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Stealthy Slayer

Stealthy slayer, murderous sneak,
A crafty trick, or lifeless freak—
I slip behind your walls unseen
Despite the guards whose eyes are keen
To spot, to seize the crafty foe,
Whose guise matures from death and woe.

Squirming, writhing, crawling, flying,
Smiting young and old alike
Through the air, Apollo strikes!
The gates of Troy are open now
To hellish hounds upon the prowl!

Pandora’s box is opened wide,
And loosed upon the mortal realm,
So Devil’s dwarf automaton
May wear a crown atop its helm.

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Asther Kane is a USAR Officer and small business owner residing in St. Louis City.

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12 Responses

  1. Mark Stellinga

    A wild guess, Asther – the word ‘propaganda’ sneaked into the ‘seems-like-a-possible-fit’ compartment in my mind. Regardless, a very nifty piece.

    Reply
    • Asther Kane

      I pride myself on niftiness, Mark. haha

      Thank you. You’re not quite there, but propaganda certainly is a stealthy slayer, …one which you might even say could be an accomplice (of sorts) to the criminal herein.

      Reply
  2. Dan Pugh

    The dwarf automaton might be the smartphone and the stealthy slayer is social media, which the Chinese Communist party calls a “mind-virus.”

    Reply
    • Asther Kane

      Your guess, it strikes my very heart.
      Dan, you’ve barely missed the mark!

      (he loosely rhymed)

      Reply
  3. Brian Yapko

    Interesting. When I read this I thought of a virus infiltrating a computer past the firewall and slipping in past antivirus applications. I then thought of the virus spreading from computer to cellphone and tablet propogating harms upon the mortal realm (the world wide web?) like the cursed contents of Pandora’s box.

    Reply
    • Asther Kane

      You thought correctly, Brian. Well done! ‘Virus’ is correct. And ‘firewall’ is exactly right–the guards then having a dual meaning both to antivirus software and to the immune system.

      Pandora’s box is more of an explicit reference to the non-digital virus, but many of the lines play with both forms. And I’m curious to see if others will discover the riddle’s other hidden references…

      Reply
  4. Warren Bonham

    I applied some elbow-grease to this one and completely struck out. I went down a video game rabbit hole (Skyrim has dwarf automatons which I’m ashamed to have some familiarity with). I considered the Covid virus for a while but couldn’t make all of the clues fit. I hope you don’t leave us in suspense for much longer.

    Reply
    • Asther Kane

      Warren, the grease is much appreciated. The automaton reference is one of my favorites. Both that and the second line do use a little bit of what I’d call ‘specific knowledge’, but still need not be fully understood to get the answer.

      Nonetheless, ‘Virus’ is correct! Well done. Though I’ll also add regarding the automaton reference that, though the automatous nature of a computer virus is a part of this reference, it is not its *only* meaning.

      And have no shame for your Skyrim-love, brother. Those Dwarven automatons are difficult to forget (and with great loot, I seem to remember).

      Reply
  5. Maria

    Love this poem , riddle. I think the myth of Pandora’s box and The Trojan Horse are very cleverly incorporated into the poem. Television comes to mind as it unleashes all sorts of evil on unsuspecting viewers. Truly a Stealthy Slayer. Thank you for entertaining us and making us think at the same time.

    Reply
    • Asther Kane

      My pleasure, Maria; I’m glad you enjoyed it. Both the Trojan Horse and Pandora’s Box screamed out to be used. (Lots of screaming in both cases, it would seem)

      Thank you.

      Reply
  6. Mike Bryant

    Well, the poem is great and the riddle is a tough one. With the benefit of the preceding comments, I’ll take a shot at the last two lines only…
    “So Devil’s dwarf automaton / May wear a crown atop its helm.”

    Could this crowned automaton be a Coronavirus?
    I believe the spike protein was named Corona because of its resemblance to a crown.

    Reply
    • Asther Kane

      Thank you, Mike. And you are exactly correct (in both the physical and linguistic sense) with ‘Coronavirus’ in the final line. Much as Covid-talk gives me a headache, the reference here was too good not to use.

      Reply

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