This is the poem that Evelyn recited to Julien, fortelling the coming through
of Lasher and of disaster ahead...
From Lasher, pgs. 417-418
Caution - some spoilers ahead!
One will rise who is too evil.
One will come who is too good.
'Twixt the two, a witch shall falter
and thereby open wide the door.
Pain and suffering as they stumble
Blood and fear before they learn.
Woe betide this Springtime Eden
Now the vale of those who mourn.
Beware the watchers in that hour
Bar the doctors from the house
Scholars will but nourish evil
Scientists would raise it high.
Let the devil speak his story
Let him rouse the angel's might
Make the dead come back to witness
Put the alchemist to flight.
Slay the flesh that is not human
Trust to weapons crude and cruel
For, dying on the verge of wisdom,
Tortured souls may seek the light.
Crush the babes who are not children
Show no mercy to the pure
Else shall Eden have no Springtime.
Else shall our kind reign no more.
I do not recall where I learned this, but I had read once that Stan Rice had written
this poem for the book Lasher. If this is so, then this is a superb example of his prowess as a poet. It
is a darkly beautiful poem about real people in real chaos. See www.stanrice.com to visit Stan Rice's site. As it is stated there, if you have any of his work, his family is searching
for it. Please contact them if you can be of any assistance.
Despite
a witch's inability to control the future, this poem demonstrates that,
with
the power to see, it is possible to
see signs of it. Those signs will not tell you in exact detail what you
must do
when the hour arrives, but you will
have some knowledge that the hour was coming. Evelyn was clearly strong
enough to
envision such a poem and to recite
it to the one person determined to remain after death to continue to
fight Lasher and stop
him from achieving his diabolical
goal.
Even
in our most mundane, trouble-toiled lives, there is still that
connection to
the spiritual and ethereal that does
not necessarily transport us, but informs us and broadens our
understanding of our world.
Poetry conveys a great deal of ideas
and emotions in a short amount of well-chosen words and expressions and
makes us ponder
the true state of our existence.
Poetry makes us think. It sharpens our minds, broadens our outlooks
and enriches our spirits.
This
simple yet eloquent poem sums up the story of the Mayfair Witches and
advises
Michael as to what he must consider
if he is to defeat Lasher. Again, it provokes Michael's thoughts,
even if it does not spell out
exactly how the end is to come. It is intended as a help if not a set
of explicit
instructions. Poetry never worked
that way.
Michael
understands. Michael knows, somewhere in his mind, what must be done.
However, he knows not how the
circumstances will be set up or how exactly he will do what he must do.
