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Submitted by cummy on January 3, 2022

In the constellation of Cygnus  
There lurks a mysterious, invisible force  
The Black Hole of Cygnus X-1  
Six stars of the northern cross  
In mourning for their sister's loss  
In a final flash of glory  
Nevermore to grace the night  
Invisible  
To telescopic eye  
Infinity  
The star that would not die  
All who dare  
To cross her course  
Are swallowed by  
A fearsome force  
Through the void  
To be destroyed  
Or is there something more?  
Atomized, at the core  
Or through the astral door  
To soar  
I set a course just east of Lyra  
And northwest of Pegasus  
Flew into the light of Deneb  
Sailed across the Milky Way  
On my ship, the Rocinante  
Wheeling through the galaxies  
Headed for the heart of Cygnus  
Headlong into mystery  
The x-ray is her siren song  
My ship cannot resist her long  
Nearer to my deadly goal  
Until the black hole  
Gains control  
Spinning, whirling  
Still descending  
Like a spiral sea  
Unending  
Sound and fury  
Drowns my heart  
Every nerve  
Is torn apart

When our weary world was young  
The struggle of the ancients first began  
The gods of love and reason  
Sought alone to rule the fate of man  
They battled through the ages  
But still neither force would yield  
The people were divided  
Every soul a battlefield  
'I bring truth and understanding  
I bring wit and wisdom fair  
Precious gifts beyond compare  
We can build a world of wonder  
I can make you all aware  
I will find you food and shelter  
Show you fire to keep you warm  
Through the endless winter storm  
You can live in grace and comfort  
In the world that you transform'  
The people were delighted  
Coming forth to claim their prize  
They ran to build their cities  
And converse among the wise  
But one day the streets fell silent  
Yet they knew not what was wrong  
The urge to build these fine things  
Seemed not to be so strong  
The wise men were consulted  
And the Bridge of Death was crossed  
In quest of Dionysus  
To find out what they had lost  
'I bring love to give you solace  
In the darkness of the night  
In the Heart's eternal light  
You need only trust your feelings  
Only love can steer you right  
I bring laughter, I bring music  
I bring joy and I bring tears  
I will soothe your primal fears  
Throw off those chains of reason  
And your prison disappears'  
The cities were abandoned  
And the forests echoed song  
They danced and lived as brothers  
They knew love could not be wrong  
Food and wine they had aplenty  
And they slept beneath the stars  
The people were contented  
And the gods watched from afar  
But the winter fell upon them  
And it caught them unprepared  
Bringing wolves and cold starvation  
And the hearts of men despaired  
The universe divided  
As the heart and mind collided  
With the people left unguided  
For so many troubled years  
In a cloud of doubts and fears  
Their world was torn asunder into hollow  
Hemispheres  
Some fought themselves, some fought each other  
Most just followed one another  
Lost and aimless like their brothers  
For their hearts were so unclear  
And the truth could not appear  
Their spirits were divided into blinded  
Hemispheres  
Some who did not fight  
Brought tales of old to light  
'My Rocinante sailed by night  
On her final flight'  
To the heart of Cygnus' fearsome force  
We set our course  
Spiralled through that timeless space  
To this immortal place  
I have memory and awareness  
But I have no shape or form  
As a disembodied spirit  
I am dead and yet unborn  
I have passed into Olympus  
As was told in tales of old  
To the city of Immortals  
Marble white and purest gold...  
I see the gods in battle rage on high...  
Thunderbolts across the sky...  
I cannot move, I cannot hide...  
I feel a silent scream begin inside...  
Then all at once the chaos ceased  
A stillness fell, a sudden peace  
The warriors felt my silent cry  
And stayed their struggle, mystified  
Apollo was atonished  
Dionysus thought me mad  
But they heard my story further  
And they wondered, and were sad  
Looking down from Olympus  
On a world of doubt and fear  
Its surface splintered  
Into sorry Hemispheres  
They sat a while in silence  
Then they turned at last to me  
'We will call you Cygnus  
The god of Balance you shall be'  
We can walk our road together  
If our goals are all the same  
We can run alone and free  
If we pursue a different aim  
Let the truth of love be lighted  
Let the love of truth shine clear  
Sensibility  
Armed with sense and liberty  
With the heart and mind united in a single  
Perfect  
Sphere