1. HERE AMONG THE DEAD

The night is dark and full of terrors
The slightest sound is startling through the silence
In this most ethereal place, I have come to seek my death
I whisper to the mighty mountain,
Who, like a great wave, breaks through the dusk

And is as yet unwilling to answer me
Though the leaves stir, nay, whole trees
Ever so slightly without breath of wind
As they are alive or set in motion
By strange souls in the surreal twilight

Wary of this place my mind plays games
It sees fading lights, like Kodama in the night,
Shadow people being led deep into the trees
I come across the first of the uncleared bodies rotting in The leaves.
The poignant stench, acrid to the taste
I do not want to die in this graveyard of suffering,
Nay, not here amongst the dead

And in the Penumbra, so cursed in legend, everything goes Cold
And my hope starts to fade, in the strange atmosphere, I Blindly start to run


2. A PLAGUE OF NIGHTMARES

I am plagued, as if the moon’s curse had drained Even the Marrow from my bones,
Yearning for the escape of a slowed heart for repose, I may Not wake
O moon, let the roots of this ancient tree be my cradle in The bitter mist,
As it towers above me damp leaves and earth may cling to my Skin
O darkness, let thy arms carry me

Plagued by nightmares, countless restless spirits lay their Siege
Like so many a frightened child, each would unleash their Torment upon me,
Thousands of tales from all of time, waves they crash Through restless sleep
Barred for an eternity from any reprise, these relics left With nothing but

Anguish, and unseen lips that speak of days of old,
And spit malevolence in the shade
“Wide is your flight, O spirits of Night,”
In the depths of the mountains where you were left to die;
Your souls decline into madness, forever without closure

Torture the living; heedless of yourselves
I see the withering visages, clear as day

The unwanted in their endless rage, I see each body’s slow Decay.
Desolation, as the throat gets parched, and each stomach Contorts for lack of substance
I feel the wounds as if they were my own

Deep within this forest womb
Deep within the Ubasute tomb
These visions harsh and plentiful
In fear, I may not wake


3. A SEA OF TREES

Regaining sense, amidst the dense web of limbs
Dazed, bitten by the cold I wander onwards

Will there ever be reprise for me?
The sinning man can never rest
He fears what haunts this place

What foolishness, what sickness of the mind
Caused me to venture so far into the sea of trees

Far beyond the caves of ice and wind
Yet now, pining for the taste of life
A taste not found in these bone yards, I plead with the Spirits
Release me from this forest hell, O sea of trees, allow me Peace

The forest whispers, the fallen wood snaps underfoot
Through the thickening fog they reach for my arms
And are kissed with my blood
O, life’s irony that it should be spilled
As I attempt to escape a place in which I sought only death

And so I plead with the unseen to allow me passage
Surely I do not belong amongst the dead – or at least
Less so than those I left behind
I see faces framed, flickering in the darkness
As thick clouds bear down upon me across the evening sky
A breath of air, evaporates
A glimmer of light, a flicker of hope

Quickening my pace past the whispering stream
Climb towards the clearing
The sky is still on fire, it is bleeding into the sea
I stumble as I reach the hilltop, and fall so weary to my Knees

I now know what madness brought me to venture within this Sea of trees,
The very same sickness that grips all men

For all come to know this place, spreading into the horizon's grey
Under the burning sky, as my eyes concentrate
I see the legions of spirits, black lake Nidstang
There is no escape, no mercy

There is only pain and an end.

“I found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom. So, Goodnight”