When Silence Wept

"The Price of Gold"

Gold ran bright as river's flow,
Silver shone like fallen snow.
Jewels gleamed in lantern's light,
Plucked from depths as dark as night.

Proud they stood in halls of stone,
A kingdom carved, a wealth their own.
Their hands were strong, their will was fire,
Their hunger grew, their hoards climbed higher.

The mountain's bones they split with glee,
They carved the roots, they cracked the sea.
No song of warning, no fearful lore,
Could turn their hearts from seeking more.

Gold was heaped in endless towers,
Gems like stars in midnight hours.
The world above was dim and cold,
But here below burned light of gold.

The halls were vast, the forges screamed,
And in their dreams the riches gleamed.
Their tables groaned, their banners soared,
Yet still they hungered-more, and more.

They shaped the earth, they named it thrall,
They swore their hands would claim it all.
What lay beneath, they did not ask,
For wealth alone had set their task.

But deep is dark and old is fire,
And greed will wake what sleeps in mire.
The echoes long, the earth did groan-
And flame arose from shadow's throne.

A storm of black, a tide of wrath,
A nameless doom in ruin's path.
The pillars cracked, the torches died,
And kings and beggars burned alike.

The halls were choked with fire's breath,
The gold ran red, the stone wept death.
No treasure bought the mercy sought-
All perished there, for what they wrought.