A Suite of Gods...

POWRÓT

DAWN OF TIME

First there was no sun
Moon or stars or sky
There was only space
In which for mass to lie
Nature held the force in a still form
Guidance from a God
Freedom for the seeds
So the force broke free
Scattering its needs
Then the heavens broke from Earth with
Thunder roaring free
Making fire and storm
Raging seas were calmed
Rivers taking form
Earth and heavens met
Titan's Gods appeared
Saturn ruled the world
Filling Earth with fear
Neptune reigned the sea
Pluto chose the dead
Jupiter ruled over all the living creatures
Gods and beasts and men
Bacchus, God of wine
Cupid for his love
Apollo of the sun
Diana's room above
Minerva's wisdom came
Spreading hope around
Mercury for sport
Orpheus with sound
One by one they came for creation

THE ORACLE

Once and Oracle warned of danger to the King of Thebes
For his life and for his child
So from the crib he took his new-born son
Gave him to a herdsman with orders he should kill him
But the herdsman, filled with pity
Could not kill the child but left him tied against a tree
Found by a peasant who took him to his masters
Where he was adopted: Oedipus they named him
After many years the King was travelling
When his way was blocked by a chariot
He ordered him to move away
But because he was slow to obey
They killed his steed
The stranger, enraged, murdered the King
The stranger's name was Oedipus
He, unaware, had killed his father
Little did he know he would soon be King
So the prophecy reached fulfilment
The warning of the Oracle had had its way

PANDORA'S BOX

Creating a woman, Pandora her name
Sent to plague by Jupiter and torment her aim
Given gifts of beauty, given gifts of music
Vulcan fashioned an exquisite box of gold
In which were put the evils that would plague mankind
As the lid slowly closed
So the Gods ruled the day
Held by pride they could not change their minds
And so they added one more beautiful gift
To lessen the pain caused by the other
The gift they called it hope
"Give the box", the Gods said, "to the man you will wed"
Then they sent her to Earth
Welcome Pandora to the world of mankind
With your box made of gold
Pandora
Every day she touched it
Secrets locked inside
Perhaps a cloak of magic or a precious jewel
It must be a special gift from the Gods
So special that she must open it
Clouds appeared to float away, separating as they flew
All the plagues the Gods had sent could now torment as they grew
Filled with fear the lid was closed
Only hope remained inside
Then she sat to wait for man to return who asked her
If she'd looked inside the box of pure gold
"Yes," she said, but all that she saw was a small piece of hope
Man said he would keep it there
Unaware that she had seen let in mankind's world
Evil that the Gods had given now roamed free
Left behind for all mankind was a tiny piece of hope

CHARIOT OF THE SUN

Phaeton asked his mother
Pleading with her, was he the son
Of the God Apollo, "Please tell me am I the one"
The sun as a witness
Was called for its truthfulness
"go to the land whence the sun rises.
Built of gold and jewels
Is the palace of the sun.
Demand of Apollo.
Are you his rightful son?"
And so he ventured in time
Spring was crowned with thorns
And Summer's ripe grain formed as a wreath
Autumn stained with juice of grapes
Winter icy still beneath
"Am I your son?"
"Can I drive your chariot.
Your chariot of the sun?
Chase the tests of nature
Until the race is won?"
Afraid of the danger at first he declined
"The dangers are such that you cannot survive"
Still the wish was granted, horses springing forward as one
Serpents coiled down below, felt the heat as if it were sun
Control no longer, the world on fire
Still he journeyed through
Rivers boiled and earth cracked
Fishes sought their lowest depth
Earth cried out in pain
Could she withstand such a test?
Jupiter sent thunder, lightning
Rain to water the fire
And to quench new thirst
The chariot was burning, into cooling waters it fell
Phaeton rests now and on his stone
The words are written.
"No more the chariot of the sun wich could not bring him home."

THE FLOOD

In the first age of man
Called the Golden Age
Age of happiness
Age of innocence
And with no seasons
Was always Spring
Here flowers blossomed
Rivers flowed free
Milk and wine
Majestic forests
And the air with warmth to sing
And then the Silver Age began
Four seasons here
Winter, Summer, Autumn appeared
And then the Iron Age was struck
Bringing horror
Crime and greed destroyed all nature
Robbing Earth of its natural sources
Leaving Earth stained red with blood
Love was gone
One by one the Gods abandoned hope for the Earth
Leaving only Astraea to pine for its worth
Jupiter demanded she be taken afar
To find a new peace of mind in the stars
Filled with rage, Gods were summoned
To a meeting
At the palace of heaven
Along the road of the Milky Way
Jupiter demanded that they flood all of the Earth
Destroying its birth
He told the North Wind not to scatter the clouds
The South Wind was sent out to blow them together
As they met with mighty crashes
Torrents fell upon the Earth
Then inspired by guidance
They cast behind them the bones of their mother
Their Mother Earth who is parent of us all
As they struck the ground they found new form
Flesh from moisture, the rest to bones
Once more to reshape us all
And then a new race began
Wich owed its very existence
From heroes who made man

THE VOYAGE OF ULYSSES

And so began the voyage over land over sea
Through the perils of a storm we sailed
Seeking land, the country of the Lotus Eaters
Safe at last, safe at last
Until we taste the sleep
"Ulysses, my friend, please guide me through
Throught this journey I must make with you"
More secrets to unfold
Never growing old
Stories to be told
Land of Cyclops was next to find
Giant's roaming with a single eye
Danger lurking near
Filling them with fear as they shelter
In the giant's cave, Cyclops will kill them
Slowly will destroy them, no change to escape
But with cunning plan Ulysses will blind him
And make good their escape and once more journey free
Once more the journey starts over land over sea
"Oh Ulysses, my friend
Please lead me through
The test of time to be my friend"
"Ulysses, my friend"

HERCULES

When Hercules was born
Juno sent the serpents
To destroy him in his cradle
But they were not able
Dangerous tasks were set before him
Labors of Hercules, set to destroy him
First he had to bring the skin
Of the lion that had overcome all hunters
Hercules killed him as he had the serpents
Squeezing out life with his hands
Next came the slaughter of the monster, Hydra
With nine heads appearing like fangs
As each head was destroyed then another one grew
An immortal head in the middle lived through
Finally he burnt the Hydra
And then the immortal head he buried beneath a rock
The stalls of three thousand oxen
Filled with dirt of thirty years
Hercules his task to clean them
Made the use of rivers' tears
Diverting all of the rivers from their heads
To places so far unseen
Clear rushing water swept all before them
And by sun-rest all was clean
Then befell him a task so fragile
Fetch the waist-band for Admeta
From the Queen of Amazons
Juno was enraged because the Queen agreed
To give Hercules the waist-band without force
So Juno took the form of na Amazon
Telling of the capture of their Queen
Vengeful women came in great numbers
Hoping to set her free
Hercules left thinking he had been betrayed
Killed the Queen, killed the Queen
Juno had succeeded, the Queen's life was lost
The Queen, the Queen
Then to bring the oxen of the Geryon
Dwelling on the island 'neath the rays
Of the setting sun
Guarded by a monster with three heads
To get there he'd to cross a host of countries
Raising mountains, monuments of time
To reach the monster first he killed a two-headed dog
This accomplished saved the oxen
Turning blood to wine
A most difficult task
Was to seek the Golden Apples of the Hesperides
As it was not known where they could be found
Juno had received them at her wedding
From the Goddess of the Earth
Hercules went off to Atlas
Who bore the weight of heavens with his frame
Hercules took over from him
Atlas sought his daughter's time
Help him with the apples to claim
Treasure retrieved, mission achieved
Hercules gave thanks to his host
Feeling the pain, taking the strain
Atlas returned to his post
On his travels he wrestled
And killed the son of Terra
Then he fought with the giant, Cacus
Who had stolen part of the oxen of Geryon
To the lower world he went
To bring Cerberus was sent
Who guarded gates of Hades
A watchdog with three heads
To carry him to upper air
Permission must be read
Granted with proviso
"There must be no blood shed"
Mercury and Minerva
Journeyed with him to the realms of darkness
Where they fulfilled their task
Adventures were taking their toll
His strenght had been pushed to the limit
He killed his friend
Wich broke his spirit
To the very end
He married Dejanira
They journeyed far and wide
At a river the giant centaur
Transported to the other side
"I will carry Dejanira"
The centaur cried
But he tried to steal her
And the wrath of Hercules was tried
To its full degree
And arrow pierced the centaur's heart
He offered her a potion from his blood
Wich gave her magic power over love
To use against Hercules
Hercules had taken prisoner
A woman of great beauty
Incurring vengeance from his wife
Washing white robe in the potion
Sent the clothing to her husband
Unaware that it would take a life
When he wore it great pain occured
As poison entered pores
The messenger who brought the robe was slain
In a rage, a hero's body destroyed
Dejanira distraught by what she'd done
Gave her life away
Crime of passion, a paradise now lost
Vision turned to dismay
Hercules knew he was dying
He ascended Mount Oeta
Where he built a funeral pyre
A lion's skin spread over him
He laid upon the fire
His deeds of strenght lay far behind
His body worn and tired
His life now consumed by the flames
He rose with dignity
Encaptured by a shroud
A resting place before him
Enveloped in a cloud
Taken by chariot into the stars
To peace at last
His burden free
He lives, he lives, he lives
He dwells amongst the Gods a hero
Hercules, Hercules, Hercules
Use his strength
Left in all our hands

POWRÓT