Author's Note: Based on Imprisoned with the Pharaohs /Under the Pyramids /Entombed with the Pharaohs, written in 1924 by HP Lovecraft, for Harry Houdini.
January 1910 is the month and year
The greatest escape artist of history
Proves himself in the face of fear
To Egypt he travels, far away
To exhibit his tricks and skills
And hear what the people say
Explore the great and old land
Look upon the primal gods
Gaze upon the statues in the sand
Lured into a trap by a treacherous guide
The master of magic is believed to have died
But for now, death is not his fate
Under the pyramids, dark and cold
Entombed with the Pharaohs
In the depths of the tombs of old
Imprisoned with the Pharaohs
The magician frees himself in the black
Lies in the dark for hours
As he recovers from the sudden attack
Within the Pyramid of Kephren
Inside the Temple of the Sphinx
Cold silence seems an echoing din
He follows an icy breeze
To escape from this forsaken place
Hope to find a door that needs no keys
But not to the surface does he go
Instead deeper inside, to the priest's chamber
Lie horrors which no mortal should know
Composite mummies, half beast half man
Imitating the elder gods
In horror, the magician devices his plan
Undead priests led by king and queen
King Kephren and Queen Nitrokris
A hundred footfalls echo as a scream
Under the pyramids, dark and cold
Entombed with the Pharaohs
In the depths of the tombs of old
Imprisoned with the Pharaohs
"Heaven take it away!
Hippopotami should not have human hands and carry torches!
Men should not have the heads of crocodiles!"
The escape artist wants to run
But he is captivated by the sight
For the ritual is not yet done
From the shadows comes a shape
Massive, five headed and tentacled
Emerges with a grinding scrape
Under the pyramids, dark and cold
Entombed with the Pharaohs
In the depths of the tombs of old
Imprisoned with the Pharaohs
The magician flees, his throat raw
A horrifying realization strikes him
For the beast in the shadows is but a paw
YOU ARE READING
Lovecraft
PoetryPoetry on the subjects of the strange, fantastic, terrible and otherworldly. A series of poems based on the beautifully horrifying works of H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. I hope you enjoy! All of the original stories can be found here: htt...
