This terrible tyranny that haunts me
Night and day, bringing memories of times past
Of foolishness and despair
Oh, those memories, cruel and piercing
How can something you love so dearly
Also inflict such mortal wounds?
Yes, you’ve resurrected me from Hell
From the fathomless abyss of depression
And into a perfect world, your world
For a brief time, I drank long draughts
From the fountain of Elixir
Refreshed myself in idyllic serenades
Along the marble path of Elysium
And deeming your task complete,
You subjected me once more into the shadows,
Which have since become my home
Your image, lambent and lucid,
Engraved on every wall
And emblazoned in every object I see
How that image arouses what words cannot describe
How it lifts my heart to paradise
And plunges it back to eternal suffering
Oh, but how the tears pour
When I tear it all to shreds
Nevermore to delight nor agonize
And how my anguished heart cries out
For that image once more,
Torn
