they're subdued

From early evening to late at night our journey's timing is hard to tell

A crisp clear sting of wind and stone keep us all awake, and so we ensue

Coming upon a corner that may serve as a resting point beside a deep well

 

A darkness flutters in a thicker wave, from where it comes I don't want to know

All the laughter from happy times I've closed within my heart

A creeping sense of something eerie and dull begins to feel colder than the snow

Bordering a terror and fear beyond an emptiness of the dark

 

It was never a desire for this conquest to turn into a final invasion

Of the ending steps where we will undoubtedly go, it's bound to meet us harsh

I see the warning signs of every breath of stagnant air, in hesitation

It serves well to keep wary in this expanse where drums beat in a distant march

 

There is no time to slack and then again time here is all consuming

Any dawn we've seen with tired eyes begins to go in deeper and slip away

The time of day has gone far above but here it's unknown and never moving

A year may have gone but it couldn't be counted as each single hour can sway

Under this range and far from the towering doors we walk in the unknown

If any primitive will awakes this would be the place to lose a sense of choice

But journey's end lies somewhere beyond the echo of footfall, not yet shown

Being always aware to think quietly within a small gathering of one voice

Although we've gone steadily into the feared depths, really we have plunged

Down further until any sense of height appears as an abyss below our feet

Minding each step as the legends spoke of byways that gave way and lunged

In moments of pause and rest, still from the deep there were drums' beat

Of the winding upward stair and harrowing descent are chambers of the dead

So long forgotten beneath the dust that settled evenly in the marks of any name

If I only pass by these deeply buried chambers of a kingdom unspoken, unsaid

Forever would I still feel each point of bewilderment in my heart the same

Now we continue on from a quest that begins to grow beyond our grasp

We must keep going and abandon any desire to stop or hope for its end

So tread alongside me, my friend, for so long has the darkness gathered to last

I once thought adventures, too, were marvels and now look what we comprehend

 

Secret tunnel below and emptiness overhead, behind the small trail of footsteps

In such a place where no mirage can be seen, the false ring of running water

Carry onward and hurry along, we fare under hanging twine and root's depths

While the moisture in the air hardly offers comfort, we head yet farther

 

With unnumbered turns we've gone it's natural to believe it's nearly over

Closer we walk side by side, following with great care the light-bearing guide

And at some points the way is treacherous, forcing us to move much slower

Yes, it's difficult to know what pace to keep and continue any adjusted stride

 

In low whispers words of encouragement bring the burden off our minds

In low tones underneath the flows of tunnel breeze, we will rest up ahead

From this place it doesn't appear so menacing only for the decaying synclines

For only a little while I can sleep and dream away the looming dread

 

Holding onto all the memories of sunlit, wooded strolls in some long past Spring

In some eerie belief that they could never again be reached or again taken

The gloom stays unrelenting, seeming to build and the despairing it has to bring

Has never felt so strong or so forced and leaves me feeling shaken

In the thickness of all night one wonders endlessly, thinking why

Hundreds and thousands of steps already under us all who are so weary

Engulfing us in such a choking shadow, the obscurity will only sigh

Haltingly moving in the dark as if shadows cursed us to never see clearly

 

Of winding paths and impossible passages through underground ways

All the time was there a strange haunt keeping a grip of this quest

And of crumbling roads that seem far and so much more a maze

It's this path alone we've gone that hosts us as an unwelcome guest

 

Inside slopes have run down inclines in varying degrees and still sink

All the blackness of the deep has brought only a numbing of feeling sought

The totality of shadow struck at first but aura had faded and mind not to think

Keeping a steady pace for the slightest idea there echoes your thought

Dark ways that leave no sensation beyond that of a grim desolation

Wondering ever where this place has lead us to and where we'll end up next

With accounts and recollections from our guide there's vague memorization

The scope of a realm that we knew was riddled and now growing more perplexed

The going is starting to seem opposing and the way begins to climb

Time to adjust the direction and set forth in a quicker pace abound

The sooner we reach the other side where the other doors must hide

The better our chance to finish a trek that doomed the very ground

 

Drawing closer to the conclusion gives a distinct urge to be hurried

While the depths have been left far behind, we stand within murky grasp

Passes and archways open before stone halls appearing swept through flurried

And bridges go across deep chasms where upward tunnel winds blast

Maybe the sunlight is only one hour away and we'll find the doors

The ever-growing sense of caution fill these ruins and chambers bare

Strangely that there are marks scattered in the dust upon the rock floors

A scent from ashes and fire drifts along in the motion of the air

Another short flight across a vast spread made up of flattened stone

In barely a moment to catch a breath and prepare for one more run

Suddenly heeding faintly detectable sounds, knowing we're not alone

Looking back, side, behind, keep a watchful eye for whatever may come

It's been such a while that we've spent through this ghastly expanse

Yet this legendary kingdom had been deathly quiet, a nature of hidden maze

Many times at many points have I been overwhelmed, my fears enhance

For the unknown threat and the encompassing shadow where I'd rigidly gaze

Ancient relics and the remains of lifetimes that once were

Somber reminders how ages have passed and another comes

Making the memory of their delight the more obscure

In a constant rhythm from the deep, there were drums

 

 

©Iggy 1998

Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's 'A Journey In The Dark' from The Lord of the Rings