In distant Yith past crested, ragged peaks; On far-flung islands lost to worldly years, A shadow from the ancient star-void seeks Some being which in caverns shrilly cries A challenge; and the hairy dweller speaks From that deep hole where slimy Sotho lies. But when those night-winds crept about the place, They fled--for Sotho had no human face! II Beyond the valleys of the sun which lie In misty chaos past the reach of time; And brood beneath the ice as aeons fly, Long waiting for some brighter, warmer clime; There is a vision, as I vainly try To glimpse the madness that must some day climb From age-old tombs in dim dimensions hid, And push all angles back--unseal the lid! III Beside the city that once lived there wound A stream of putrefaction writhing black; Reflecting crumbling spires stuck in the ground That glow through hov'ring mist whence no stray track Can lead to those dead gates, where once was found The secret that would bring the dwellers back. And still that pitch-black current eddies by Those silver gates of Yith to sea-beds dry. IV On rounded turrets rising through the visne Of cloud-veiled aeons that the Old Ones knew: On tablets deeply worn and fingered clean By tentacles that dreamers seldom view; In space-hung Yith, on clammy walls obscene That writhe and crumble and are built anew; There is a figure carved; but God! those eyes, That sway on fungoid stems at leaden skies! V Around the place of ancient, waiting blight; On walls of sheerest opal rearing high, That move as planets beckon in the night To faded realms where nothing sane can lie; A deathless guard tramps by in feeble light, Emitting to the stars a sobbing cry. But on that path where footsteps should have led There rolled an eyeless, huge and bloated head. * * * * * SCIENCE FICTION IN ENGLISH MAGAZINES by Bob Tucker (Series Seven) A late May issue of TRIUMPH carried "Invisible Charlie" by Tom Stirling. (No reflections on you, Editor). However, the story was of juvenile character, and the most terrible thing Invisible Charlie did was to make a ball do funny tricks on its way from the pitcher to the batter, Invisible Charlie himself carrying it, of course. Vol. 1, numbers 15 and 16 of SCOOPS presented: Two chapters of Doyle's "Poison Belt," two of "Devilman of the Deep," and two of "Black Vultures," leaving very little short story space.