Old Friend

What gives man comfort in his time of need?
Consoling him like no lover or friend?
Opening his mind to new line of thought
Allowing him to finally defend
Against the suffering of his poor heart
Or the sorrows that threaten to drown him?
There is only one immortal ally
That always shimmers when the world grows dim.
When lovers and friends abandon their post
Or family pass beyond that starry veil,
And stricken by that realization:
You have but one life...half over...half failed...
Who is it that rushes to fight your blues?
Your old and unfailing friend, Mr. Booze.

An age old musing

King of Ephyra, you clever old fool...
How could you expect a happy ending
After betraying the trust of Lord Zeus,
Trading the location of Aegina
In return for a spring from Asopus?

When Lord Zeus decided to punish you
You refused to accept what you were due...
With your deceitful wit, you chained Hades
(or Thanatos, depending on the tale)
And thus mortal man became immortal.

You deprived Ares of Wartime fun,
And all the Gods of their sacrifices
Which they are much deserving from all men,
All so you could try to escape your fate.
Until they convinced you to unchain him.

And when you finally were called to death
You couldn't help but try just one more trick.
Escorted by the fleet footed Hermes
To the Underworld, the realm of the dead,
You Dishonored Hades' beautiful queen.

With aid of your wife, who left you to rot
Without burial at your own request,
You lamented to Queen Persephone
Who, moved to great compassion and pity
Allowed your return to the mortal realm.

When your vile trickery was found out,
And  you were ordered to return, you fought,
Forcing Hermes to once again find you
And drag you back down to the Underworld
Before the thrones of Hades and his queen.

But Zeus, in his fury at your deceit,
And the dishonor you came to display
In the selfish quest to avoid your fate
Brought you a fate more terrible than death,
A lesson for all mortal men to see...

He gave you a stone, stood you on a hill,
And then gave you what you desired most:
Lord Zeus blessed you with immortality.
Though given an eternal life, it was cursed.
You were cursed. Eternal struggle your fate.

Though...I can't help but to wonder something:
Are you a lesson to all mortal men
To the rewards of misused cleverness?
Or are you a reflection of mankind
And our fight against our impermanence?

Though I don't pity you, King Sisyphus,
I can not deny that I sympathize.
For all men struggle and scheme to outlast
The years they were given upon birth
And to be ourselves like the Gods we serve.

The Human race struggles to rise above
our station, using our cleverest minds.
We push the boundaries of what we know
Like you push that burdensome stone of yours,
Wondering just how much further we have...

Before we reach the summit of our hill,
Or before our stone begins rolling down...