Early to Bed… Late to Rise

Across rubble and sand, a shrill wind blows.
No one knows what lies sleeping below.

Workmen jostle, shovel and shout,
probing dark passages, hauling dirt out.

In a deep recessed chamber, dug beyond mortal recall,
a yellow eyelid flickers, linen dust falls.

Through debris and swirling dust, an encrusted door appears,
sealed by priests of Amun Ra for three thousand silent years.

A chest begins to heave, bony joints stretch and bend.
A massive body rises, with sacred purpose to attend.

Lanterns flash upon the door, emblazoned with a glyphic script.
Eye of Horus, head of jackal, and perchance a curse to guard the crypt.

Trailing rotted cloth across the dusty floor,
a heavy figure lumbers toward the chamber door.

The seal is broken, the door pried open, and a wondrous scene unfolds.
Chariots, chests and bejeweled statues; everywhere, the glint of gold.

But while defiling eyes gaze upon the tomb,
a dark avenger suddenly looms.

Seized with fear, the desecraters scatter,
save for one poor soul, whose skull is shattered.

Below rubble and sand, silence runs deep.
Once again…the mummy sleeps.

Gary Davis likes all things classic horror. He has published Halloween short stories in Aphelion, Frostfire Worlds and Spaceports & Spidersilk (2016-2020). He has published poetry in Aphelion, The Vampire’s Crypt, Bloodbond, Illumen, Scifaikuest, Star*Line, Tales from the Moonlit Path, two Lester Smith Halloween anthologies and in a sci-fi anthology, Kepler’s Cowboys (2000-2020).

Find more by Gary W. Davis in the Author Index.

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