{"sf1_id":1355683,"sf2_id":"zeRaabK1","title":"Voodoo Shark","author":"Mantrid_Brizon","words":771,"posted_at":"2018-07-30T20:23:16.000Z","tags":["Adventure","Anthro","Furry","Human","Magic","Poem","Poetry","Rhyme","Rhyming","Story","Supernatural","Transformation","spiritual"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1355683-voodoo-shark","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/zeRaabK1","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/c3/8c/c38cb505-0c23-4cb6-bf00-b2ea1b064e74","description":"A short story written as a rhyming poem with a classic meter. A man near a jungle tribe is confronted by an anthropomorphic creature who speaks to him, and this is what he says.","content":"Voodoo Shark\n\n(06/13/2018)\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nGreetings to you, my startled new friend!\n\nForgive the intrusion, my hand I will lend\n\nI don't wish you harm, as a matter of fact,\n\nI just want to talk, quite harmless an act,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nAnd please do not fear my unusual looks,\n\nYour eyes will deceive, like the covers of books,\n\nA wonderous story that I have to tell,\n\nSo kick up your feet and sit for a spell,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nI was once a man who was lost on a hike,\n\nA mountain adventure through treacherous pike,\n\nA terrible storm forced me off of the trail,\n\nFrightened and cold, indeed I did wail,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nDescending the mountain, the rocks were so jagged,\n\nI walked for so long that my feet became ragged,\n\nAnd entered the jungle, a forest of rain,\n\nHoping to find a reprieve from the pain,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nCursing and yelling I couldn't believe,\n\nMy life at an end I couldn't conceive,\n\nVillagers heard from the huts down below,\n\nSpirit was lifted but they dealt it a blow,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nCaptured by force and dragged to the square,\n\nMysterious ritual their shaman prepared,\n\nTied to a stake as they painted my skin,\n\nThey brought out a knife passed down by their kin,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n“This is the end\" I thought out aloud,\n\n“I hope that I've made my family proud\",\n\nBut what happened next was so unexpected,\n\nThe villagers circled, my body protected,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe shaman began loudly chanting and praying,\n\nLike a wolf in the night, at the sky he was baying,\n\nSlaying a goat with the knife in his hand,\n\nCried out to the sky and the blood on the land,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nHis words were like lightning, so potent and swift,\n\nAsking the gods to grant them a gift,\n\nA fire behind him rose like a beast,\n\nA ravenous creature so eager to feast,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nSo into the fire they threw in the goat,\n\nThe flames rising higher, smoke scrawling a note,\n\nReciting the words that appeared in the sky,\n\nThe shaman approached, looked me dead in the eye,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Do you accept?\" He asked with a grin,\n\nI felt little choice with the knife at my chin,\n\nI nodded and spoke what little I could,\n\nThe villagers cheered, stoked the fire with wood,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nRemoving the ropes, I thought I was free,\n\nNot even close, unfortunately,\n\nThe fire grew higher and shone a strange light,\n\nChanging its color like auroras at night,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt lunged like a lion, I fell to my back,\n\nHow do I protect from the sudden attack?\n\nShrouded in magic, my body absorbed,\n\nThe light from this most mysterious orb,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nI screamed as I felt the horrible sting,\n\nOf my body reacting and slowly morphing,\n\nWatching in awe as their wish was so granted,\n\nI lay in the dirt as if I'd been planted,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nEventually all of the pain did subside,\n\nQuickly receding like the ocean's tide,\n\nI rose to my feet and took a deep breath,\n\nThankful that I was not taken by death,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nMy eyes growing wide as I witnessed the change,\n\nDigitigrade feet; my new paws looked so strange,\n\nCovered in fur and with a tail I'd sprung,\n\nI could barely stand up otherwise I'd have run,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nMy fingers grew claws and my face has a snout,\n\nThe animal ears on my head are quite stout,\n\nI looked all around, tail swaying behind,\n\nWould it be right to take revenge of some kind?\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut the story's not done my terrified friend,\n\nPlease do not run or your life I will end,\n\nThe talking beast-man has a bit more to say,\n\nAnd it would be best to give him his way,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe shaman presented a gold ruby ring,\n\nThey bowed down to me and declared me a king,\n\n“The gods gave you a gift\" he said with a smile,\n\n“So please stay with us and lead for a while\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nAt first it was strange to be so revered,\n\nAbusing my power was something I feared,\n\nBut I grew to love the people I lead,\n\nFrom my human body my spirit they've freed,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nI wouldn't change back even if I knew how,\n\nMy life has not ever been richer than now,\n\nAnd not just because I'm the villages chief,\n\nFrom my previous life they've erased all my grief,\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut to be one of many is a terrible plight,\n\nSo let's take a walk and I'll show you the light.\n\nI'll give you the same choice that they gave to me,\n\nA new life or quick death. What will it be?","series":{"name":"Poetry","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1355681-wasted.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1355775-manitou.json"}}