King Below

Down where the daylight never goes,

Past the river where the cold wind blows,

A throne of iron, a crown of stone,

Hades waits in the dark alone.

The dead come walking through his gate,

Every soul has an hour, a fate,

No thunder roaring, no ocean tide,

Just the silent king on the other side.

They call him cruel, they call him cold,

But every ending must be told.

Hades, Hades, king below,

Where the blackened rivers flow,

No sun above, no stars to show,

Still he rules the world below.

Hades, Hades, hear his name,

Not a devil, not a flame,

Keeper of the final door,

King of shadows evermore.

Then Persephone came like spring,

Flowers blooming before the king,

Color breaking through endless night,

A spark of gold in a world without light.

Half the year she walks the earth,

Bringing every field rebirth,

Half the year she takes his hand,

And winter falls across the land.

Zeus has the heavens, Poseidon the sea,

But every mortal comes eventually.

Kings and heroes, rich and poor,

All hear footsteps at his door.

Hades, Hades, king below,

Where the ancient shadows grow,

Raise your crown and take your throne,

Ruler of the great unknown.

Hades, Hades, hear the sound,

Echoing beneath the ground,

When every mortal tale is through—

The final kingdom waits for you.

No lightning flash, no battle cry,

Just a kingdom beneath the sky.

And deep below where dark winds blow,

Forever reigns…

The King Below.