Mary E. Lowd - Returning the Lyre (Lyrics)

Based on Mary E. Lowd's short story "Returning the Lyre" from her anthology "The Opposite of Memory". Listen on all platforms: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/maryelowd/the-opposite-of-memory Read the story: https://deepskyanchor.com/returning-the-lyre/ Read the book: https://marylowd.com/books/other/#memory More music: https://marylowd.com/music Lyrics: The snake didn't bite me, it bit you Your lyre twanged its first discord Apollo gave me what was yours Said "Keep this," then became a cloud I walked for months to find the way Through caverns dark and rivers cold The ferryman made lewd jokes Until he saw whose wife I was, whose lyre I hold Returning the lyre Walking home, never looking back Returning the lyre Afraid you're there, afraid you're not Every step rehearsing joy Every step rehearsing loss Returning the lyre At what cost? At what cost? Hades offered me a choice Give the lyre to him, or take it home Walk all the way without looking back And you would follow, I'd no longer be alone My heart leaped and accepted Before my lips could speak I practiced the moment over and over The joy I'd feel, or the heartbreak Returning the lyre Walking home, never looking back Returning the lyre Were you there behind me on the track? Charon wouldn't meet my eyes He looked afraid of something Returning the lyre Hoping, doubting, wondering I sang songs I always got wrong Hoping you'd correct me from behind I plucked your strings clumsily Hoping you'd object, but you stayed silent Was it a spell keeping you quiet? Or were you never there at all? A demon sent to punish me? My mind imagined it all I crossed the threshold, closed my eyes Too afraid to look and see Then felt the lyre lifted from my hands Your lips warm on my cheek "Open your eyes, my love, my Eurydice" And there you were, that crooked smile Your perfect fingers on the strings We had our joy, for a while Returning the lyre Should have been the ending of our tale Returning the lyre But happy endings have their own travails Now I catch myself looking away Afraid you'll disappear Returning the lyre Cost more than I knew, my dear Now you flirt with nymphs and naiads Which never bothered me before And I wonder who I'd be If I'd let you melt away But there's a child growing in my belly A demi-god like you Months of never looking back Took more than I knew When will my doubts melt away? When will I recover from Returning the lyre Returning the lyre Returning the lyre to you #SciFi #ShortStories #BookSoundtrack