Strange Conversation

I heard they had a strange conversation the night Virgil died
He held his frail head up and said I think I wish I'd never tried
To dive down through the darkness, to climb up through the blue
Because beauty without cruelty is ever so much worse than untrue
Let it burn, let it burn, let it burn

And even the divine inspiration of Orpheus' song
It ends with the singing, the spell can only last as long
Then men fall back to blindness, the streams refind their beds
The wild beasts rise back up and spill the blood of innocents
Let it burn, let it burn, let it burn

And our arms branched out like rivers,
Our body filled the world,
The moon hung in our hair,
And the starry night unfurled...

Now are all the waves set to foaming on Ilium's strand
And all my life's labor feels like just a feather in my hand
So no more I'll be your keeper, or sing these songs for you
Take all these useless verses and please take this useless body too
Let it burn, let it burn, let it burn