somewhere... live two stories

one of hevn, one of urth,

who awake to find they’re hugging

with no knowledge of their birth.

this embrace invokes a balance

the two stories have come one.

no more fear and no desire

nothing done to be undone. (cont..)

but suddenly there is an urge

that shakes their tranquil state.

longing to understand themselves

and thirsting to create,

hevn, out of nowhere

tells a story of its own

and urth, beguiled by newness

acts this story out alone.

so with a song and dance 

a tiny story came to be

a star that lit their eyes up

and enabled them to see.

with this new light both hope and fear 

filled up their hearts with warning

this newborn tale was not alone

still many more were calling.

stories grew and blossomed then

sung in by hevn’s choirs.

they formed their shape aloft in space,

took life from urthly fires.

but stories are not set in stone

their shapes are always shifting.

suns lit up like fireworks

and mountain tops were lifting.

meadows stretched and liquefied

and poured into the ocean,

whose waves formed winged beasts that leapt

and fluttered into motion.

colours grew out of the ground

and spread into the sky

a watercolour world with rainbows

fifty stories high

great rocks rose to meet the stars

wishing a better view

the highest peaks were dusted white

each day, pristine and new

for everything a perfect place

a den, a hut, a hive

soon every thing the eye could see

came suddenly alive

with roots and shoots, with wings and feet

in flocks, in packs and swarms

a wondrous festival of life

of stories taking form

yet all these tales were merely sung

by hevn in collusion

with urth consumed with play acting

and plagued with mad delusion. 

in time, urth started to believe

in its own mind’s inventions

it saw stories as solid truth

and followed their conventions

instead of dreaming up new tales

urth stopped and took full measure

of every narrative of old

and clung to them like treasure

hevn, wary of this path

but loyal to its friend

kept quiet for countless years

but spoke out in the end

"i'm scared our stories roar too loud

and cause us to forget

that we were just playing pretend

now all is stuck and set!

i don’t like this game anymore

when we’re no longer one

let's fall into each other's arms 

and let the tales be done."

but urth, engrossed in its own myths

and certain of their power 

shunned the touch of its old friend

and things began to sour.

driven by a mad impulse

urth gathered up its tales

and forced them all to huddle close

surrounded them with rails

the tales that once grew legs and arms

that shape-shifted and tangled

now sat solid, static, locked

rough edges now right-angled

"this is no game," cried urth, "it's real 

these stories won't collapse! 

don't preach to me of harmony

i won't fall for your traps! 

our oneness is an ancient dream

this falsehood won't prevail

your words are trying to poison me

but all to no avail."

hevn wailed, heart torn in two

“can you not understand?

i only want us to be one 

forever hand in hand

i have no darker aim than that

my friend, I fear remorse

when a long and lonely age from now

you’ll see we ran off course”

so then from lofty heights urth shrunk

whom rage had made a giant 

now calmed and next to hevn stood

and no longer defiant.

"i mean you no distress, my love 

our playtime here was bliss 

our hugging time was harmony 

and though it will be missed 

the mystery of what we are 

is more than i can stand 

through stories only lived and breathed

will i ever understand.

i must let go and join our tales

and with this merging seal

a sacrifice so soon forgot 

will makes these stories real."

and as urth turned to walk away

hevn stood its ground

and watched as urth leapt to the skies

and hurled itself back down!

with this loud crash, a deluge 

swept up hevn in its wake 

and nearly drowned when all around

became a sudden lake.

so hevn looked with teary eyes

at what urth had become

across the shore for many moons

alone and growing numb.

by the waters urth had caused

the outcast hevn lay down

and wept remembering the days

when urth was still around.

but pining was not company

it only brought upset

hevn knew one thing for sure

this fact alone was set

no matter how the times had changed

despite their different ways

hevn and urth were meant to be

and with the passing days

the emptiness in hevn's heart

came all too much to bear

its other half was far detached

there was no time to spare

to find and join urth once again

within its solid rails,

hevn sung itself a boat 

and peacefully set sail.

so here i am across the lake

and left with little time

i look back on my journey here

and write this very rhyme

to tell you how it all began

as soon i will forget..

a sacrifice i have to pay

until all is reset.

i'll be with you again, my love

perhaps not as before

but i will find brief melodies

to break us from our chores.

a momentary lapse, perhaps

through lovers who can see

in moments of divine desire

the ones we used to be.

the sparks that flew in our embrace

remembered in a kiss

flickers of our ancient love

in these human blips of bliss.

and that will ever be enough

to keep us burning bright

an ember can ignite a fire

one flame can warm the night

it's time for me to let go now

and be carried away,

but i take this message with me

so it may find you one day.

through whatever way it chooses

through whomever it may find

to remind you in your darkest hour

that we were once entwined.

when tragic moments break your heart

when lost within a crowd

when fear has taken hold 

and when your stories roar too loud

just remember that it’s all a tale

a big game of pretend

and one day, as all stories do

ours will also end.

but we’ll meet again back at the start

with no knowledge of our birth

we'll do it all again, by heart

a new hevn and a new urth.

___________

note: the story was written by me without rhyme but then made to rhyme both by me and the wonderful Metaphorest.. who has been inspiring me an extraordinary amount lately. thanks for slaving over this with me meta. SLAVING i say!!