I Escape from Zora Rach nam Psarrion

“Zora Rach nam Psarrion…of all earth’s mountains…most accursed.” – E. R. Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros

I haven’t cut my hair since the pandemic arrived.
I don’t go out much; I don’t wear a headscarf.

My hair has grown to resemble a pair
of hippogriff chicks hatched from my head

standing back to back, snarling defiance at the world.
They toss tangled manes and spread chestnut-feathered wings

streaked with silver. They gape like gargoyles
to be fed.Their claws dig into my scalp.

I’m waiting for them to grow strong enough to fly
me over the walls of this citadel of brass.


This is a rewrite of "Griffin Hair," which I wrote and posted last night. It brings the theme of captivity/confinement into sharper focus, and develops the griffins better. Per Eddison, I changed them into hippogriffs. Having a horselike body rather than a lion's makes the chestnut color seem more reasonable.

The Worm Ouroboros is one of the great fantasy novels of all time. Much of it deals with the hero Juss' attempts to rescue his brother from imprisonment on the mountain Zora Rach nam Psarrion.

Books Available
The Day of My First Driving Lesson
Country Well-Known as an Old Nightmare's Stable
High-Voltage Lines
Knocking from Inside