Opeth

Face of Melinda

By the turnstile beckons a damsel fair
The face of Melinda neath blackened hair
No joy would flicker in her eyes
Brooding sadness came to a rise

Words would falter to atone
Failure had passed the stepping stone
She sworn her vows to another
This is when no-one will bother

And conceded pain in crumbling mirth
A harlot of God upon the earth
Found where she sacrificed her ways
That hollow love in her face

Still I plotted to have her back
The contentment that would fill the crack
My soul released a fluttering sigh
This day fell, the darkness nigh

I took her by the hand to say
All faith forever has been washed away
I returned for you in great dismay
Come with me, far away to stay

Endlessly gazing in nocturnal prime
She spoke of her vices and broke the rhyme
But baffled herself with the final line
My promise is made but my heart is thine

Complete Poems of D. H. Lawrence

I never saw a wild thing 
sorry for itself.

A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough 
without ever having felt sorry for itself.

Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core

LOVELESS

Prologue (Poem)

When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end

The goddess descends from the sky

Wings of light and dark spread afar

She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting.

Act I (Poem)

Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess

We seek it thus, and take to the sky

Ripples form on the water's surface

The wandering soul knows no rest.

Act II (Poem)

There is no hate, only joy

For you are beloved by the goddess

Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds.

Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul

Pride is lost

Wings stripped away, the end is nigh.

Act III (Poem)

My friend, do you fly away now?

To a world that abhors you and I?

All that awaits you is a somber morrow

No matter where the winds may blow.

My friend, your desire

Is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess.

Even if the morrow is barren of promises

Nothing shall forestall my return.

Act IV (Poem)

My friend, the fates are cruel

There are no dreams, no honor remains

The arrow has left the bow of the goddess.

My soul, corrupted by vengeance

Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey

In my own salvation

And your eternal slumber.

Legend shall speak

Of sacrifice at world's end

The wind sails over the water's surface

Quietly, but surely.

Act V (Poem)

Even if the morrow is barren of promises

Nothing shall forestall my return

To become the dew that quenches the land

To spare the sands, the seas, the skies

I offer thee this silent sacrifice.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Sayaka  :   What do I even care anymore? Who do I want to protect? 
            I don't even know anymore.

Kyoko   :   Hey...

Sayaka  :   The balance between hope and despair is always zero. 
            You said so yourself. I understand what you meant now.
            I've saved plenty of people. But in exchange, resentment
            and pain took root in my own heart. I'm even hurting my
            dearest friend now.

Kyoko   :   Sayaka! Are you?!

Sayaka  :   As much as I wished for the happiness of one... 
            Someone must be equally cursed. That's how the story
            of a magical girl goes... I've been such a fool.

Aesop's Fables

Mercury and the Woodman 

A Woodman was felling a tree on the bank of a river, when his axe, glancing off the trunk, flew out of his hands and fell into the water. As he stood by the water's edge lamenting his loss, Mercury appeared and asked him the reason for his grief. On learning what had happened, out of pity for his distress, Mercury dived into the river and, bringing up a golden axe, asked him if that was the one he had lost. The Woodman replied that it was not, and Mercury then dived a second time, and, bringing up a silver axe, asked if that was his. "No, that is not mine either," said the Woodman. Once more Mercury dived into the river, and brought up the missing axe. The Woodman was overjoyed at recovering his property, and thanked his benefactor warmly; and the latter was so pleased with his honesty that he made him a present of the other two axes. When the Woodman told the story to his companions, one of these was filled with envy of his good fortune and determined to try his luck for himself. So he went and began to fell a tree at the edge of the river, and presently contrived to let his axe drop into the water. Mercury appeared as before, and, on learning that his axe had fallen in, he dived and brought up a golden axe, as he had done on the previous occasion. Without waiting to be asked whether it was his or not, the fellow cried, "That's mine, that's mine," and stretched out his hand eagerly for the prize: but Mercury was so disgusted at his dishonesty that he not only declined to give him the golden axe, but also refused to recover for him the one he had let fall into the stream. 

"Honesty is the best policy."

-

The Fox and the Grapes

One hot summer’s day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. “Just the thing to quench my thirst,” quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: “I am sure they are sour.”

"It is easy to despise what you cannot get."

-

The Bear and the Two Travelers


Two men were traveling together, when a Bear suddenly met them on their path. One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and concealed himself in the branches. The other, seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat on the ground, and when the Bear came up and felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over, he held his breath, and feigned the appearance of death as much as he could. The Bear soon left him, for it is said he will not touch a dead body. When he was quite gone, the other Traveler descended from the tree, and jocularly inquired of his friend what it was the Bear had whispered in his ear. "He gave me this advice," his companion replied. "Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger."

A Book of Verses

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

Unknown Monk AD 1100

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town, and as an older man, I tried to change my family. 

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.