the deepening ground

When I began to study the myth of Aquarius, the abduction of the young, attractive shepherd boy from his father’s fields bothered me. And the fact that his father seemingly rolled over and yielded to the wishes of the gods in exchange for a pair of “fine” horses or a golden vine puts Tros on my shortlist for “worst parent of the year.” From there, I leapt to the infamous youth celebrities who lost their childhood in exchange for fame, often under the tyrannical demands of leeching parents (see Michael Jackson or Macaulay Culkin, for example). And then it didn’t take too much to link this tale to the horrors of child trafficking.

What follows is actually the second complete song I wrote for this myth. The first felt too heavy and forced, so I shelved it as a bonus track for a distant, future compilation that may never come to be. As of today, I only have a version of the song I recorded using the voice memo app on my iPhone, so I am posting without an audio link this time. However, I did get to play it for some of my fellow poet friends on Sunday evening, and was encouraged to hear that the music and words work well together in conveying the message, with a singable melody.

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Aquarius

Vincent H. Anastasi - 2024

Before the gods adored you,
you moved upon the earth,
Your beauty unattended and ignored,
But when you caught the eye of the industry’s elite
They swooped down to exalt their young celebrity.

The media bombards us
with everything you do:
“Aquarius at dinner, hand-in-hand with you-know-who!”
Now everyone believes the lies so gracefully contrived:
The sweet intoxication to distract us from our lives.

	Whoa oh oh, come and drink this nectar up
	Whoa oh oh, come, there’s poison in this cup

Your parents hoard the spoils
of your sudden rise to fame
Parading you about as their wunderkind (and slave),
And when your heart is longing for the sylvan life you’ve known,
They threaten and abuse you for your thankless heart of stone.

	CHORUS

You’re battling depression,
popping pills or alcohol
And everyone can read of your disgrace.
And when your groomers tire of maintaining the facade
You learn the bitter lesson of the fickleness of gods.

	CHORUS (Repeat 2x)

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