I.
Joy resounded through the Trojan
Halls as the songs of lutes swelled;
Hymns were chanted by the drunken
Soon before the towers fell.
Weary heads now calmly rested,
Tears no longer plagued their eyes;
Peleus was soon expected
With his noble bride to rise.
II.
Troops with temples wreathed by laurel
Filled the sanctums of the gods;
All retiring, proudly marching
To the Thymbrian altar halls.
Streets were thriving with the madness
Of the dance-crazed bacchanal;
Yet forgotten in her sadness
Was but one unhappy soul.
III.
Everywhere Cassandra wandered
She was met with joy and cheer.
Still, she roamed Apollo’s orchards,
Haunted by her prescient fear.
She took refuge in the deepest
Acres of a sacred forest,
And flung in a raging tempest
Bindings of her priestly caste.
IV.
“Everyone rejoices proudly,
Every heart feels greatly blessed;
Parents look on hopefully
At my sister sweetly dressed.
I alone must mourn this moment,
Letting each dream flee my sight;
I alone must reckon ruin
Scale our walls once shining bright.
V.
“One dim, simple flame is glowing,
Though not held by Hymen’s hand,
Fires leap towards the Heavens,
Yet not burning from our brand.
Feasts before me I see lavished,
Yet my prophesying heart
Hears the crying and the anguish
Tearing all our joys apart.
VI.
“They all mock my lamentation,
My grief only eggs them on;
Lonely in my desolation,
Helpless, I must carry on.
Shamed by those who reap sweet fortune,
Blighting all their happiness;
I’m the herald of destruction,
Oh, immortal Pythias!
VII.
“Why have I been cursed so coldly,
Cast among the ever-blind?
Every day is dark and lonely
All because of my clear mind.
Why grant me the gift of forethought
If tomorrow can’t be changed?
The predestined can’t be altered—
Destiny remains unchained.
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