The Shuck (An Olde English Tale)

© 1998 Diggs Sexton
All rights reserved.

The night was dark on the boring road,
and the migrant felt his leg cramp.
He was looking for a place to unload,
somewhere safe and make a camp.
He limped from the pull in his leg,
and still, he wondered why, sometimes,
he didn't take it easy and beg,
or take other roads that lead to crime.
He decided his path was not that bad,
and he still had his health, though tired.
And other roads he could have had,
he felt they might leave him mired.
So he stopped and took off his pack,
and leaned against a nearby post,
to rub his leg and rest his back,
when came wailing like that of a ghost.
The migrant looked back up the road,
and perceived a lantern glowing,
perhaps a horse and rider strode,
and could take him where he's going.
But the glowing, brighter than a lantern,
and the wailing, farther away,
was a clue there was no return.
He had better be on his way.
With the pack across his shoulder,
he hobbled his way to the road.
feeling his backside getting colder,
feeling fear in his heart as it flowed.
The galloping did not sound hoofed,
more like the foot pads of a dog.
With its speed on the road as it moved,
was it safer to be in the bog?
He knew of the tale of the Shuck,
that black dog with the fiery eye.
He knew his predicament stuck,
for as sure as he saw it, he'd die.
He looked away, so not to see.
Beware, according to the tale,
the closer to you, it may be,
the farther from you be its wail.
The glow from its eye showed its presence,
and knowing that he couldn't run,
he hoped only for the dog's riddance,
but knew his day had finally come.
All he could do was turn away,
to keep from looking at the Shuck,
to keep that hound from Hades at bay,
to keep from dying in the muck.
He spun to keep his back to it,
he could see the spill on the road,
was a flaming quicksilver spit.
But the drool was hellishly cold.
For eternity the dance took place,
and the migrant hoped for sunrise,
at times closed the eyes on his face,
at times prayed for light in the skies.

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