Evil Encroacheth

Evil encroacheth upon our land,

and we shall not abide it.


Evil looms over us,

massive,

unfathomable,

gigantic,

and definitely crossing

our property line.


We have informed

the Dread Lords

who seek to

crush our

freedom

and/or

wreck our

lovely view of the park

that this area

is

not zoned

for Monstrosity,


but they claim

they got a variance,


and City Hall

backs them up.


We protested:

“We do not desire

evil,

not in OUR backyard,”

and the clerk told us,

wearily,

that the hearings had

been publicly posted

and not one

damn

person


showed up.


Evil encroacheth upon our land,

or at least,

we’re pretty sure that one

gigantic and

sinister

oak


has a limb that’s definitely,

definitely more than

halfway between

their house

and ours.


So we did call upon a Soothsayer,

but she was out of town

for a vacation.


So we called unto us

a Surveyor,

who charged a pretty penny,

let me tell you,

and eventually

informed us

that though the limb was out

pretty far

and it would be

neighborly

if they’d trim it,

it wasn’t actually,

technically,

over our property line.


He said we could

build a fence;

he said he

knew a guy.


He said

if it went

over the fence,

we could call the City,

and somebody

would issue them

with a hefty fine,


but that these disputes

are often best settled

between neighbors.


He pointed out that

the ominous Goblin war-drums,

pounding incessantly,

had made it difficult

to concentrate,

so he knocked on Evil’s

dread portal,

and asked them

to turn it down.


So the Orcs,

their war-cries dying down

as word was spread

deep into the Underdark

far below the basement

quit with the drums

and pulled out some violins

and played some very

passable Brahms.


We looked at each other,

and shrugged.


Then Evil

came calling,

came walking down our

driveway,

came up our

stairs,


rang our doorbell,

bringing us gloom

and despair

in a little

covered

basket;


turned out it was

cookies,

fresh-baked,

chocolate chip

with a hint

of brimstone.


Evil encroaches

on our land,

but whenever we’re playing

Ultimate Frisbee,

and the frisbee

sails over into

Evil’s yard,

Evil always laughs

and tosses it back.


Evil says

that spreading death,

doom,

and destruction


is a day job,


but it wanted

to move to

the suburbs

so the Orcs

would grow up

somewhere

green.


The last time

we had

a block party,


the Orcs baked us

some Elves;

the recipe

was kickass,

and everyone

wanted

seconds.


Evil has come

to our neighborhood,

and sometimes

we stop by,

to borrow a cup of

sugar,

or check in about

how soon the Sun

is going to be

swallowed

by that giant

space-shark.


“Soon, soon,”

laughs Evil,

and then

Evil fetches us all

another round of

beers;


their rec room

is great;


you have to watch

out

for the bottomless pit,

but they have a pool table,

and a real

vintage

jukebox;


I think it’s a Wurlitzer.


~Jeff Mach


 



My name is Jeff Mach (“Dark Lord” is optional) and I build communities, put on events, and make stories come into being. I also tweet a lot over @darklordjournal.


I write books. You should read them!


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Published on April 23, 2020 21:05
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