Author: anvituteja

People called me a madman, a terrorist, an anarchist –
I am none of those things,
My name is Daedalus of Athens and I was the greatest inventor to have ever lived,

They sought to break me, to wound me, to steal the very things I loved –
I wanted none of it,
You act as if fame was a great honour who deigned to bestow upon me,

You think I wanted to kill my nephew? Perdix, was merely a boy –
Perdix, replace me?
I made him, I made you all, I made Athens the greatest city in the history of mankind,

And what did you do? Oh, you ostracized me, you laughed at what made you great –
Did you expect me to watch idly by?
While you made me an example to haunt your children at night,

And then I worked for the power-blind king, Minos and his half-mad wife –
But I would have none of it,
I was made a symbol, a symbol of Crete’s growing prowess,

And then I achieved the feat no man had, yes, no man –
I created life,
My workspace, My creation, Oh, My Labyrinth, It was a gift from the god Hephaestus himself,

But this was not done by a god, but by me, mere Daedalus –
And what did I get for it?
I was imprisoned, tossed aside like just another tool, no escape ‘cept a window on the tallest tower,

You mocked me Minos, but I thought you knew not to underestimate me –
I flew, while Icarus decided to touch the Sun,
Foolish boy, never could listen, could he? But I flew, Minos, I had golden wings, those to rival Nike’s,

Sicily was a strange place no doubt, but with the usual half-piece king with a mind on gold –
I rebuilt myself in the shadows,
And when you came along, my three apprentices worked magic on your backward soul,

I hear you were made a judge in the underworld –
Forever only a slave to the will of Hades,
Not bad, but how does it feel sending others to the paradice you can never go to?

And me? Don’t you want to know what happened to me? Finish the story –
I’m on Endeka now,
Yes, I finally did it – what you only talked about. I became Daedalus of Athens, inventor immortal.
ANVI TUTEJA

-with you till the end of the line, pal-

You’ve never understood,
And I know you won’t ever understand,
You wouldn’t do that, but I would,
I was wanted by everyone in this desolate land,

But I wanted to change you,
I wanted to make this work,
I wanted this love to someday be true,
Now in the hollows of this world, does my spirit lurk,

You can’t do this, you can’t ever care,
About someone other than yourself,
You were not a diamond in the rough, just a mistake rare,
But I cared, even if you dragged me through the seven hells,

It was the only thing I had, their love,
Something you never gave me,
They were my family and you left them to suffer,
That’s why I don’t regret this decision to leave.
ANVI TUTEJA

-with you till the end of the line, pal-

They tell me to do more and try to be better,
Perfect and Charming, right down to the letter,
But I just need moment, yeah, I just need a moment,
To breathe; But I’m sorry, no comment,

How do I tell them I’m done? How do I tell them they’re only stories,
How do I tell them their real life isn’t my reality? That I was meant for better glories,
I was not meant to sit at home and look pretty,
I am strong and brave and smart and witty,

Give me a moment, a moment to breathe,
I can do it, but what of the sorrows beneath?
I’m scared of what they’ll do to me,
I’ve seen things I wish to unsee,

Reality is abstract, different, not yours, not mine,
Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic, Emotional; yeah, I’m just FINE,
I’m done fighting, I’m done living for someone else,
I’m finally free, free to breathe, free to believe, that I can finally be, myself.
ANVI TUTEJA

-with you till the end of the line, pal-