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When one looks in the box, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the cat.

Reactor

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Night-Gaunt

I
Among innumerable mountains of madness,
The only moving thing
Was the tail of the night-gaunt.

II
I was of three minds,
Like a madman
Tickled by three night-gaunts.

III
The night-gaunt whirled in the Ngranek winds.
It was a small part of the Dreamlands.

IV
A man and a woman
Are one.
A man and a woman and a night-gaunt…
Ouch.

V
I do not know which to prefer,
The haunter of the dark,
Or the horror at Red Hook,
The night-gaunt writhing
Or just after.

VI
Dusk filled the perilous eyrie
With daemonic damp.
The shadow of the night-gaunt
Crossed it, to and fro.
The mood
Traced in the shadow
An indecipherable cause.

VII
O thin men of Kingsport,
Why do you dream of white mist?
Do you not see how the night-gaunt
Lurks around the caves
Of the hoary form of Nodens?

VIII
I know yellow masks
And putrid, inescapable flute-sounds;
But I know, too,
That the night-gaunt is involved
In what I know.

IX
When the night-gaunt flew out of sight,
It marked the edge
Of one of many Zoog rings.

X
At the sight of night-gaunts
Flying in a green light,
Even the dholes of Pnath
Would wax emphatic.

XI
He rode over Baharna
In a tethered zebra.
Once, a fear pierced him,
In that he mistook
The wings of some insect
For night-gaunts.

XII
The Skai is moving.
The night-gaunt must be plunging.

XIII
It was evening all eternity.
It was dank
And it was getting dank.
The night-gaunt whirled
In the primal mist.


Illustration by Brian Elig.
(Click on image above to see at full scale.)

For more, see the I Speak Fluent Giraffe Index.

About the Author

About Author Mobile

Jason Henninger

Author

I'm the assistant managing editor of Living Buddhism Magazine, fond of philosophical fiction, magical realism and good ol' farmboy-saves-the-world fantasy epics. I write short stories, poems and novels that my mother thnks are really great. Now, if I could just get my mom to work for a publisher, I'd be set. Oh and here's a really outdated clip of me contact juggling. It's a fun hobby and may some day win me the heart of Jennifer Connolly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFphHR8u01A

Jason Henninger is the assistant managing editor of Living Buddhism magazine. His short fiction has appeared in the anthology Hastur Pussycat, Kill! Kill! and various ill-fated and short-lived webzines. He marvels that he's not caused the demise of Tor.com.

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