myth for sensitive pea

A man wanted a good life for himself.  

So he promised his heart for the cost of burnished gold

He gained the wealth of kings without a heart.

The birds still haunted his skies though - wherever he went, like messages. But he couldn’t take them in. He had no heart to understand.

If he could have wept he would. Flocks covered the sky some summer days, the way darkness can break the mind that is cursed by greed. He reached for them.

He had no heart to desire. So all of the desire and passion moved onto his skin and tasted sweet.

The golden king who was once only a man, sat always away from the sun, so it hit the back of his neck. He didn’t know he shone. So he grasped wherever he could. It’s like everything you wanted is there if you just turn around. 

The birds are always saying “turn around. Understand you’re full of sweetness.” The ants crawled all over him and he tried to shake them off “I’m cursed.” He moaned. 

But king with his long fingers just sat and grasped at the air, fruitlessly, at nothing.

Sometimes the old king catches the bird at last. You’ll see its dark wings at the center of the brilliant golden hand. He’ll see, in the eye of the bird, the sun that shines behind him, and he will bask in its beauty, and then come fall, the bird will fly away again.