Sorrow Ascendent Canto II

 

Halls of ash and echoing stone
Where light was once known
A barren sky, no stars to see
Whispers of what eternity used to be
The heavens groan in endless strain
And mourn their loss in silent pain
The angels, veiled in robes of night
Bow their heads, forsaking flight

A silent host in shadowed throng
They sing no more their sacred song
Their wings, now heavy with regret
Bear stains of tears they can’t forget
For time itself has bent and cracked
The spheres misaligned, their purpose sacked
The golden chains that bound the stars  
Lie broken now, like shattered jars

Solar jubilee,once so bright
Dimmed beneath this endless night
No fiery chariot sweeps the sky
Only the cold remains on high
The planets’ course is torn askew
Their ancient paths now lost from view
What laws once held the heavens’ sway  
Have drifted far, and led astray

O sovereigns crowned in gilded flame
What use is power without a name?  
Their tears fall thick, their voices dead
Their kingdom lost, their spirits bled
For every star that fades from sight
Another hope falls to the night
They grasp at what can never last
A future drowned within the past

Now rise, O sorrow, dark and tall
For this is how the mighty fall
With every light that flickers out
Their song becomes a voiceless shout
And though they strive to mend the break
The weight of loss is all they take
Eclipsed beneath their own despair
They rule a throne that isn’t there

For once the stars have all decayed
What power could they have displayed?  
Their crowns, thrones, and endless might
Mean nothing in the absence of light
And so they weep, and so they mourn
For all that’s lost, for worlds unborn
The spheres spin out, and time unwinds
And sorrow is the only sign

In silence, they drift through endless dark
Each sovereign bearing their fatal mark
No hymns are sung, no prayers ascend
Just endless night that has no end