Large Fierce Mammal

Before you run too far with that, study the poem below.

The lore surrounding iron goes back into antiquity, and many are the beliefs that trust it to have the power to ward off evils from the supernatural realm. The intention to keep the dead at rest is why cemeteries, and even individual graves of a certain age, are often contained within iron fences – both to keep their ghosts from leaving, and to shield them from the troubles of the living world that no longer concerns them. In this, the efficacy of the barrier works both ways.

This being the season of Dark Sentiments, and as a student of steel myself, my playful nature got the best of me, and so this. I offer it up in dedication to a living, breathing Dark Sentiment in his own right – my Esteemed Friend Jim Keating – who is, in no small part, to blame for inspiring it.

Cold Iron and the Veil

By LFM

World of Living. World of Dead.
A veil that lies between.
It bars the Dead from coming back,
Except on Hallowe’en.

I’m troubled that it’s strong and true
A year of days but one,
Then weakens with the setting of
The last October sun.

But all this lies beyond my ken,
Or powers to resolve,
And evil lurks the whole year through,
With constant threats to solve.

I’ll lose no rest o’er what may pass,
Through weakened tattered veils.
Cold iron’s where I’ll place my trust
On ALL the darkest trails!

It may not quench a soul’s desire
That seeks to come this way,
But iron can send souls from here,
And do it ANY day!