Monograph

Monograph



A sudden sound sent a chill up my spine;
Pages slowly turned by fingers of wind,
phantom-like, as the rain's beat kept time
with the ticking clock. I sat back, chagrined.

The tome was unfamiliar, laying on the desk.
Di Vinci's creed – curiosity - led me to take a look.
Filled with arcane symbols, illustrations grotesque,
it was readily apparent this was more than a book.

Pulling on my glasses, I peered into its heart.
The ancient text was gibberish, well beyond me.
Yet, somehow, its contents began to impart
its dark secrets into my mind directly.

I saw visions of torture, the blood used ritually,
twisting the normal for some nefarious end.
I felt in my soul these were used habitually
to call upon darkness, over goodness transcend.

The power it showed me was almost narcotic
sweeping me up in the possibilities.
The images, gruesome, were also hypnotic
with promises of unique capabilities.

The wind grew fitful and the window slammed
breaking the spell and my reverie.
Had I continued perhaps I'd be damned
but when I looked back - there was nothing to see.

Had it all been a dream? An apparition?
The table was bare and nothing remained.
In the light, I now see it as an admonition –
Don't turn to the darkness or you will be stained.

Notes:
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Prompt: Di Vinci's Creed

monograph - a highly detailed and thoroughly documented study or paper written about a limited area of a subject or field of inquiry
nefarious - extremely wicked or villainous

Thank you for taking the time to read my words. I would appreciate it if you'd take a moment and leave a comment...

Thanks!

Ken