Divine Intervention

[twoleftfeet]

The bridge of chain was down,
extending to the valley floor.
With dread-full heart I made
the swift descent and
hit the bottom scurrying.

White cliffs assailed me on all sides,
sheer and ice-bright, slippery.
Too late, I heard the Great Beast's
heavy tread -
Above my head the silver waterfall
resumed; its swirling, hissing waters
licked around my body, plucking,
tore me from the walls.

The Beast leaned over, leering,
with five legs scooped me up.
Lifted to the heavens, I beheld his
liquid eyes and loathsome jaws!

I prayed to mighty God the prayer of
those about-to-be-devoured and then -
the Beast cried out as steam rose
from the water, scalding!
Bellowing for mercy, it tore aside
the clouds, released me gently
far beyond the valley,
then disappeared into the mists
once more,
among the torrents roaring,
pleading still for pity.

I tarried long enough to learn
the sounds
then sought the safe-path-home,
at each step chanting to Anansi
"Doo Wah Diddy Doo Wah Diddy"
------------------------------------------------------

Fragment from an untitled saga -
translated into English by Peter Parker 2006

[Minstrel]

The beast that I am usually washes em down and away in a slowly disappearing vortex that ends in a deep gutteral belch.

Nice one Geoff.

[barrie]

I've read this over and over, trying to figure it out. It has me intrigued. The Beast using five legs to scoop up its victim . I thought that it may be a spider, three legs gripping the web - Anansi is a spider god - then I thought again...and again and gave up.

It's one hell of a tale though, captivating from start to finish.....and while I am writing this, it has hit me! - The Great Beast isn't the spider - the Great Beast is rescuing the spider from a bath just after the taps have been turned on. - Sudden Enlightenment! - Now it all makes sense - I had been assuming that the narrator was human.

Brilliant..bloody brilliant.

Good stuff Geoff, had me entertained on and off all day.

cheers

Barrie

BTW - Could you shed more light on this -

Fragment from an untitled saga -
translated into English by Peter Parker 2006

[Jester]

Yeah, that five legged thing had me going for a while too. I got the impression of someone on the face of a glacier at first. Is it really a translation?
Cheers for this Geoff
Mick

[k-j]

Ha ha. Very good.

Barrie, Mick: Peter Parker is Spiderman's mild-mannered alter ego.

[calxaed]

I was utterly stumped by this until I read barrie's post, and I have to agree it's really clever and funny.

[barrie]

Methinks I should have paid more attention to Minstrel's post.

Nice one Dave

[dillingworth]

an ingenious reversal of perspective - i liked the way you left just enough clues to figure it out, though i'd suggest you give it a better title to add another clue.

[twoleftfeet]

Thanks for the comments, folks -
Without feedback there is no way of knowing if I've given enough clues
or too many.

It was tough choosing a refrain from a song. I plumped for
"Doo Wah Diddy" because it ends on the same sound as "Anansi", but
maybe 60's stuff is too old for most of the readers on this site.
What songs do you guys murder in the shower/bath?

Barrie
wrt "five legs"
I remember Rolf Harris used to do a stint with an octopus "puppet" he
called Oliver Polyp on children's TV
- it was his hand with two eyes painted on it!

Cheers
Geoff

[figure eight]

I feel stupid now. I read this before in the early hours and it lost me. I even missed the Peter Parker reference. It all seems so obvious now, can't believe I missed it... jet lag will have to be my excuse.

Really well done with this, a great idea and a reminder to try and see things from a perspective other than our own ever now and then.

Great read, when my mind was functioning.

Fig.

[ccvulture]

Ace!!

Stumped me first time round - but then I'm not a Spiderman fan at all!

Stu