Modern Day Theseus

Once Kings and Queens ruled proverbial lands,

Protected by the not-so-chivalrous band of knights,

Dragons were slain,

Damsels were rescused,

Commen men became heroes.

Times have changed,

While the ruling class has not,

Trading castles for White Houses,

Singular rulers became a congress,

Freedom is taunted as an ideal,

Restricted by an ever complex band of laws.

Knights traded their horses for sirens,

Chivarly remained dead,

Damsels cry rape,

But are hardly believed.

Commen men are too plagued by their monsters,

To become heroes anymore.

Contained to debted homes they cannot afford,

Capes bear a variable interest rate,

With the logos of their owners.

Days of saving the day have long been forgotten,

Read about in comics no longer printed,

Seen at overpriced theaters,

All with the same predictable endings.

Heroes now only exist in one fashion,

Those who do what is needed,

Father to a child that is not theirs,

Mother to a baby forgotten in adoption clinics,

No capes or super powers,

No rigorous code of morals,

No protections of everyday citizens.

There is still Kings and Queens,

We call them politicians,

There are still heroes,

We call them Mom or Dad,

Maybe Stepmom, Stepdad,

Maybe we just call them,

By our own names.

Be your own hero,

It is not likely someone else will save you,

But if they should,

Remind them tonight.