Sorrow Ascendent Canto III

Upon the cliffs of mournful stone
Shadows writhe and serpents drone
A kingdom lost, of bone and grief
Where sorrow reigns, without relief
The moon, a pale and shattered eye
Beholds the earth, condemned to die
The stars, long dimmed by ancient woe
Shine weakly on the void below

In that forsaken, broken land
A specter walked with bleeding hand
The wind was cold, the ground was cracked
No road remained, no path intact
He wandered there, a soul undone
Beneath the gaze of noonday’s sun
Though light no longer warmed the skies
It scorched the heart, it burned the eyes

Upon his brow, a crown of rust
A token of the earth’s dark trust
For he was king, though none obeyed
A monarch of the disarrayed
His robe was torn, his scepter lost
His flesh was pale, with rime embossed
And from his lips, a whisper low
A tale of things none ought to know

"O once I ruled a mighty realm
With banners bright and steady helm
The streets were filled with song and light
The world was pure, the heavens bright
But as the years grew long and dim
The skies grew cold, the stars grew grim
And in the deep, a voice did call
To claim my soul, to claim us all."

With every word, the earth did quake
And mountains groaned, as if to break
The specter paused, his breath grew faint
For he, himself, had grown a taint
A king of ash, a lord of naught
With nothing left to hold or sought
The throne he clutched, once shining gold
Was now a tomb where sorrow’s sold

"For in that voice, I heard the fate  
Of all who rise, of all who wait
The seeds of sorrow take their root
In joy’s sweet smile, in hope’s pursuit
And though I fled, and though I fought
The truth of sorrow still was caught
No throne of earth can stand for long
When sorrow sings its ancient song."

The throne behind him, high and bare
Was carved from bones, with no repair
Its arms were twisted, cruel and bent
Its back was sharp, its angles spent
And on its seat, a thing obscene
A shape of hollow, lifeless sheen
A crown of glass, a robe of dust
The heir of sorrow’s endless trust

The specter knelt, his head bowed low
Before the throne’s eternal woe
For though he once had sought to reign
Now sorrow’s voice did hold the chain
And in the wind, that voice did call
It echoed through the endless hall:  
"Ascend, O king, to throne and keep
For only sorrow may you reap."

The king did rise, his hand outstretched
The throne did groan, its angles etched  
With runes of pain, with glyphs of fear
With words that none but sorrow hear
And as he sat, the winds did still
The night grew cold, the stars grew ill
For sorrow’s king had claimed his place
And all was bound to his dark grace

A tear did fall from hollow cheek
A tear that none but sorrow seek
And in that drop, the world did drown
For sorrow wore its final crown
The heavens broke, the earth was split
And sorrow’s throne, at last, was lit
For in the end, the truth ascends
That all must bend, where sorrow ends