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Pluto, or The Old God Laments

from iTom 1​.​0: And So It Begins by Tom Smith

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In August of 2006, with great fanfare and foofrah, one of our planets was downgraded.

Pluto, discovered in 1930, has always been, like its divine namesake, The One Not Much Talked About. Small, quirky, eccentric, the last one picked for softball games. People kept trying to find a tenth planet, Planet X, as if Pluto somehow didn't deserve to be the most far-flung member of our solar system. Naming the dog after him didn't help.

Thing is, Pluto was the one ancient god everyone had to face. Not necessarily the most important, nor the most powerful... but the final one, the one who watched over you after you died. He commanded respect simply for that.

The date itself strikes a note of serendipity: August 28 is believed to be the date in 474 A.D. when Emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed by barbarians, bringing to an end the Western Roman Empire.

lyrics

I was tall
I was great
And my fall has been disturbing as of late
Now I'm bent
Now I'm broke
And they speak of me as if I were a joke

I was cold
I was strong
I was feared as if the work I do was wrong
Now I'm old
Now I'm gray
Now I find I miss the distant light of day

In my prime, I stole the spring from the summer,
In my time, I passed judgment with a will
But barbarians threw down my temples,
And they keep on doing it still.

I was Death
Dark and proud
Hardly ever speaking, never speaking loud,
I was Lord,
It was true,
I received the mortals' tribute as my due.

I was blind
I was vain
I stood by and watched our influence wane
Now we're dust
Now we're bones
Living only as the names of cosmic stones.

A god's life depends on his worship,
Without worship, there can be no god,
And although my time is long ended,
I still am remembered -- how odd.

Though I'm shrunk
I have power
And not one of you can name my final hour
Without warmth,
Without friend,
Without anything, just waiting for the end.

I've no fight,
No great cause,
I've no fantasy I'll be what I once was,
Still I rule
Acheron,
People look at me and wonder what's beyond
And as long as you keep looking...
I'll go on.

credits

from iTom 1​.​0: And So It Begins, released October 26, 2006

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Weird Al with more books, JoCo with more jokes, Carlin with more Cthulhu. Since 1985, Tom Smith has been breaking hearts, minds, and laws of propriety and physics with his insane blend of sf/fantasy, Life With Computers, pop culture, politics, and puns. More than twenty albums later, he maintains the best is yet to come. ... more

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