Axis & Allies - damowords

Poetic Meeting
From Poppiʹs field rose enchanting accent,
ʺDante Alighieri is my name,
Sent to attend thy poetic descent
Into the ovens of infernal flame!ʺ
ʺLet it be so,
Let us retrace the ride
That was thine Inferno, when Virgil was thy guide.ʺ
ʺPoet, thy path we have observʹd
From heavenly echelons,
How thro thy task ye have conservʹd
Manʹs wars & his raw weapons,
How ye wonder what hells reservʹd
For manʹs evil actions ‐
This question to be illuminated,
Thus my mortal form rejuvenated.ʺ
We walkʹd the Pennines to Pendle,
Old Grendelʹs cenotaph,
Wild winds that chill this brooding hill,
Carry a witches laugh,
As from the tree that leads to Dis we made impromptu staff.
Lancashire
Gates of Hell
ʹABANDON HOPE ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE,ʹ
Dante tremblʹd once more before the gloom
Then to nook‐smitten depths did dissapear,
I joinʹd him as a robber stalks a tomb;
How deep distance
Echoed a frightful sound,
Sonambulants advance cautiously underground.
ʺPray, Dante, stray not far from me,ʺ
As into Hades we go,ʺ
Soon rose a black cacophony,
The muted groans of limbo,
Where Acheron glutted vile sea
In stagnant, livid flow,
Where Charon waits to ferry fools & kings,
His haunted face bloated with hornet stings.
With old proverbs our pilot paid,
Who blinkless gave no thanks,
But silent stayʹd, the boat obeyʹd,
Sliding tween fetid banks,
Scudding beside a sorry shore, rats scuttling on the planks.
The First Circle