Song IV from The Madness of Hora

Photo by Vera Bomstad

[29] There are no words
no words from no thoughts
a deep darkness within
in longing for him

[30] A steadfast friend
of the undying dead
ordered by me
how could that be?

[31] Behind the mirror
he waited forever
until my design came clear
only to lose one so dear

[32] My life protracted
in the mirror refracted
sat on my throne
longing to go home

[33] But they say my home is here
a dream did I endure
that place was but my fantasy
for here lies my history

[34] My horn was but a figment
could I imagine such an instrument?
from it I made my career
there’s nothing like it here

[35] My Priestesses I teach
the new laws I preach
to love all equally
to behave morally

[36] Centuries of dogma to unravel
the roads that I must travel
destroy Cyrus’ corrupted truth
words he put in Sammardine’s mouth

[37] for decades under minotaur’s mane
Sammardine was not to blame
his jealousy of Hahn blinded
the fences later mended

[38] The sibling feud that never was
my magic was the cause
no one could resist my word
not one order ever heard

[39] Throne deep in a darkened cave
keeps me from making man a slave
a moment’s peace I cannot see
Albion’s tyrant I mustn’t be

[40] In these words I fail
to sketch the thoughts of my trial
so deep is my desolation
there is no consolation

Song II from The Madness of Hora

Photo by Pedro Dias

II

[10] Happenstance, circumstance
circumscribed resonance
four hearts torn asunder
dark priest’s stupid blunder

[11] Strange planet circles the same moon
bended mirror in a million pieces
must focus the mind

[12] On a billboard writ large
The idiot’s again in charge
the people live as ever blind
fooled by such a broken mind

[13] Golden sun enslaves the Earth
melts the shards back together
in a different Order

[14] Double, double, toil and trouble
lance the sore and burst its bubble
dance around the Blarney Stone
place it underneath her throne

[15] Shatter the frozen water veil
bring the sisters home again
make the family whole

[16] From the method to the madness
break this weary noble sadness
inspire dreams of yesterday
to hear again the children play

[17] From the great wall we fell
eggshells cracked upon the floor
longing to be sane once more

The Madness of Hora (8 Songs)[1]

Photo by cottonbro studio

I

[1] England, fair England
O sweet cacophony lost
through the mirror
a misshapen form
bent and broken
mere memory

[2] Land where Cyrus never walked,
a symphony of thought
where magic was made
in sound and deed
not incantation
now forgotten

[3] This forsaken land
your doppelganger
where Shakespeare’s pen
ne’er wrote
a single line of beauty
now is Hora’s prison

[4] Denylo to his cost
intoned in fateful sorcery
a charm that broke the universe
to secure his destiny
which snuffed his issue
before his time

[5] His magic it was lost
like Hora in the mirror
his mind disintegrated
like dust to dust
it vanished
his thoughts distorted

[6] On the alter of the Sacristy
he bawled like the dismembered son
his vacant mind forgot
while the bewitched
regained their sense
appalled at his offense

[7] The Priory lay in ruins
the tower had collapsed
the clergy was disbanded
the bishop reprimanded
such magic power unleashed
was unanticipated

[8] Three witches disappeared
the fourth escaped to safety
two women crushed by rubble
by Denylo’s curse defiled
fair England shall never
be the same

[9] At least not for a while

---

[1] Like most of the Illiot, The Madness of Hora was autodictated, as is evidenced by a lack of impressions on the paper. The provenance, therefore, is uncertain. The script is unlike that of anyone in Albion, but clearly that of a woman. It is presumed that it was written by Hora, since it resembles the few extant documents in her hand. The author was clearly ambidextrous, and legend maintains that Hora was as well. The text itself refers to an unknown land, as well as unknown people, possibly in one of the three universes known only to Hora and the other biblical witches. The event to which the first song refers remains unexplained.

104. Stop time

Photo by Engin Akyurt from Pexels

bring back the boogaloo
got my dancing shoes on
alone under the glitter ball
I thought this love would go on

paralyzed in thought
my body, still, in a boiling sea
a seething mass of humanity

bring back that rock and roll
body surfing in the stadium
a solitary speck on the continuum
you told me it would last

stuck in a freeze frame
of a motion picture
I’m an open fracture

look back on all those memories
before the broken symmetry

can’t you tell I’m in a funk
unable to string two words together
no longer have that discipline
I blame you for the state I’m in

frozen under the ice
separate from the life above
trapped in this broken love

© 2022 by Anne Martin