James Ambuehl

'Twas the reading caused my downfall
Of those palm-like leaves,
The Plant-Thing did bear to Earth --
Yet still I did not believe.
To see, with my own eyes, I must
Journey to that shunned locale,
To view for myself the horrors
That made Royceton scientists grow pale.

The townspeople were sullen, it seemed,
Outsiders not welcome in the least.
And yet I did not give up hope --
It gave my mind no peace.
I begged, threatened and cajoled,
Yet none would tell me aught.
It seemed the secret of the Star-Seed
Was one that's best forgot!

In truth I was discouraged,
Yet still I had to press on.
I had to uncover the secret
Maddeningly cloaked in the Ei'lor Fronds.
And then, while driving 'round aimlessly,
Through a forest of weeds,
I espied the farmhouse --
And knew I was close to the Seed!

I foolishly crossed the threshold,
And all was green moss inside;
The rampant growth covered everything --
Including a man who'd died!
His humped form sat in an armchair --
Dead for years, it appeared to me --
And I nearly jumped from my skin
When he spoke to me!:

"Beware the seed from the stars!
Its terrible growth steals the life,
From all it comes into contact with,
Like Helen" -- it choked -- "my wife!
I had foolishly summoned it,
And to our dimension it came;
A green and weedy horror that
Would drive a strong man insane!

"It got in the water tables,
And also in the crops.
And still its insidious growth
Just could not be stopped.
Royceton U. tried all it could --
Including eldritch rituals --
But we of Laren were doomed,
When it spread into our victuals!

"It grows here even now,
And forever will it live;
It calls to me even now for
A sacrifice to give.
But I adjure you: run!
And never do come back --
For all is lost in Laren and
All Earth is under attack!

"You must find a way to stop it,
Though many, in vain, have tried.
The answer lies in the Books . . ."
He choked out finally, then died.
Then something pushed up from below --
And beneath my feet the house shook --
And I ran headlong from the house
With nary a backward look!

So, like Mariner to wedding guest
Who stoppeth one of three --
You see in the face of such cosmic jest
Why I could but flee?
The monster Ei'lor would spread its seed,
But no longer just in the earth.
Through the food intake of Laren
Comes Ei'lor's terrible re-birth!