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THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES
By Linda Walsh, AKA Aunty Binary 2010
(ttto “Macdonell On The Heights”, by Stan Rogers)
1.The seed that births the Hero isn’t nurtured in the womb
A drop of ink ignites a life in a writer’s lonely room
He’s born of someone’s fancy—someone just like you or I
But their dream contains a spark that will not die
2. A feather-stroke of sumi ink upon a page of white
A pencil sketch on legal pad—a young man springs to life
A Manga stall in Tokyo—a bookshop in Detroit
We will gather there to read of his exploits
He bears a thousand faces and a hundred million names
A scribble or a keystroke and his life begins again
No single bard or artist takes the credit for his birth
For the Hero’s tale is older than the Earth….
3.A tattered book is cherished as it’s passed from hand to hand
The young man quest retold in countless tongues and foreign lands
It changes in the telling as his tale becomes our own
In the landscape of our dreams he makes his home
4. At multiplex and IMAX the adventure will unfold
The profits are astounding from a franchise bought and sold
His figure sells on Ebay—I cannot afford the cost
And along the way beloved tales get lost…
He bears a thousand faces and a hundred million names
A scribble or a keystroke and his life begins again\
No single bard or artist takes the credit for his birth
For the Hero’s tale is older than the Earth….
5. It’s sequel after sequel—milk a franchise half to death
When we squeeze each drop of profit we are squeezing out the breath
Of a young man on Adventure’s Road—his triumphs and his pain
But within our home-spun tales he breathes again
6. The Realm of Dreams contains a room unseen by waking eyes
Where the songs and art and fanfics scorned as cannon-less and lies
Have been bound with love and tender care on a billion star-lit shelves
Where in joy the Hero reads about himself
He bears a thousand faces and a hundred million names
A scribble or a keystroke and his life begins again
No single bard or artist takes the credit for his birth
For the Hero’s tale is older than the Earth….
7. You’d think the book that starts his shelf ought to bear the
name of one
Who has sold the book—who owns the rights—when all is said
and done
But their empires are inspired by the hero’s tales of yore
And though the names and lands have changed, they will endure
8. Is it Harry Potter’s magic---or the Elric’s alchemy?
They are dreams that weave the Hero’s bones—the mythic tapestry
From painted cave to Blu-ray, ‘cross a thousand stars and seas—
His enduring tale’s his immortality (chorus, repeat last line)
THIS is the melody: MacDonell on the Heights by Stan Rogers, one of the most loved Canadian composers of all time:
THE SOUL WITHIN THE STEEL
By Linda Walsh and Teri Wachowiak
(ttto “After The Gold Rush” by Neil Young)
G C G
Well I dreamed I saw my soul in armor coming to this timeless place
C
where I wait
D D C
With a promise made and a promise kept he had come now to this
D
Gate
Em F C F
Fingers of steel reached out for mine—I almost hesitate…
G D
For a brother’s blood and a brother’s love
F C
Had brought us to this fate
G D
For a brother’s blood and a brother’s love
F C
Had brought us to this fate
Well I dreamed I heard a young boy crying-and I knew that voice was
Mine
It was a cry of joy and yet a cry of anguish
For this tragedy of time
Caught in a dream—but not a dream
No pattern would align….
Flesh and spirit torn asunder once
Must somehow entertwine
Flesh and spirit torn asunder once
Must somehow entertwine
Yet I dreamed I saw the Gates of Wisdom parting
And a frail hand clasped my own
Tattered armor faded—flesh was animated
As my soul reclaimed its home
Promises kept-my debt was paid
The blood seal now undone
I shall keep my vigil faithfully till the day my brother comes
I shall keep my vigil faithfully till the day my brother comes
Through the Gate I heard my brother Edward crying
By the wreckage of my armored shell
To return me safely to the world again
He had sacrificed himself
Power was lost—but Wisdom gained
There’s a world we two must heal…..
Bearing in our hearts the wounded child and the soul within the steel
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Date: 2010-12-28 01:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-28 03:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-28 06:58 am (UTC)