I traded with the goblin a piece of string and a shiny thing for his fine walking stick,
He thought it grand that I'd offer my hand so we shook to seal the deal.
But as I grasped his twisted claw, I felt a shift, a subtle flaw,
For in his grin, a secret lay, a trick beneath twilight’s sway.
His eyes, like embers, flickered bright, a shadow’s dance in fading light,
He chuckled low, a gravelly sound, as twilight’s veil wrapped us ‘round.
“This stick’s no simple branch,” said he, “It bears the weight of mystery,
And as you’ve claimed it so, its path shall lead where few dare go.”
I felt the stick grow warm in hand, a pulsing heartbeat from the land,
The goblin’s laugh, a haunting ring, echoed through the singing trees.
But onward still, I took my stride, with goblin’s gift and moon as guide,
For what lay ahead, I could not see, yet the night was full of destiny.
The forest deepened, shadows curled, where ancient roots and dreams unfurled,
And in the dark, a door appeared, a gate to realms both far and near.
This gnarled stick, with power old, began to glow, a light of gold,
It drew me forth, whisper’n sweet, to where our earth and heavens meet.
I stepped beyond this mortal veil, into a world where legends sail,
Where goblin trades and faerie songs entwine the night, and I belong.
The goblin’s laugh still lingered there, but in my heart, I had no care,
For in my grasp, this walking stick, a key to places magics-thick.
So now I wander paths unknown, with stick in hand upon seeds of stone,
Through lands where only dreams have tread, ‘neath skies of stars long long dead.
And if you meet that goblin sly, with eyes that gleam and his crooked smile,
Remember well the deal you make, for what you give, he remakes.
In our world, the line is thin, ‘tween our whimsy and our sin,
And every trade, though light it seems, may bind you to another’s schemes.
Yet still I walk, my heart is light, ‘neath the cloak of endless night,
A goblin’s stick, my guide and friend, till at last, my journey’s ends.
