The Ghost in the Room (Gyges)

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
My love, this golden ring from Lydia's cave,
found in 440 BCE by Herodotus' words,
or Plato's tale around 380 BCE.
You sit on the finger of that giant corpse,
inside the bronze horse with its hidden doors.
Cool damp air clings, earth scent after quake,
trembling hands pull you free.

[Chorus]
Oh ring, you make me the ghost in the room,
invisible threads in my neural weave,
like Gyges slipping through Candaules' hall,
seeing the unnamed queen in her silence.
No eyes on me, but the weight persists,
in this cortical veil, perception's trick.

[Verse 2]
Addressing you, small band of power,
forged in myth, c. 428 to 348 BCE,
Plato's iron nature bends under your spell.
Damp stone walls, midday light filters in,
metallic tang on my tongue as I twist you on.
The world fades, but thoughts echo loud,
synaptic sparks unseen, like your gift.

[Bridge]
What of her, the voiceless wife,
her gaze piercing even your cloak?
In the brain's hidden tomb, morality quakes,
earthquake of conscience, 1920 translation by Godley.

[Verse 3]
Ring, you embody the unseen signal,
neural ghosts in the default mode,
Gyges' rise, from shepherd's crook to throne,
cool clammy touch, ancient bronze chill.
I speak to you intimately, close as breath,
in this room of mind, where visibility lies.

[Outro]
Ghost in the room, forever turning,
invisibility's sigh, perfect and profound.