Of Elvia and the Steam | Part 3

Table of Contents : Prt 1; Prt 2; Prt 3; Prt 4; Prt 5; Prt 6; Prt 7; Prt 8; Prt 9; Prt 10

When his poling shift was up Jubal Cain sat.
He pulled out a strange and grotesquely shaped harp
Which he plucked in a tune that captured the heart.
Now gators, snakes and fish all swam in a trance.

Elvia listened from where she swam with friends.
She observed the creatures following the boat.
Her friends were awed and slowly began to float
Toward the haunting melody of the barge musician.

Elvia crept through the woods keeping distance
As an audience formed, moving on the banks.
The barge kept going as if nothing was strange,
And Elvia watched while everyone listened.

Those in the crowd began to do a slow dance
They swayed and they twirled and held each other’s hands
As if they were caught in a river romance.
Feet, paws, and fins moved with the pebbles and sands.

Then, Elvia heard call the voice that had sung.
It seemed only to speak to her ear alone
No one else seemed to hear the call in this tone.
It beckoned soft, yet strong, “I see you there. Come.”

Elvia was curious about this game.
The trick intrigued her, and she wanted to play,
Yet, something in her caused her to hesitate.
She stayed and waited, and again the call came,

“I see you young one. Come. You must be special.”
Elvia cocked an eye and looked at her friends
They danced by the water like all the rest.
She pursed her small lips and let out a whistle.

The whistle reverberated one note long
Penetrating the air with dissonance.
All the dancing stopped in that very instance,
The whistle disturbing the enchanting song.

The gators erupted in frenzied splashes
As the confused crowd awoke to hungry teeth.
The bargers kept steadily poling upstream
Though the peaceful song had turned to harsh clashes.

Table of Contents : Prt 1; Prt 2; Prt 3; Prt 4; Prt 5; Prt 6; Prt 7; Prt 8; Prt 9; Prt 10