The shell of silence shatters with the notes
That echo when a pale hand glides across
The lyre’s strings which, shivering from the loss
Of warmth, beseech the captivated hosts.
They hum amid the slithering nether shade
That shrouds the rulers of this dark domain;
Each strum bleeds from the artist’s core — his pain,
His rue, his helplessness, combined and made
Apparent through the conjured rush of sounds.
Cracked is the ice around the sovereigns’ hearts
That has for aeons thickened. Darkness parts,
And ghosts stop shuffling hence when so pronounced
A melody rings in their lifeless hall;
Soon, tears long dried up once more gush and fall.

The second movement floats like breezes swift
That seems to scatter scents of leaves and blooms
So freshly sprung; each gentle strum perfumes
The cold chthonic air. Oh, how they drift
Into the minds of gods and ghosts and fill
Them with the visions of exalted grace –
Of love divine and passion’s sweet embrace,
Wherein a brief shared gaze makes time stand still.
The breezes faster march, and swirl, and dance,
Joined by the promise of eternity
By Hymenaios blessed, and yet, such glee
Could not withstand the ruthless bite of chance.
The winds pick up till harsh gales madly soar
As the plucked strings, stained red, lash out and roar.

The warmthless storm would wildly rage and spread
Throughout the sprawling space, as if to drown
The realm within a flood of grief profound
With just a singular message, “She is dead.”
The anguish stings; its venom wrecks the soul
Of every being gathered in this place:
Grim Hades sits; a small frown mars his face
While tears paint prim Persephone’s visage whole.
The music, lowering, lingers for a while
As though it’s scared to reach the ultimate end —
Afraid to be consumed by silence when
It yearns to cling onto a phantom smile.
But still, the final chord must fade at last
With all the dreams imprisoned in the past.

No murmur leaves the breathless spirits there,
Whose silvery eyes turn to their King and Queen
And to the one with courage rarely seen —
Who did a feat few living souls would dare
Attempt, much less survive and sway the will
Of Hades in affairs of life and death.
Yet, there kneels Orpheus, still drawing breath,
As all his love and loss and torment fill
His eyes, despair at odds with hope and faith
For mercy from the staunch and towering god.
Persephone gives her husband one slight nod,
And with a wave of his hand, all things bathe
In a soft light that slowly dwindles to
A humanoid shape –- a most familiar view.

The song condemned to meet a sudden end
Now has an added movement, clear and sweet,
As Orpheus steps forth with trembling feet
To greet and hold his Eurydice again.
Then, Hades speaks, “We do not lightly give
So grand a favor that allows the dead
To walk away from this abyss and tread
The earth anew, but your fair spouse may live
Once more out of respect for your great love —
Conveyed through such a heartfelt melody.
Leave while we still allow it, but heed me:
Do not look back until the land above
Is fully reached, or all shall be for naught —
With her trapped here and you up there to rot.”

The couple bows before the solemn thrones
With words of thanks outpouring from their hearts.
The hero takes his soulmate and departs
For their home free of gloom and stifling stones.
“Will they succeed?” Persephone asks her King,
Who calmly answers, “Let the Fates decide,
For to their judgments all things must abide —
To bask in bliss or bend in suffering.
But in the end, all this would matter not,
For they shall roam these halls again one day,
Released from gaols of flesh doomed to decay —
Such is the nature of their mortal lot:
Pray, curse, love, hate, rest, work, run, crawl, laugh, weep
Till all are memories buried in our keep.”

[Ngo Binh Anh Khoa is a teacher of English in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In his free time, he enjoys reading fiction and writing speculative poetry. His works have appeared in Penumbric, Star*Line, Weirdbook, Spectral Realms, and other venues. He also enjoys writing haiku, some of which have received awards and honorable mentions in international contests in the USA, the UK, Japan, Canada, and elsewhere.]