In obscure rays
dense dust suspends
this myriad of mystic tomes

in cryptic script
forgotten tongues
hermetic leaves

long yellowing in crackled spines
of unknown age

left desolate
unbound by time

ascend in legion rows of shelves

by cobwebs
candles long extinct
past shattered panes

as shadows arch
toward vaulting heights no ladders reach

where secrets taunt the curious
to hazard all

climb up to wrench
some esoteric volume loose

unleash designs no mortals grasp.