DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Fantasite, v. 1, issue 3, April 1941

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Fantasite, v. 1, issue 3, April 1941

Page 21

THE FANTASITE...21
[illustration]

PAYMENT
BY ARTHUR LAMBERT
The doctor dropped my wrist, and then
They tiptoed silently away.
My relatives, the nurses too:
Why was the sheet above my face?

And then I slept, and dreaming, came
To a cavern -- a fearful maw
Of black; blacker than the mouth
Of Cerberus, the Hound of Hell.

I entered then. The Blackness was
Profound. A horrid stench of death
Rose up about me in the dark.
I retched and reeled, but staggered out.

I saw a light -- a ruddy flame --
'Round which a shadow danced and leaped
But had no form or substance. Just
A shadow made of nothingness.

Nothingness? The shadow chuckled.
It spoke: "Ho, little man -- art thou
Ready to make payment? Thyself
Said the price was fair." I nodded.

I had to nod. My brain was numb;
My body, a senseless machine
That would not move at my command.
I struggled hard with it, and sweated.

The shadow laughed. "Wouldst run away,
My little man? Wouldst break thy bonds
Of sleep? Awaken then." I woke --
Oh God! -- to find my dream was real!

Saving...

THE FANTASITE...21 [illustration] PAYMENT BY ARTHUR LAMBERT The doctor dropped my wrist, and then They tiptoed silently away. My relatives, the nurses too: Why was the sheet above my face? And then I slept, and dreaming, came To a cavern -- a fearful maw Of black; blacker than the mouth Of Cerberus, the Hound of Hell. I entered then. The Blackness was Profound. A horrid stench of death Rose up about me in the dark. I retched and reeled, but staggered out. I saw a light -- a ruddy flame -- 'Round which a shadow danced and leaped But had no form or substance. Just A shadow made of nothingness. Nothingness? The shadow chuckled. It spoke: "Ho, little man -- art thou Ready to make payment? Thyself Said the price was fair." I nodded. I had to nod. My brain was numb; My body, a senseless machine That would not move at my command. I struggled hard with it, and sweated. The shadow laughed. "Wouldst run away, My little man? Wouldst break thy bonds Of sleep? Awaken then." I woke -- Oh God! -- to find my dream was real!