And Evil Shall Be Vanquished:

Songs of heroes long forgotten 12 February 2018 Songs of heroes long forgotten Weave a somber tale By blood and pain and strife begotten By broken sword and torn sail What’s more they leave out parts That dry and dull the ears Without thrill or merry spark Which sometimes last for years They do not tell of the lowly times Or highlight bland tradition They have no space for the daily grind Which causes the heroes’ high attrition For what good would the tale be If monotony was all it told Save a moment or two of fire and glory Which are now those legends old It would make the audience aware Of a truth so dull and glum A truth so many cannot bear And so turn to herb and rum The truth is this, simple and raw Without ornamental illustration That adventures are the needle in the straw And their memories, a grand inflation The rest is work and wearisome toil Which few ever come to savor But satisfaction should be found, says the teacher In food and drink and labor. Meaningless though it may be And tiring all the same It is the lot of a man that’s free To labor on in vain. For he takes no product with him And hears no remembrance song As the numbers who sing it grow slim A fleeting moment of glory is all that sticks for long Yet all of this is good, It is a rightful path to follow For without daily work and drink and food Life would be sorrowfully hollow The monotony is fine Because it does not last forever So keep its peace in mind And embrace it if you are clever For life is made of this The boring daily grind And spurning it is unwise For in work there’s joy to find No, they won’t sing songs About your daily job Their memory won’t be strong Of that time your car was robbed They probably will forget How neat your tie was tied And they probably won’t give a darn About all the foods you tried They won’t care about your money They’ll forget about your clothes Perhaps you were quite funny But they’ll soon forget your jokes All they will remember All they’ll care to tell Is the time you saved a life Or the time you walked through hell They’ll remember one or two Heroic deeds of yours And all else that you lived through Is so much dust on the floor But all of this is good So labor on in vain But stow away no physical riches Or try and buy memory’s refrain Instead enjoy your peace And in heaven store your wealth For when your breath has ceased And death comes with sudden stealth No memory will save you No song will free your soul The blood and pain and strife You’ll love as with the whole The monotony and quiet Of the long days of your life Will be what taught you patience And gave you rest from strife And all will be before you As one existence song And by its tune you will be judged And a slow melody is strong That said don’t be idle Act, and do and chase All things that are righteous Live with fervor, run your race Simply do not spurn The times that are not wild Enjoy that peaceful quiet And love that beauty mild For songs of heroes long forgotten Weave a somber tail Of blood and pain and strife begotten Of broken sword and torn sail But the parts that they leave out The happy days between Are what gave them strength to shout And battle to be free To carry on through tragedy To rise back to their feet To chase the goal of victory After each defeat To give and live their all For their family, home, and God Those boring times, the daily grind Is what made them so strong.