The Legend of Black Shuck (Part Two)

S P Clark shared part one of this poem, a retelling of the story of Black Shuck. It is recommended that you read it in order, so if you haven't already, click here for Part One! Otherwiie read on for Part Two of The Legend of Black Shuck. The rest of the tale will be shared soon!

The Legend of Black Shuck

S P Clark

Ahead of him, upon the track

stood a dog that looked mean and black.

Its fur was matted and yet wild;

Reed stood enchanted and beguiled

by this creature from God knows where.

Elias could but stand and stare

at this vision that seemed to grow;

the beast’s full size began to show.

This was no ordinary pooch;

dazed, he thought, “I’ve had too much hooch;

there is no way on God’s Green Earth

that nature would have given birth

to such a beast.  Myth, go!  Dispel!

Unless this hound came up from hell.” 

Perhaps from fear if not from strength

Elias stood, now at arm’s length

from such a terrifying sight

that presented itself tonight;

he shook his arm, began to shout,

“move from this road!  Go on!  Get out

of my way before my temper

starts to flare up and attempers

the air that must be cold for both.

I’ll beat you down.  I’ll take that oath!”

Sluggishly now the giant beast

rose like the sun from in the east.

Six feet tall and it’s half as wide.

Is this when hell and Earth collide?

Despite shouting and demanding,

the hound stood firm and commanding.

Elias felt his chest tighten;

his senses seemed to be heightened

with fear, before knowing what lies

ahead, what harm it could devise!

The blanket mist was yanked away,

Reed revealed, he could not inveigh;

all he could do was stand and face

a beast that he could not outpace.

This dog began to rear its head

and hadn’t two, but one instead;

yes, one central eye above its nose,

devil red from blood, I suppose.

Fire danced inside his blood-red eye,

burning, seeking to satisfy

his lusts and darkest deep desires

before this hellish night expires.

He fixed Elias with his stare,

held him there with each flaming flare.

Elias couldn’t move, was stuck.

This beast before him was Black Shuck.  

The tales he heard came rushing back

to his mind, of each launched attack,

each pound of flesh, bone discovered,

all these memories recovered.

Eschatological questions

with other worldly suggestions

moved quickly through Reed’s whizzing mind.

Unaware of what he might find

if he were to peer through the door

and trust the stories he’d heard before.

The stories rushed back all at once;

no tricks of light, no lurid stunts,

no sleight of hand, no magic trick;

just the terror to make him sick.

Although quickly the stories came,

they came far too late all the same.

His brain, no time to understand

the fiendish fiend, what it had planned.

“Christ preserve me”, Elias said.

Black Shuck stepped in, filled him with dread.

A cold so cold, Jack Frost appeared,

the kind of cold Elias feared

would keep him iced to the very spot

where resigned he was to his lot.

Elias stepped back from the brute

but on the damp ground did his boot

slip, and he tumbled to the ground.

“I can’t get up!  Confound!  Confound!”

The black monster advanced a step.

“Why did I fall?  What a misstep!”

In considered walk Black Shuck progressed,

it’s evil eye was deep recessed

protecting it from incursion.

Elias searched for diversion,

anything to stave off his fate.

Dear reader, it might be too late

for our dear hero, Mister Reed,

the seeds are sown, they’re sown indeed.

Elias saw Shuck made no sound;

no bark, no growl, its feet don’t pound.

Silently Black Shuck proceeded

to march forward unimpeded

to where Elias was fell down.

Touching distance from his hometown,

an age away from his abode,

he alone would endure this load.

Unblinking eye watching him now

“Stay back”, Reed stuttered out somehow.

Black Shuck did not stay back at all,

he marched towards him proud and tall.

Inferno eye starts to flicker

wildly as it marched in quicker,

‘til Reed could smell the rancid breath,

a haunting scent, a scent of death.

Elias and the dog now stood

much closer than one ever should,

so close that he could see his teeth,

his fangs a size beyond belief

with drool falling down his black fur.

The hidden fear did now transfer

to the visible signs of dread

as thoughts of death swam through his head.

TO BE CONTINUED...

© S P Clark