Denizens of sylvan places Hidden from the eyes of man, Courtesans with sylph-like graces Dancing to the pipes of Pan - That echoed through the ether Notes that soared the wings of halcyon, Songs to give our lives the meaning That we lack now they have gone.
Watch the pattern ever changing In the tapestry of fate, Weft and weave now interlacing Silken strands that fabricate - A cloak to fit both king and beggar, Those who rule and those that toil Are equal in the fact that All pay homage to this mortal coil.
Icy fingers grasping madly Get a grip upon my throat - And slowly squeeze the life out of me On my dying words I choke, A frantic prayer in desperation Cannot hope to make me whole, A moment's lapse of concentration And the spirits flee my soul.
Drugs and potions surge within me - Slowly paralize and kill me, Terrified I stumble blindly Into the unknown. Outside looking in - observing Feelings that I find unnerving Dying with my eyes wide open Helpless and alone.
The endless void that lies beyond - With gaping jaws it beckons me, I cast my worldly flesh aside and Plunge into eternity.
Once light hearted I departed - On my quest hope courted me, Now a new love is my true love And her name is misery. Eyes as dark as midnight-ravens Gems that filled my mind with awe, Enthral my heart - Distract me from her milk-white hands Stained red with gore.
The fetters that bound me are broken, By words that were best left unspoken, For now I am shackled to sadness By chains that are tempered with madness.
I plummet like a shooting-star That shines so bright yet falls so far, Shafts of moonlight guide me To the world that waits below. I seem in need of nothing else But rope enough to hang myself- Laughing through the gates of Hell I go.
[MY SOULS LAMENT] Contained within a living shroud My life-force fades and dies, This weary heart grows heavy As the coins upon my eyes. The latch has now been lifted On an ever open door, And peering through I see things As I never have before.
The hammer and the anvil meet - In synchronicity they chime, A sound so simple and complete It needs no melody or rhyme. Reforging all that I once was - They make me into something new, No longer trapped within this world But transient and passing through - The 'valley of the shadow' Far beyond the 'summerland', Like the wild-boar is my valour Now my life is in these hands - That keep the seething cauldron steaming, Stoke the fires of destiny, Gently take me and re-shape me All-wise smith of sorcery
The fetters that bound me are broken, By words that were best left unspoken, For now I am shackled to sadness By chains that are tempered with madness.
From the 'cup of happiness' The wine of hope I've sipped, Betrayed I taste the bitterness Of pain upon my lips. Though I try to drown my sorrows They will surely drown me first, For swallowing my pride Won't quench this thirst.
[MY SOULS LAMENT:] In this darkness light has faded - Hope becomes despair, Loneliness for a companion - With me everywhere. I wander in confusion While the tears that I have cried, Gleam like broken trinkets You have worn then cast aside.
[WODEN:] "Now hand-in-hand with ignorance The power-mad run blindly, But retribution hunts you down And rest assured he'll find thee. No curtain could conceal you For the ghosts of all you slander- Await you at your journey's end And, to them you must answer. The poisons born upon your tongue Will never serve to slight me, For I have dealt with many fools and Suffer your kind lightly. Just as you sow so shall you reap - And I my friend have plenty, So sit ye down and eat your words Now that your plate is empty."
The endless void that lies beyond With gaping jaws it beckons me, I cast my worldly flesh aside and Plunge into eternity.