CD1 - IN THE HALLS OF AWAITING

1. THE ILL-STARRED SON

Her dirge still echoes in these woods
Mourning lingers in the vales
As the wind cries on the shore
Her wailing can be heared

Mirthless is this wandering through
Hollow days
Like a pale ghost I waste away in
This foul world

What sin do I atone for in this
Dreadful way
Why the gods snee rat me as I
Keep writhing in pain

Where has my dearest gone to
Where sings now my maiden fair
Beneath the darksome waters
Underneath the moonlit waves

Where is our ill-starred son
Where lies our poor stillborn child
Below the silent mound
In the arms of scared earth

She become weary of the world
Tired of this marred life
Burdened with sorrow far too deep
A pain impossible to bear

There is no light at the end of this
Blackened path
Calm again are the sullen waters
Before me

If gods shall hearken to me
Fate with be bening
I leave these woes behind
Depart from these cares

For we shall be reunited on the
Other side
I desscend to my love and caress her
Forevermore


2. SONG OF THE STORM

The wind gathers the clouds in the sky
Empyrean cracks and roars
The calm before the storm grows now to thunder's song
Gone are the singing birds, silently sigh only the trees
Hear now the moment when the son of thunder speaks

The roar in crescendo, fills hte dark air and once more
The bringer of chaos makes the wind rise again
Watch him whirling, dancing in the step of time...
In the flash of lightning appears the majesty of skies

As the tempest sets world on to it's knees,
Still steady stands one man brave
Challenging alone the nature
Screaming fiercely ovet the gale

Filled with the anger are also phrases of storm
And easily from the ground apart is the man soon torn
Cold is their embrance, of iron their handshake both
Mortal facing undying and the warring of their powers

For thousand years last their struggle,
One teardrop shed for every year,still
Enough to bring forth the thousand lakes,
Enough for thousand rivers to shape
And as the northwind rises again
And the heaven cracks and roars
Once more two headstrong figures
Will test to defeat each others


3. MEDEIA

Where there once was love, only hatred now resides
Where I once had heart, only nothingness now dwels

Guilt-ridden shall be your days
Heart-rending your nights

By starlight I rock to sleep my dearest ones
Under the cold sky I lull to rest my darlings
Good to ie in a bed of cloudberry flowers
Soft to dream on a moss-grown pillow

Betrayed by one I loved, deceived by one I caressed
Cast into the dark, thrust into the endless night

But even bitter is your fate
Way darker your path

For nothing have I been by your side
In vain have i wasted this life
All that was fair has been marred now
All the love I gave you have emptied my heart

Soon I'll be feeling no pain
sleeping in silent shade
The ones you cherist most
I'll take with me to my dreams

Haunted by your deeds
Wrapped into the grief
You are bound into this sorrow
Until the end of time


4. DYING CHANT

As I lay dying at the eve of my days
There is a void inside me, hollowed by the years

Tmie has made these scars, burned them in my soul
Mouldred this ugly figure of anguish and woe

Only death by my side, in the darkness waiting
I weep for what I've done, cry for what I've not

I beg for salvation, that cannot be found
Never in this life, not whit these memories

I have never shown regret or asked for forgiveness
I have never relented, no, or yielded to prayers

Only vision in my mind, as I give my life
How she hides her face, and turn away


5. THE ELDER

In the arms of rimed soil, lies the autumns last withered leaf
Land now bare and naed, awaits it's snowy sheet

And as the light still lingers, painting scarlet this barren scene
An old man sings his song of melancholy and relinquish

I'm a whirl deep in dark waters,
A stare in the shades of fir-trees
I'm riding above with north wind,
Herding the black clouds of rain
Mine is the kingdom,
Far from the moon to the sun
I am the elder,
Standing forever as one

And in that sudden moment, when everything's turned to still,
He abruptly breaks the silence, becomes one with longing

And singing ever stronger, nature joins as one with him
Fire in his eyes, universe under twisted grin


6. BLACK WATERS

Somber is my mind, now that
Misfortunehas faced my kind;
Weary glazed stare, Beneath the
Pitch-black hair.
On my cheeks, once so live, Adorn
Flood of tears, caused by strife
And as I griewe under the sky, even
Raven croaks to me it's despise

My warm hand against your cold
Palm...
Words echoing in the air through
You're gone...

Somber is my mind, Black is the
Colour I feel
These completely dead emotions,
Drain the last bit of me
No matter how many tiers I shed,
No matter how much I repent
Some things just can't be undone
And some of us can't be forgiven

No matter how many tears I shed,
Some this can't be undone...

I've reached the point of the no return,
These are deeds from I can not flee
From a reflection I see a tired man,
Longin for a relief
The Black waters in front of me
Will sway me till I'm in sleep,
Carry me to the shores of Manala
Where I'll be free from my sins
The Black waters will sway me till I'm sleep...

This Roaring stream will wash me
Pure and clean...


7. SHADES OF DEEP GREEN

...This path leads into dark...

In shrouding veil of thickening dusk,
In the caress of darkening woods
There winds my path, narrow and fading

Let this twilight linger upon me
Moon and stars take over when sun has fled
And bring her scent to me

May the blowing of winds cease
And all birds fall silent from singing
May the dreary waters lay still
And hands of time stop turning

So in forms of evening mist
I can feel her slender grace
In shades of deep green
I can drown in her tender eyes

What a cruel world left for me to roam alone
These journeys are filled with craving, these moments with loss

Neither the glittering dew on moors, nor the the whispering wind in dales
But only these shadows of green can remind me of her


8. BITTER END

The silent moment right before the
Dusk fades away
I open my eyes but the darkness
Stays
Nightfrost covers the brittle flowers
Around you
I realize that what I dreamt is true

Beauty beyond words
My dearest one
Her light burns my eyes
She is all mine

By these frosty waters I rest by
Your side
I hold you in my arms for the last
Time
If only I could tell you how I need
Your love
If only you had seen what I kept in
My heart

Now it's the time of grieving
Reign of sorrow in my heart
All i have ever wanted
Is today forever gone
Bitter is the nightly silence
Bitter till the end of time
The sky grown ever darker
Through now she''ll always be mine

I hold you on my arms so tight
I kiss your frozen lips for this last
Time
For the first time


9. JOURNEY UNKNOWN

I'm rushing through the cosmos,
Reaching the light from the beyond the sun
I see my self dissolving, as universe locks me into its arms
When you dream of the sea of stars
And in the sky the northern lights flame
Sometimes do you remember, hear the silence between the worlds

Swirling surges of plasma, permeate me as i continue my fall
Distorted dimensions swarm around me,
Flickering a while, soon lost to sight
And all these shapes I've seen
Always through thick darksome mist
Become now clear vision of consternation and awe

Into soothing silenceI lapse,
Under your guarding eyes I rest
At the gates of your kingdom,
I bow down and enter

Domed stellar colonnades outline the arch of the sky
A scene from here to eternity and everything that betwenn lies
The grandeur of all existence, reveals me now pass my closed eyes
And as my slepp turns ever deeper, I'm really awaken for the first time


10. IN THE HALLS OF AWAITING

Evening full of grandeur, skies tinged with red
Mountains crowned with crimson, treetops with scarlet blaze
As the dusk is falling, night settles in
Stars slowly come out, moon glides skywards
...Still cheerless is in my soul, my heart filled with cares...

Longing for the misty shores, weather-beaten strands so poor
Where the weeping sky archs over water calm
Pining for primeval woods, murky shade of leafy roof
Where the silent trees arch over our path

Do you walk in mourning, still wear the grief
Raiment of sorrow, remembrance of me
Through the years of bleakness, winters of bitter cold
Will you not forget me, forsake my soul
...Low-spirited is my song, downhearted my tune...

Beyond enchanted sea, wistful is my sleep
Darkness by my side, through the dreary night
Will you follow me, through eternity
To another world, to the quiet halls

I've lost my way in the dark, strayed apart from my love
I've faced the demons of might, passed away into shades

Long are lonely years, slowly pass these days
In undying land, in the divine light
Where I wait...in the dark

The black of the night turns to dusk of the dawn
Through the mist now shines the fairest light of all
The caress I've waited for eternity
Into the shades, together we fade


CD2 - SINCE THE DAY IT ALL CAME DOWN

1. NOCTURNE

(No lyrics available)


2. THE DAY IT ALL CAME DOWN

From now on there's an abscence of smile

Foul voices welcome me to loneliness
Graceful tunes on her lips have now ceased
This winter's here to surpass all the hopes
And dreams succumb to nightmares and freezing air

Now lonely is my road, path paved with bitter thoughts
Conception of beauty excluded from this heart
Within closed doors no-one speaks, behind barred windows no soul lives
As I walk the soil beneath my feet is crumbling...

She was my sun and now the light has faded away
Night condensing around me, leading astray
Shining image torn down, remembrance of her fades
Left but anguish and shame to haunt me in the shades

Should I be content with the memory of the life I had?
Or is the Hell knowing what we could have beome?
- Quite indifferent as the tides of time have now turned
And the past is buried in a drift of whirling snow

...White sheet covering all things left behind...

And from now on there's an abscence of hope...

She was my sun and now the light has faded away
Night condensing around me, leading astray
Shining image torn down, remembrance of her fades
Left but anguish and shame to haunt me in the shades

So be it, perdition is my home,
Since the day it all came down


3. DAUGHTER OF THE MOON

Trail amidst the snow-clad trees, winding is the way
Sunless is the path we roam, bitter is the air we breathe
Fell is the icy blast, coming from the hills
Blowing through my ailing heart, wailing in the emptiness inside

Vanished is the light we had, hidden deep in rimy soil
Bereft of us the one we cherished, lost for ever our love

Still at night I see her figure
Flickering on moonlit glades
But passing is the hope she_s giving
Just a faintest breath of air and she_s gone again

The clouds are moving heavily, across the livid sky
Yonder the hues are darkening, slowly turning grey to black
For the two who stray in dusk, all hope is long since gone
Cruel is the winter_s reign, merciless the grasp of despair

For what mirth there is left in life for a motherless son
What solace in this world for a widower to find

Slender the shape in night, unbearable the beauty
Shining in the silvery light, watching me with wistful eyes
Evanescent this vision, unattainable this illusion
But an image in my troubled dreams, hewn out of yearning and rue


4. THE MOMENT OF RECKONING

If I only could I would
Change everything

Today is the day, the moment of reckoning
For too long I've been hiding this truth within my chest
Today is the day when I will come clean
Answer for my deeds and stand up for my faint-heartedness

If I only could I would change everything
Let the suffering be mine and only mine for this time

In your time of need I betrayed you
When I should have watched over you I walked away
Now there are two straying souls weak in faith

In your time of need I left you
When I should have been strong I turned my back on you
Now there are two straying souls about to break

When there now are two of us alone
There's not anymore anyone alone

Today is the day when I will face you at length
You my child have wept enough far too long swallowed your hate
Today is the day when I will promise to myself
Take care from you I've been running away and with for so many years

If I only could I would change everything
Let the suffering be mine and only mine for this time


5. BEREAVEMENT

Would you come and share
My cross, my pain, my heartbroken nature
For this burden is too heavy to bear
Too troublesome for one man to handle

Since my darkness swallowed
The last gleam of light
I've been rambling in the shadows
Hour after hour in the dark

They who never got sorrow,
Grinding grief in their hearts
Never lost a thing,
Never had a thing

They who never witnessed beauty,
That flamed even the all-encompassing night
Never lost a thing,
Never had a thing

Now these bitter tears run ceaseless,
And drown my hope far too deep
It must've been the day we parted
When I trapped this sadness in me

Since my darkness swallowed
The last gleam of light
I've been clothed in mourning,
Wearing sorrow day and night


6. UNDER THE PLAINTIVE SKY

And so does the downhearted tune
Resound through this murky night
And the wind groan its wistful song
For the ill-lucked dwellers in plight

These two round-shouldered figures
Forward slowly through this grey day
Under the fores'ts white canopy
Out of the drifting snow's way

With rime dressed-faces they wander
With guilt carved-hearts they flee
With grim stained-minds they hover
Between hope and despair

With rime dressed-faces they wander
With guilt carved-hearts they flee
With grim stained-minds they ponder
If they ever be free of their sins

May the stars become my eyes
And the wind become my hearing
Let them guide us through
These pitch-dark mornings

May the snowfall end
And the shining moon rise
So we can find our way out
From these all-consuming nights

Underneath the blanket of stars
Embraced by another cold night
Two round-shouldered figures
Leave these shores behind

Quietly they wonder
If they ever will see the light
They now lose in their shadows
Owe to the darkest of nights


7. RESONANCE

(No lyrics available)


8. DEATH WALKED THE EARTH

Brought back from the silence
As darkness whitened into a day
Tried to weave the pieces together
Force the past away

Mind weary of sorrow
Body tired from the way
Welcomed yet another morning
Of longing and dismay

What have I for you to offer
Besides this long haul
Wade across vast snowfields
Journey through endless moors

Death walked the earth today
Without a sound, motionless
Forced its way into my arms
Caressed me with the dark

Dragged again up to surface
From the bowels of the earth
To face yet another morning
Breath gasping black steam of death

These are our waking hours
In cold sunlight we pine away
Towards yet another morning
Till following hopeless day


9. DISENGAGEMENT

What solemnity can be found in this death?
A traitor's smile, the honour of betrayal

How comfort could be found in the dreariest of nights?
What solace for guilt-driven mind, tarnished heart?
Two crestfallen figures clinging together in fathomless dark
In maelstrom of despair dimming each other's shine

And half of his blood runs like mine - kindred spirit to me
But the gleam in his eyes remind of the one who is gone forever

When dreams carry me past this life, to thin shrouding mist
I rest in silence, in place lifeless and desolate

Long are midwinter's nights as the will to live has died
Evanescent the unwarming light, evoking memories of life
- Of the life long lost, buried in ashes of love and joy

And half of his blood bleeds like mine - kindred spirit, yet free
But the gleam in his eyes abates for my guilt shackles him too

What sublimity can be found in this love?
Weakling's trust, the moral of deceiver

There's no future for a son under this burden of grief
No leading to walk aside this tormented ghost
Two crestfallen figures clinging together in fathomless dark
In maelstrom of despair father suppressing the only shine

As the end is slowly looming our paths must now diverge
Pressure slowly easing, shackles unchained, uplifting

Beyond many a weary league
Where dimming light gives birth to evening stars
At the treelines of distant, devouring woods
Await my demons, embodying this longing

Better to sleep now on stranger's porch, find home on foreign soil
Brighter the sun to a forsaken child than to a father in despair
Disencumbered from this grief with the most cruel way
Deserted to be alone, abandoned to be free


10. Closing Words

This will be for now and for ever the diverging of our paths...

Now that this night has turned into a dawn
I step aside from this path of grieving
Left with all these things I never had chance to say
Words wishful, filled with caring

You must stop your bleeding
Before you run yourself dry
You must let go of your wound
Because love it is crying for is gone

Now that this night has turned into a dawn
I give up this life I have been leading
Left with all these things I never meant to say
Words deceitful, double-dealing

As every breaking day fades away before the dusk
So does hate pause and resentment turn to reason
You've carried enough this burden meant only for me to bear
Now it's your time to straighten up, time for you to walk tall
Alone...


11. Song Of The Forlorn Son

Wretched is my lot here, mirthless is my fate
Alone to face the cruel winters, endure the dreary cold
What is there to hope for, what is there to seek
For this forsaken child, for this forlorn son

Whose sins am I now atoning for?
Whose lapses am I forced to undo?

So echoes my tune through these darkling shaws
Above the frozen streams resounds my song
Only these sullen trees will hearken to me
Only snow-bound hills ever hear my call

What is there to hope for, what is there to seek
For this forsaken child, for this forlorn son
For this embittered man, for this grim castaway

Solace I find in the light of the pale moon
My comfort in the night the murmur of the trees
Now I set forth without ever glancing back
It is time to make my own way through the dusk


CD3 - ABOVE THE WEEPING WORLD

1. THE GALE

When it rains, it pours like hell...


2. MORTAL SHARE

In their lofty chambers dwell
The sacred and divine
Resting in seraphic bliss
The timeless and sublime

Far above the mortal sphere
Dreaming without a care
Far above the weeping world
Sleeping amidst the light of stars

Too far away to hear our calls
Too far away to care at all

On the burnished thrones they sit
Might in their blazing eyes
Vault of heaven at their feet
Undying flames inside

Never shall decay or death
Touch on the blithe souls
Sorrowless the days of gods
Amidst the everblooming groves

But where do we lay our heads to rest?
Where do we shelter when the night falls?

For the part of man
Is to take the sombre path
Stumble in the dark
Stray amidst the dust and ash

Like forgotten ghosts
Drifting in the driving wind
Dashing towards the void
Whirling blindly through the night

Like water flung from the highest cliff
We fall,
Lunge,
Swirl,
Dissolve,
And fade away
Down into the unknown


3. DRAWN TO BLACK

Wreathed in silence, laid down in shades
Swathed in regrets, deluded astray
Forgotten in half-light, drawn in despair
Soothed in slumber so dreadful and fair

Rending and searing and twisting my dreams
Alone in the gloom with the nightmares unseen

The night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun

The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one:
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When love is done

Worthless the pledges, all vows but lies
Fateful her kisses, where a serpent hides
First beckoned to step from the twilight to glare
Then left in the dark for the demons to share

Only the stars see, only the moon hears...

And quietly the water-lilies sigh
Like the last breath of a weary soul
And the weed sway in the dreary waters
Like a girl's dark hair they wave about

And the black stones under my bare feet
Cold and smooth like her milk-white palm
And the silence which falls upon this shore
Resounds now louder than oncoming storm

For all is gone


4. CHANGE OF HEART

Spring brought the two together
Married the wind with the fire
Under the secrecy of lush birch trees
Opposite hearts became one

One day followed another
Weeks passed, months lapsed
Until wind grew to a storm
And fire to a burning pile

Cold gust of whirlwind
Fiery flames, burning sharp
Adoration all too strong pushed the two apart

Different from the start
Fate that never was written in the stars
Led to a change of hearts

The fall split the one in two
Under the pouring rain
Dressed them both in loneliness
And led to their separate ways

The fire could not be tamed with the wind
Or the wind suppressed by the flames
As blending the light with the dark
Merely results in grey


5. AT THE GATES OF SLEEP

Listen to the night, hearken to the silence
The wind sings in fir-trees, forest´s music rings
Rueful is the tune, wailful the soughing
Soothing is the choir, murmur of the trees

Time to forget all the heartache and pain
Time to leave behind all the toil and travail
Here where the water mirrors a still sky
Here a fair place for a child to lie

Under the woeful sky, moss-grown our bed tonight

Here we sprawl in mellow darkness
In warm caress of the night
Far away from world's betrayals
Afar from all the Heaven's might

Better to dream, far sweeter to slumber
Than face the cold days, bear the grim longing
Time to rest a while, close the drowsy eyes
Sleep till the dawn, till the bleak morning

Heed not the rustle or hoots of the owl
Heed not the ghosts that still dwell in the soul
Night brings us solace and serenity deep
Night brings at last neverending sleep

Better it would be to sleep forever
In silent shades of the evernight
Sweet are the dreams in the groves of death
Far away from the earthly woes

Sound is the sleep under spruce's boughs
Serene are the dreams in the darkling shade
Gone are the cares of the waking world
Forgotten the sorrows of the weary heart


6. THE KILLJOY

To know love is to ache;
Hurt yourself and repent
For in the end all is gone;
Lights go out, your time is spent

If I were you I would retract and lock my heart
Concede defeat and admit I was off the mark
If I were you I would turn away and hide my face
Swallow my pride and then finish ere it's all disgrace

All of our dreams now laid on the sand
To wait by the perilous tides
To be washed away into the depths
And sink without a trace
Just a fool's hope remains

To rejoice is to lapse;
Fool yourself and repent
Mirth will soon turn into woe,
Reveries to contempt

If I were you I would now bring the curtain down
Accept my lot and thus fathom out my own bounds
If I were you I would rue the day when I was born
Cleanse all in life and redeem myself from scorn

Remember these words when tide is turning
The less you hope for, the less you suffer
If you dare to trust, then you shall shatter
Lunge from the heights and fall to smithereens

And when you come here with charred wings and a defiled heart
Wait not for compassion or words of consolation
For only a gleeful smile is greeting you


7. LAST STATEMENT

I have come to the end of my line
With these final steps I take back my freedom
Unchain the shackles that never could hold my mind

Time keeps running and running
Outstripping the dead tired ones
The hours will run out from us all
And in the end no one differs from the other

Only the blue sky and the green grass
Go on forever in this world
Where seconds feel like eternity
And years pass in blink of an eye

When the last rays of light
Set behind these shores
Night wraps me in its blanket
And leads my way to the stars

Through the fear and the ache
Pass the storm and the rain
I have made peace with the world
I am born again

I may be gone in the flesh
But my love will stay here
I am always with you in spirit
So just stay strong

No one wins tonight
No one gets a closure
No one walks away victorious

But don't forget me
Don't you forget me
Burn a candle for me when you can


8. DEVOID OF CARING

With this fall (I fall...) great grey clouds covered the sky
Dimming the light of sun, muting stars and crescent moon
Lost inside the world of gloomy, haunting shades
Descending into this abyss of human soul

In this dreariest of nights
Time can draw out like a blade

And yet Her grace shines through
Through me, and the brooding clouds
And if her light never falls on me
I'm content just to feel the lack

And this fall set requiem for my way
Away from other's paths, I turned to desolation
Away from other's thoughts, timid and surpassing
Away from the others, beyond caring

In this darkest of hours
Time draws out like a knife

The reflection once whole, now only a wound, seeping hurt and loss
The image once so bold, now only a scar, dry of hope and light

For all things ought to say, left unsaid
For all deeds ought to do, left undone
Be with me now...


9. IN THE GROVES OF DEATH

In the evening of a grey day, a bleak day
I strayed into the dim silence of the hallowed trees
Where the fir-trees whisper of those been, those gone
Where the sacred earth still hides all those we once loved

O father, hear these words, your son is not made for this world
Faint-hearted and careworn, into this vile life I was hurled
In the woods the fiends sigh, I swear I heard the demons neigh
On the seashore I espy the dreadful void under the tides

Ill-assorted with this life, these cares
Each moment I am waiting for the worst to come my way
Dark berry from my mother's womb; a frail one
I was affrighted at my birth, bewildered from the start

Better it would be to stay in the shades
In the thicket of the dead, in the groves of death
Here I would lie to the end of the days

Hear me now, my hapless son
Warn away all yours fears
Make good use of your brief days
Life may be grim but death is more austere
By yourself you sit and wait
By yourself you will have time to repent

In these lowly halls
No moon will beam, no sun will shine
In these narrow rooms
No tears are seen, no laughter heard

At the dawn of a quiet day
I strolled from the woods, returned to the hearth
And with a restful mind I roamed
The dreary shores, the darkling wilds
Greeting all the days that befall
Taking life as it comes


CD4 - ACROSS THE DARK

1. EQUIVALENCE

Feed off the melancholy
Get drunk from despair
Rejoice in the name of failure
Deliverance found in pain

Live, learn and love
Treasure all the colours
Even in the thick of night
Daylight holds sway


2. DOWN WITH THE SUN

O darkness, if in thy arms I could rest
For a while and with these earthly eyes
See thy dim smile

Maid of twilight, lass of duskfall
Hang the moon on the sky's arch
Soothe the weight of a darkling day

"Rock here in the birch's lap
Swing in the manor of wind
Lay down your weary head
Let the blue stars darken"

O silence, if in thy cradle I could sway
Like a child, heart the amending song,
The sighing of the shades

Maid of twilight, lass of duskfall
Serve thy goblet to me
Let me drink to the last drop
The sweet opiate of the dreams:

Ours is the silence,
The echo old ageless night
A gleam in the blackest of streams,
One fleeing moment

For vain is all the toil and trouble,
Vain is all the heartbreak
In the end I'll find my solace
In an earthen cradle

So good night.


3. WHERE THE LAST WAVE BROKE

How does it feel?
To welcome the new day
Not worth saving
To fall down on own imprudent acts
The wind answers quietly
Clears the black smoke far thick to see
Unfolds the true nature of man

"And this fire it burns
Consuming us all
Withered garden for posterity
Inheritance in flames"

"When the mankind moves
Rest of the life shakes
All once green turned into stone
Flesh into dust and soil
Where the last wave broke
The shores blazed red
And place once called home
Turned into hall of dead"

How does it feel?
Bite the hand that feeds you
Poison the well that waters you
Prospects made from castles of sand
Legacy in barren land

Breed, greed, bleed
Legacy in barren land
The last wave broke
Prospects made from castles of sand


4. THE HARROWING YEARS

This I have learnt:
World forces all of us down
The fleeing years bend our backs
Love but smears our hearts

Here I now lie still like a broken bow
Soul sullen and rigid with the will to die
Sighing after the days long since gone
Cursing every step on this ill-fated trail

"In vain I try to forget - In vain I try to forgive
Black bird from evening sky - raven from heaths of night
Come and take my cares - carry away the grief
Bereave me of my woes - to the starlit shores"

This I have learnt:
Even the sweetest wine turns to sour
We work our fingers to the bone
All our efforts of no avail

Here we all are but troubled guests
On darkling earth
Lost echoes that pine away
Into the dusk
Nothing more than the wind to rely on
Nothing more than the death
To comfort us in the end

This I have heard:
All ends in serene sleep
All these sorrows are washed away
As we lapse into the night

But I know it's a lie


5. AGAINST THE STREAM

And down we go again...
Into the ocean of sorrow
Towards to sea of despair
In the deep groves of the earth
Lifeline running in roaring stream

"Like sand slipping through my fingers
Nothing ever lasts, ever will"

"To impart elegance all living
Experience the grandeur in giving
Felicity found in commitment
Tranquillity in mere being"

And down we go again
Under the relentless waves
Into the arms of calm breakers
Into bayou of forgotten dreams

Like sand slipping through my fingers
Nothing ever lasts, ever will

"To impart elegance all living
Experience the grandeur in giving
From existence into oblivion
Not in cycles but in lines"

Getting nowhere fast
By contending with time
Accept the alteration
Come to terms with your days

Down we go just the same
Into the ocean of sorrow
Towards to sea of despair

This river runs relentlessly
And this river runs deep
Not in cycles but in lines


6. LAY OF THE AUTUMN

(I...) I sing with a shattered voice
(I...) I sing with a heavy heart

There is the deepest well of dreams
Echoed a distant song
I hearkened to the hallowed voice
Stirred from ageless sleep

Through this barren soil you came
Sweet scent of spring
Came and cast the earth in bloom
Lent your light to me

But now the summer's dreams are bent
Like grain against the scythe
And memories of blissful days
They fall like leaves

For autumn's songs are made of loss
Of yearning and regret
In bitter tone they are recited
Uttered with a heavy heart

"I sing with shattered voice
A tale of marred souls
I cry for consumed hearts
And springs forever gone"

The lights of sun and stars will fade
And moon covers its face
All the tunes will quiet down
And the songs shall die

As this wretched heart unfolds
Like mouth of furnace grins
Inside there's but a blackened cell
Full of filth and flames

There once was time when I resounded by your side
There once was time when I trembled under your eyes

What do I hear when you're gone?
The wind's harrowing cry
What do I hear when you're gone?
The sighing of the languid grief
Cold creeps in, silver crowns the land
Long are the evening now, grave the guilt's weight
Stars shriek their emptiness in the darkling sky
All the world is but a barrow shrouded in white


7. INTO THE WOODS

Now close your eyes
And open your weary heart
Let me soothe away the woes
Of fiendish world...

As will the sun bathe the land
In its warming light
So shall the moon ascend
To guide the day to wane
In turn the rain to hush
The tumult of this world
And the wind to rise,
Sigh a lullaby in trees

"Not in these troubled times
I'm not the one you pined for
No, not into calmer waters
I'm not the one you long for"

"But a scarecrow, an anathema to the world
Looking in from the outside
It's time to turn my back
Walk off the beaten path
Seek heartening in solitude"

The arch of sky is roof where I call it home
Drizzle of rain, the only music from now on
My bed is made from juniper's boughs
Of mire and moss my pillow

Lone footprints diverge from tree line
Autumn veils the sloughs with rime
Shell of quagmire
Yet too fragile to bear a man


8. WEIGHED DOWN WITH SORROW

"Nothing can offer content
Nothing can ease the pain
Nothing can wear off the sorrow
One is born to bear within

While your world is worth of trying
My world is mere cold
No chance in disillusion
Only the end of the road"

Man weighed down with sorrow
Anguished from the sole being
Destined to live with uneasiness
Always the hard way

Cold is the world
For the ones excluded
Dark is the path
In the absence of light
Compelled to cherish beauty in longing
Cling on love amidst of the suffering

No chance in disillusion
No, not in this world
Not for a man
Weighed down with sorrow
Only the end of the road


9. THE NEW BEGINNING

Another break of dawn
Forces the shadows recede
Breaks the barrier of clouds
Blaze a trail for the light

In the arms of white soil
Lies a fallen boy
Left alone to freeze to death
Grown numb in the cold

This is the new beginning
Start with a clean sheet
Redemption of the liberty
Freedom through the bloodshed

When hatred old for centuries
Poisons the minds of sane
Distrust kills all the kindness
Envy slain the ideal

Demise of spirit and flesh
No victory in death
Only the defeat remains
When the sons take fathers' lives

What good can come out of this?
Is this the price we must pay?
Redemption of the liberty
Freedom through the bloodshed

This is the new beginning
Rebirth through devastation
All the hope of a nation
In the hands of few

Another chapter in common story
Nothing new under the sun
This is the new beginning
Sad ending to others


10. INTO THE EVERNIGHT

Listen to the night, hearken to the silence
The wind sings in fir-trees, forest's music rings
Rueful is the tune, wailful the soughing
Soothing is the choir, murmur of the trees

Sound is the sleep under spruces boughs
Serene are the dreams in the darkling shade
Gone are the cares of the waking world
Forgotten the sorrows of the weary heart

Better to dream, far sweeter to slumber
Than face the cold days, bear the grim longing
Time to rest a while, close the drowsy eyes
Sleep till the dawn, till the bleak morning

Sound is the sleep under spruces boughs
Serene are the dreams in the darkling shade
Gone are the cares of the waking world
Forgotten the sorrows of the weary heart

Under the woeful sky, moss-grown our bed tonight

Better it would be to sleep forever
In silent shades of the evernight
Sweet are the dreams in the groves of death
Far away from the earthly woes

Here we sprawl in mellow darkness
In warm caress of the night
Far away from worlds betrayals
Afar from all the Heavens might

Sound is the sleep under spruces boughs
Serene are the dreams in the darkling shade
Gone are the cares of the waking world
Forgotten the sorrows of the weary heart