Sibyl

Sibyl

Three weeks we worked, encamped beside her cave.
We mapped the webbed cuneiform of vein
In each oak leaf. We analyzed each stave
On the carved gate, and probed the knotted skein
Of woolen mat on which she stood to lave
Her hearers ears with prophecies arcane.
At night, at rest before our fire, we poured
Libations down our throats, and ate or snored.

The leaves displayed some abnormalities:
Necrosis in the mesophyllic cells,
Brought on by hypersensitivities
In their response to cleansing hydrogels
Used to shed soil from gilded cavities
Within the gate, a browning from micelles
Of lipids left upon our hands. Consult
Our monograph to see the full result.

The faded gilding on the gate we traced
In origin no sooner than an age
Commensurate with Octavian based
On present isotopes of lead. We gauge
The mat Roman Republican when faced
With seriate woven style at this stage.
Not being experts in the ancient myth
We've not measured its marrow nor its pith.

The final night the wind arose and blew
Our oak leaf samples, scattering them round.
We managed to secure our notes and flew,
Flashlights in hand, in haste, scouring the ground,
But most were lost. The reader may construe
This incident unreasonably. Unsound
Interpretations metaphorical
Return the priestess to her oracle.