Love's Tears by Hephaestus

Onto a weary sigh from a saddened glance down
Staring into remnants of the sun's being
Turning and bubbling between stoned walls.
My forge and I, we know all too well
What a pain it is to have nowhere to go

My soul, whose villains of life
have wrapped their thirsty hands around
pulling and squeezing it through the door
of my open chest into this unsightly world,
Falls from my breast into my legs and the
roots of my heart haven't the strength
to burrow those darkened corridors for life

With a hammer and anvil, what magic a man can work
But a fool he'd be to look up to me;
Why hand over an iron sword to a simple man
Letting him father your creation? For he will
learn to wield your power to his designation,
and in place of showers of appreciation,
will be a blind-eyed man ravenous for glorification.
Because No one thanks their creator
No one enters this world thanking Gaia
for her nourishment, or Helios for his warmth;
So crafter, do not think they,
As they reach the height of their power
proclaiming themselves worthy of a god,
in their pathetic vanity
will not bind you to their might,
ridicule your unruly sight, seduce your lover by night,
squeeze and squeeze your soul feeling no contrite
to let it sigh its last goodnight -
No crafter! Do not let them conspire with your power!

But this power...
Torn between envy and self-pity, I've fallen
below the fabric of the universe's beauty
and beneath it, I can see the infinities of possibility
that make up my supposed ingenuity.
Fall long enough to come meet me and
You will see - yes it is our souls that fuel our tools
Turning us simple craftsmen into the gate watchmen
As we unlock the makings of life's magnificent creations
But these keys handed to us were from the master riddler herself
Whose creations were held in the garden long before the dawn of reason

Do you understand now?
The universe gives away beauty and we stain
It with tormented desire and hostility
I wish a tide would wash it all away, but
you humans seduce me with a sense of power

It's only the crafters who cry at night
The foundation beneath us never cracks
And it's only the crafters who scrutinize
To unfold the veil and see things properly
It's the crafters who live life harmoniously
and humbly know there is no beauty.
It was all just an illusion of rock and dirt
that sparkled to pander your eyes

What is beautiful, Hephaestus?
Is it indeed, as we have imagined?! This idea
Of a grand scheme that was given to amuse our little souls
And while we eat at each other's flesh and blood
The dogs are starving for more, and
I give them tools to satisfy their lures
But what is it I do?

Only the true crafter cries at night
And works tirelessly to disarm his worst fear:
The golden creation remains forever elusive

Reality's Question

many hours tick the clock
as minutes pass and birds chirp
lying on a table, erebus wallows:
what is real? and what is not?
does it or matter? or does it not?

my days upon this table he thinks
what a fitting simile
to indulge here from night to night
after a momentary blessing and cheering
to what is right and what is just
in our self-righteous rituals,
where did it go - the hours ticking?
and the birds - are they still chirping?

have you felt it?
does your heart go icy
from time to time leaving you
wondering what went wrong?

my heart has felt it -
but it is no proud soldier
to display its hurt
it withers away screaming at time
for taking its moments and putting
them away

my heart has felt it -
it has climbed mountains only to climb back down
it has seen the opera only to drown out the sound
the rubix cube turns
and when the colors align
is it real? or is it fake?
does it matter? what will it take?

the nighttime glows a pale yellow
running itself through my veins
moved along by the slow beating of
an old friend standing with a cane
displaying his pain, but he is no war hero

is it real?
to feel this way? is it real?
and if it is - what does it
matter - what can it do - why
does it speak to me - and you,
who are you knocking at my door
in the middle of the night
with a lantern for light, did you
think you could illuminate
the darkest night?
my friend, just tell me,
is it real? or is it fake?

Quiet Hallway

quiet halls echo my voice.
footsteps slowly pound their way up the stairs
and a man is walking towards me.
my eyes are darting left and right.
i'm trapped inside a quiet hallway.

dark clouds are forming and the wind is beginning.
i'm thinking i'll run away if
my feet weren't made of stone.
The man is getting closer...
I'm trapped within a quiet hallway

Lightning strikes! And I'm being stared at by an animal.
His claws are growing, teeth flaring, and he's hissing my execration
I try to ignore him, glance behind me, look at the grass
Forget about all this, and remember my life is beautiful

When i was a boy, I slid down an icy slope
I was so happy; my life blurred in ecstasy.
oh mother out there in the green grass
is that your face?
you always did say it was much too risky
I didn't think it would come to this
My eyes leak for looking out there
From inside here, my quiet hallway

It's just as I expected. the dead are coming again to catch me
From an extended bone pointing at me, a spell is cast
And my blood runs cold thinking no no, this can't be true
I thought I was out of view, but the man found
My secluded quiet hallway and wants his due

He inches near and the wind is scaring me
"It's my quiet hallway - get out of here!"
but the clouds never leave me alone.
They snarl and hiss at me transforming into
Demons, snakes, and rodents that reach out to lick
my body with lightning and piss. And as
I collapse, they leave me moaning to wither to shit
Laughing all the while -
they've taken my quiet hallway and never giving it back

I try to ignore them, close my eyes:
When I was a child, I slid down an icy slope.
I would do it again if they gave me the chance.

The Waterfall

The men that live their life within the forest
Are plagued by the beauty of a waterfall.
For all men living ther lives think,
What a fun fall it would be in the waterfall

Through the long hours of the day, tediously dull, and uninspiring
They want to feel the thrill of a fall
and engulf themslves in the beauty of the water

And when they do
Without proper precautions and preparation,
their heads are torn apart and soul
bled out from one to many bumps down the fall.
Reluctantly they climb out of the perfidious waters
shaken, cold, and sore

The women on the other side of the mountain
Look also to the glamarous waterfall
And all the love it could offer them.
But women, the more prudent of the two, are weary
of such a great fall and the damage it could do

Nonetheless they wonder - how magnificent the fall can be as
the crashing water drenches into every pore
stripping the body to its soul leaving them
breathless, captivated, and full

Yes the waterfall is on everyone's mind - mine included
I've been floating down the river and I can see it ahead
There's a pretty girl in my raft and I'm hoping she'll understand
That whatever happens at the fall, I'm not going to let go

Because she doesn't know that hidden below my
"it was funny meeting you"
lies a "I've always been looking for you"
buried beneath "I've given up on finding you"

Perhaps she can already see it in my eyes
And through my actions, but I feel like
The least I can say to her is
"I built this raft sturdy with my own two hands
So that my dream girl could climb come on.
And now that you're here - I'll never let you drown"

Hidden In The Trees

I don't know what to say, but listen -
Your heart is echoing what my heart's whispering

The sun is making its way to a high point.
This feels like some big play
With a spotlight shining down upon us.
I'm thinking my god, it's really quite bright

So we hide in the woods together
where the light can pour softly over us.
In our kind of solitude, I'm thinking
It's crazy how we came here

I was just passing by and you were just hanging out
When I said a few dumb things,
I couldn't believe: you got up to walk with me
and soon we found ourselves lost in the heart of the forest

What is this I wonder -
The light between us is getting brighter
I really can't fight the sensation much longer
My heart is screaming every time you smile

So I grab you closer to me
But your eyes are scanning all around
I wonder why? as I become uneasy
And just when I was about to worry,

I had a look around as well:
The branches are slowly rocking
Throwing the light all around us

I can't believe how beautiful it is
With us at the center of it all.
There's gotta be cameras hiding somewhere
or maybe God is trying to show me

That when you take it all in...
Like pouring gas into an empty lighter..
As our lips touch, it's like a spark -
And our hearts are on fire