Gather Ye All

Gather ye all, come gather round
I have in my heart a tale to tell;
Gather ye round, oh come ye many
For here I shall not long dwell…

On mine way I ought to persist,
The journey to continue I must;
To speak the truth upon the world:
Words of wisdom, passion and lust…

So come ye all to hear the words
Free thy selves from all pretenses;
Come… for the time is now,
And the story thus commences…

In times of the old and ancient world
There lived a maiden poor;
In a land of knights and noble breeds
And conjurers that fashioned cure…

Pretty and fair she was indeed,
Her hair long with golden traces;
Eyes aflame like the summer stars,
A figure so full of graces…

Her robe of rugged cloth was made,
Grimy, smudged and torn;
Little of her stature did it cover,
An image conveying scorn…

This maiden in the valley resided
Amongst long willow trees;
Atop the branches birds would sing,
And played the summer breeze…

The little things did she fancy:
Danced to the tunes of the birds’ songs;
Freely ran with the winds and mares,
Dreamed beneath starts all night long…

She possessed great ambitions and hopes
Of love and wealth and glory;
A great princess she would be,
Generations would tell her story…

But the days so fast they went,
And years were getting colder;
The dreams she held within had wasted
And grown so much older…

She cried as hope she’d lost
Of that savior she awaited;
When the spirit of deceit appeared
In a false image she had created…

“Do not be sad,” the spirit said
“For help I bring unto thee;
Bestow thy desires in mine hands,
Thy dreams I shall make a reality”…

“Oh, strange one”, replied she, bashful
“Worthy of this I am not;
Merely am I a poor, poor girl
To repay thee I can not”…

With a perjury intended,
Unto her the spirit had spoken:
“Fear not, my child, this I promise:
To thee my vows will not be broken”…

“To distant lands I shall take thee,
Endow thee with gems and jewels;
Pronounce thee a mighty queen,
Over kingdoms forever to rule”…

“Trust in me, my child”, the spirit said
“The sadness in thy eyes is clear;
For a trivial price in comparison,
I shall rid thee from discomfort and fear”…

“Nations of the world will be under thy feet,
Riches of the earth will belong to thee;
Love, harmony and eternal happiness,
Bequeath upon thee all thy eyes can see”…

Ecstasy filled the young girl’s heart,
She rushed to tell of the desires within;
The spirit heard the young girl’s words
On her face a fiendish grin…

Little was she aware of the mischievous schemes
The spirit of deceit was weaving;
Through lies, sham and fraudulence
Her wicked goal she was achieving…

“Close thy eyes and give me thy hands,
To keep my word I had undertaken;
Open thy heart to that which I give
Never again to be forsaken…

“Drink this”, the spirit uttered
As she offered a golden cup;
“This potion is thy desired remedy,
Imbibe it till the last drop”…

And so she did, the maiden young,
In her state of mind so guileless;
She swallowed the contents quickly
Not thinking of the consequences…

Instantly it dropped to the ground
The cup that held the poisonous juice;
Our maiden had now become imprisoned,
Her senses no longer of use…

Numb, lightheaded and in chains
Lay our foolish maiden young;
Wishing she had not believed
In the song the spirit had sung…

Too late it was to save her soul,
Haste had wholly blinded her sight;
Quickly entrusting her innermost feelings,
Forever she was bound to her awful plight…

Gather ye all and listen well
This truth is ages old;
Keep it close within your heart:
Not all that shines is gold…