Cautionary steps  
obscured by turbid chaos; 
each fog-laden path 
both difficult and different. 
Shifting silhouettes 
following; hounding me past  
bound’ries, set in stone. 
Sacred stones we’re not to move. 
Would that shadows lift— 
journey veiled in hidden steps— 
darkness drowns my way. 
The misty trail forks: 
which way? The easiest one? 
Or a rocky climb? 
Throw caution into the void; 
Path Easy it is, 
for dark mystery intrigues. 
Playtime on the path— 
ghosts and goblins—laugh them off. 
Shadowed confusion, 
haunting screams deep in the copse 
halt me in my tracks. 
Girl? Surely, a curlew call. 
Trembling fear steals my breath. 
Cloudy vapors hang; 
sulfurous, rank, and deadly. 
Limbs crackle, echo. 
With iridescent glitters  
inviting his prey,  
awestruck by shimmering wings, 
the dragon awaits 
unwitting victims, he feeds, 
salivating slime. 
Darkness devours, swallows. 
Does the path seem easy now? 

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