Stave-Clash
The deadly pole-axe!
The wizard’s staff!
The deadly pole-axe
danced like a fire;
The wizard’s staff
whirled like a windmill.
Back and forth
bounded the battlers bold;
Side to side
sprang the swift sword-stormers.
The square-sky plunged
like a squire of thunder;
The staff arose
like a striking sea-serpent.
The cutlass-clashers
belched clouds and mist;
Their groans and cries
alarmed ghosts and gods.
Their battle-cries
made the broad Earth tremble;
Their stamps and shouts
made the stones to dance.
The nine-tailed lash!
The wizard’s wand!
The lash of nine tails
like a lightning-bolt;
The wizard’s wand
like a whale breaching.
The lash raught out
to lacerate limbs;
The staff stretched forth
to strike upon heads.
Red drops ran
down the rawhide whip;
Sparks arose
from the spike of the rod.
Back and forth
went battle-birds’ gladdeners;
Right and left
they reaped a grim harvest.