Ink Fiend, A Monster Poem

Are you an artisan?
Are you a novelist?
Do you work with colour?
Warning of danger near
Traveller,
Essayist,
Songwriter.

I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon stealer of words
I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon killer of art.

There is no rigid shape;
Seething mass of brush strokes.
Formless entirely but
Eyes that do not ever blink
Cannot hide
The circles
In circles.

I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon stealer of words
I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon killer of art.

A spell once written down.
Careless the wizard who
Splattered some devil’s blood
Altering the words there.
It came alive;
An evil thing
Rendered real.

I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon stealer of words
I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon killer of art.

In book or letter prose
It hides disguised as text.
In art or Painted work
An out of place figure.
The fiend leaves
Nothing but
Empty space.

I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon stealer of words
I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon killer of art.

Spirit malevolent.
Staring eyes pierce the soul;
It will possess your mind.
Bitter and spitefully
Striking out.
Ink cannot
Make a sound.

I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon stealer of words
I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon killer of art.

Construct of blood and spell.
Made of ink, there is no
Physical form to hurt.
Indefatigable,
Resilient,
If harmed;
Self repair.

I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon stealer of words
I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon killer of art.

Predator in pages
Camouflage and stealthed
Patient amongst the words
Dodges discovery
Ambushes
Lethal speed
Tragic ends

I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon stealer of words
I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon killer of art.

What does it want? Power.
Gobbling knowledge up
Powerful spells it seeks
To make it physical
In our world
Violence
Upon us all

I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon stealer of words
I warn of the Ink Fiend
Demon killer of art.

Until the words run out
And all remains is but
A blank and barren page.


Image Credit – Monster #1 by Julia P – CC-BY-SA-2.0