1. THE MARTYR'S REGRET

The skulls about my neck are great indeed,
A thousand lives, a thousand ways to bleed.
A life to kill, my eyes just turn away,
Their souls are mine, their lives just fade away.

Oblivion now, as I stand on the edge of the dark.
"Where is your god?" Shout the voices out of the black.
A voice so loud, a purpose so proud, now He's gone.
And I wonder if, He was ever there all along…

The skulls about my neck begin to grin,
Many more souls are here to claim their kin.
And all the time they feast upon my pain,
My still-beating heart will rue the day…
I shall rue the day,
I ever knelt to pray!

Bridge
Rising from the fire there comes
A demon on a black dragon.
Seven evil heads now stare…
Razor shards, their teeth laid bare!

The demon's outstretched claw is mine to take,
A point of light from it now emanates.
A gift of life, a gift of ecstasy,
But with a sneer, it's crushed and torn from me!

A blinded man with eyes that will not see,
A blinkered view of non-conformity.
A feeble mind that hides behind the words,
That others twist...as tools…to coerce!


2. WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

Gravity wave, the worlds collide,
The truth explodes within my mind,
Gravity wave, reality slides,
Into the distance and out of sight.
If I knew then what now I know,
Would I have played my part so well?
Would I have toiled and reaped and sowed,
And bent beneath this pointless load?

You stole from me, quite literally,
The chance to free my humanity.
But though the mist, it clears at last,
New lies appear, to replace the past.

When worlds collide,
Inside the mind,
Both worlds die,
And are left behind.
The child awakes,
With a scream,
And reality fades,
Back to a dream…

And though I try, I just can’t believe,
Anything I hear or see,
The world’s a lie between two truths,
The death we fear and the life we cling to.
Whispered deceit issues forth,
Yet my listing mind, yearns for more.
Time again I’m left bereft,
As iron hands steal my breath.


3. THE CRIMSON TOR

Silent feet across the field,
Of lonely souls upon the hill.
Spirits stuck between the worlds,
But if you listen hard, you can hear them still.
For a pointless cause, they sacrificed,
And never now to find their rest.
Their pounding hearts, filled with fear,
Were torn still pumping, from their chests!

For the silent field across the hill,
Like tears, the early mourning dew,
No marker for the sons of men,
And the mother’s grief long… since… spent…

Picking through the scarlet mass,
Face to face with nothingness.
The echoes of the terrible past,
Weave a heady mix at last.
So many gone for such a cause,
And who might think that to this day,
Men might fight and die for nought,
But still they do, anyway.

For the silent field across the hill,
Like tears, the early mourning dew,
No marker for the sons of men,
And the mother’s grief long… since… spent…

Heavy boots across the field,
Padding through the morning mist,
Lifeless eyes with heavy lids,
Crave a home now sorely missed.
Emotionless they battled on,
Fear itself is the biggest foe,
They would ever face!

And as I pick my way ahead,
I wait in line to join the dead,
And then my world, abruptly ends,
With violent burst and senseless death.
The shockwave throws my twisted form,
My shattered limbs are strewn forth,
And now forever shall I join,
The silent souls upon the tor.

For the scarlet field across the hill,
Like tears, the early mourning dew,
No marker for my father’s son,
And my mother’s grief has just begun...


4. FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM

Slowly it sways about the point,
Lonely it sings around the point,
Static within the centrifuge,
Tracing yet never does it move.

The world, it spins beneath my feet,
I believe, though never can I see it,
Trusting unseen gods of science,
The Point, my only frame of reference.

Now I stare towards the floor,
Standing close I stare in awe,
The Point is growing in my mind,
Devouring thoughts, transcending time.

My mind is lost infinitely,
The Point has cost me dearly,
Consuming though it never shows,
A point itself can never grow.

And now, we are one and the same,
The Point has grown and it has changed,
The world now spins about us both,
But time no longer offers hope.


5. INFERNO

Abandon hope, ye that enter in,
Upon the shore of Acheron!
My eyes ashamed and downward gaze.
"Woe to you, ye souls depraved!"
Charon vexed, beats the oar,
But across the lake we issue forth.

Withdraw from those who ar't now dead,
Virgil stands with solemn dread.
And so to the first circle of Hell,
The mournful there destined to,
Ever seek salvation though,
Never shall they come to know it!

Descending now to Minos' lair,
He stands in relentless judgement there.
Transgressions all, are laid bare,
Before the mighty demon there.
Amidst the infernal hurricane,
Spirits hurtle within the rapine.
Pity clasped about my neck,
I swooned away, even as the bodies of the dead.

Inferno!

And so to the third circle of hell,
In fetid mud the gluttons dwell,
Cerberus grinds his teeth,
His gullets three, gorge on the greedy.
Scarlet eyes devour the souls
Lying prone upon the earth,
Ever now to feel the jaws of death

Inferno!

Beyond us now, the fifth great disc,
The fifth great circle, the river of Styx.
Flesh is torn by wrathful ire,
Whilst the sluggish doze beneath the mire.
For all the gold beneath the moon,
Consume thyself, within thine fumes.

Be silent now, accursed bower,
As before us now a blackened tower.
The gate is barred; There’s no way in,
Past demonic angels within.
Three furies appear at the tower,
Shrieking and tearing they invoke the Gorgon!

Inferno!

Turning now, we take our leave,
Lest to stone we’ll surely be!

Fleeing now, we venture forth,
The circle sixth, in due course.
The Heretics, both blind and seeing,
Grasp at us, forever seeking…


6. THE DEATH OF THE NORSEMAN

The final decline of the western lands:
I stand with my back to the rising sun.
With a heavy heart and a forlorn sigh,
I’m a lonely figure ‘afore a crimson sky,
Stone is my heart, as I crave my youth,
The battles past, the simple truths,
We stood against many and overcame,
Courage and valour spelt out our names.

But now as the world doth tilt again,
This time: our time, is at an end,
I hear in the distance the final drum,
We take our leave, our days are done.
Our place: this place is ours no more,
A new world order a new world war,
No place for sword or hammer or shield,
This war is fought with lies and greed!

Can’t you hear the drums are beating?
Calling out your name, they’re seeking,
Beckoning they call forever,
Beyond the endless sea.
Repeat
Valhalla!

A lesser man now fills my place,
His eyes are dead within his face,
No glory there, just cowardice,
No fearlessness, just avarice.
He stands in line to earn his bread,
Conformity his only friend,
And when he’s dead his flesh will rot,
His soul will die, his life forgot.
No-tear is shed when he is gone,
The-ones he left pick clean the bones,
No funeral pyre, no glory song,
No burning dragon to send him on.
“Beside me in the halls of power,
Standing tall forever more
My people sadly looking on,
At-what mankind has now become.”
Valhalla! Valhalla!