VII: Beast of Arpocalyx

Connected by a stem to the earth The Scythian Lamb grows Up out of the ground a singular birth Both flesh and bone, and plant and root Held aloft, a mound of wool Bound by its cord umbilical Flexing downward The land within reach it grazes Barometz Aside the Caspian Sea Forever linking flora and flesh The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary Emerging hornless from a gourdlike womb Cloven hooves of purest wool Its flesh the flavor of honey Zoophyte “Cradled in snow, and fanned by Arctic air, Shines, gentle Barometz, thy golden hair Rooted in earth, each cloven foot descends, And round and round her flexile neck she bends, Crops the grey coral moss, and hoary thyme, Or laps with rosy tongue the melting rime; Eyes with mute tenderness her distant dam, And seems to bleat - a vegetable lamb” (Dr. Erasmus Darwin) “Arising from the earth Upon a stalk is fixed a living brute, A rooted plant bears quadruped for fruit It is an animal that sleeps by day And wakes at night, though rooted in the ground, To feed on grass within its reach around.” (Latino Carmine Demonstrata)

Submitted by Immortal — Apr 26, 2025

Cerebus‘ maw opens wide Slavering, poison dripping from his jaws Spittle turns to flora as touches the earth Monkshood From Hades it grows Up, up, to meadows of the Northern mountains Communion with the divine Queen of poisons, Aconitum Devil’s Helmet Lycotonum Born of Hecate’s hand Aconite As the dart flies Ranunculaceae Its bite, rabid Akin to that of a dog gone mad A javelin to the heart of man Bringing sickness and disease Death to the fortunate Transformation into a spider for the less Blindness enflamed, vertigo Drooling loss of sense

Submitted by Lake of Tears — Apr 26, 2025

Tropical domain chiroptera reigns Obscured in shadow Devil flower Broad shining wings unfurl Understory denizen In laden air it thrives Bathead lily jet black Sunken in dry earth Disocoreacea On Hallows’ Eve it rises From its face Fearsome tendrils searching Floral Onyx Chiroptera

Submitted by Warbringer — Apr 26, 2025

Kurulbrang From sandy loam its paw extends In fan-like flowered rows Anigozanthos’ paw Covered in velvet fuzz Abounding in yellow, orange, or red From the coast of swans to plains of sand

Submitted by VladTheImpaler666 — Apr 26, 2025

In the furthest recesses of Albion Furnes Felles it was known There, amidst an ancient, decaying castle Strange birds made their home Amongst the black rocks of the edifice Where ocean waves lapped Draped in strings of moss and pearls A monstrous creature sat Flora, not fauna was it Though the line was blurred For from its sea-smoothed boughs Were born flights of birds Not pearls indeed, but shells Strange barnacles attached to the tree Arisen from pelagic depths From the frothy abyss of the sea As the shells grew, odd changes were seen First they swayed, then they cracked As beaks and legs protruded When the pearls asunder split Geese were set free Down they would drop Fruit that became birds flying Neither flesh nor born of flesh To the sea for life To the earth for death In their wake broken shells Of similar color and hue Leaving behind proof of their passing Barnacle encrusted driftwood testimonial Not nesting birds were they For they were never seen to rest Fauna born of flora Neither flesh nor plant entire Perennial undertakers of a mysterious quest Ansifera Tree bearing geese Fauna born of flora In ancient Albion

Submitted by Sexy Gargoyle — Apr 26, 2025