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Helen

from Ghostlines by Sora

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about

“Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium--
…”
- Christopher Marlowe (from Dr. Faustus)

These words have echoed in my head since I was 16, playing the part of Helen of Troy in our high school play of Faust. Helen is one of my middle names and her story has always spoken to me. As I devoured the Greek myths in my 20s, I became quite taken with the story of Helen and Paris, a story that forms the scaffolding for the Iliad, a book attributed to Homer that predates the bible. There are many versions however in all are descriptions of her legendary beauty and her departure (willingly or not) from Greece and her husband, Menaleus, to Troy the catalyst for a 10 year war that ends in the complete destruction of the shining city of Ilium (Troy). Did she leave with Paris? Was she abducted? Nobody will ever truly know. In my dyad, she loves Paris and leaves with him willingly. Why? What currency would speak more desperately to the most beautiful women in the world than truly be seen for herself —beyond her beauty— to the person beneath? Paris’s song is one of romance, Helen’s of desperation.

Their story ends tragically. Paris dies with the fall of Troy and Helen lives out her life with Menaleus, drugged to numb her sorrow and grief.

lyrics

They called me the torch
And in the minds of men
My beauty was a curse
A wager to be won

So how do the towers of Ilium
Burn so bright?
Burn so bright
A thousand reasons to let you go
Sail on ravenous seas
I'd rather die with a living heart
Than live without
Live without
You seeing me

They deemed me dangerous
Needing to be caged
Held hostage to his greed
But a wild Nemean beast cannot be tamed
I would not be worn
A pelt upon his pride
If only he had seen beyond my face to me

Oh how do the towers of Ilium
Burn so bright?
Burn so bright
A thousand reasons to let you go
Sail on ravenous seas
I'd rather die with a living heart
Than live without
Live without
You seeing me

What choice is there in choice?
When freedom is the game
A rose upon your lips
A brand upon my name
To call the echoing pain
From all-consuming time
What of me remains but the choice made that day

To sail to the towers of Ilium
To burn so bright
Burn so bright
A thousand nights in your ruined arms
I sailed on ravenous seas
A heart escaped from its gilded cage
Won't live without
Live without ever being seen

They called me the torch
And in your eyes alone
The truth of that day
My heart took its choice

credits

from Ghostlines, released May 15, 2021

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Sora Calgary, Alberta

Sora is a World/Celtic singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Her engaging stories straddle the realms of mythic and modern. Her transcendent voice will carry you on journeys of time and place.

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