a dream in which I was both observer and subject; also, a loose telling of the Cassiopeia myth

Lyrics

Cassiopeia by Mary Rocap

Can’t say I really knew her
Just who she claimed to be
I was lonely, I was walking
It seemed that so was she
I saw her leave the mansion
Dressed head to toe in black
She was walking with a purpose
Like she’d not soon be back

I followed at a distance
For idle was my time
She was headed for the ruins
I matched her steps with mine
Silent was the night air
The moon was sheathed in lace
Cassiopeia on her queenly throne
Never showed her face

Warily I climbed the steps
Not wanting to intrude
Afraid the pounding of my heart
Would mar her solitude
She was lying ‘neath the pillars
She was calling out some name
She held a broken mirror
Reflecting fractured pain

Then it was she saw me
And bid me to approach
“Sit down beside me, stranger
If you’ll listen without reproach”
She told me things, then made me swear
I’d tell none of the tale
She was choosing death o’er life
For life and love did fail

I held the lady in my arms
As I hold her in my heart
Through it weighs upon me heavily
Her words I’ll not impart
It’s frequent now I wander
Into the sleepless night
Oft to the ruins do I go
Glass shards reflect starlight