When Theseus left home,
He promised he’d stay safe.
His mother said goodbye,
And then they shared one last embrace.
He left to claim his destiny, and did not shy from enemies;
All mem’ry of the oath he swore was gone without a trace.
He faced his share of danger,
The vilest of thieves;
His confidence inflating
With each vict’ry he achieves.
So when he heard his people’s fate, Theseus didn’t hesitate-
He volunteered to take the place of one they'd give to Crete.
As Theseus was leaving,
His lesson not let learned,
He promised to his father
“You’ll know when I’ve returned.
On the day our ship comes back, you'll see its sails are white, not black
And know that I am living and you needn’t be concerned.”
So he was sent to Crete,
And met a princess there.
“Aid me, and I’ll marry you”
This was the oath he sware.
So Ariadne guided him, and led him through his trial grim
And thus he slew the Minotaur, and they escaped its lair.
But he forgot his promise,
As soon as that first isle.
And left poor Ariadne there,
With simply “Sorry” and a smile.
And so, uncaring and alone, Theseus then sailed home
Thinking only of the fame he’d earn in just a while.
But lo, and to his horror-
It was not praise he found.
Instead, it was his father’s corpse,
Upon the stony ground.
One thing Theseus forgot- the proper sail he raised not;
And so his father thought him dead, and in his grief he drowned.
Theseus had won,
But lost what was most dear
No mother there to comfort him,
No wife to wipe his tears.
And so one final oath he swore- that he’d be better than before
But by now I’m sure it’s clear, that he forgot once more.
