The Old Ones

A villanelle based on a quote from H.P. Lovecraft

"That is not dead which can eternal lie,"
Sang the Mad Arab from tortured sleep,
"And with strange aeons even death may die."

Cthulhu dreams of an Elder sky
In sunken R'lyeh 'neath oceans deep.
"That is not dead which can eternal lie."

On membranous wings the Old Ones fly,
Across the infinite void they sweep.
"And with strange aeons even death may die."

Yog-sothoth pulses, his pseudopods try
The cracks between worlds, and through them seep.
"That is not dead which can eternal lie."

At the Mountains of Madness the shoggoths cry,
"Tekeli-li." Beneath the ice they creep.
"And with strange aeons even death may die."

The Old Ones were, though they may sleep,
And when they wake then men will weep.
"That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die."

August 6, 2024