Eternal Roar of the Thunder and Rain

I hear the roaring thunder now Echo throughout the shaded pine Bewitched by its enchanting sound Calling to me from night divine I hear the mighty force ahead That's swallowing this path I tread Towards the halls of strife and strain The gusting wind and pouring rain I see the specters haunting me Betwixt the tangled web of trees Roaming these woodlands vast and deep To lull me towards eternal sleep I see the lightning fierce and bright Illuminate the storming night As if to stray me from my path Into the maw of nature's wrath Ancestral calls from great beyond Enticing me to break my bonds To strip me of both sound and sight To gaze upon eternal night "The woods are lovely, dark and deep But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep And miles to go before I sleep"

I have sat astride ruinous towers Over billowing smoke and flame Many lives I have seen extinguished Without purpose or glory or name I have stood at the foot of calamity I've bore witness to struggle and pain I have heard the cries of the feeble Seen the plight of the crippled and lame I watched as their wells were all poisoned And their farmlands were all set ablaze I have seen in the eyes of their enemy The fury of violent craze I've been perched in the mists on the hillside Looking down at the gallows at dawn I have heard every curse that was uttered I have seen every last breath be drawn

What hope has he now To wipe the dirt from his eyes And cleanse the cuts and clotted blood Tattering his furrowed brow Each step a collapse of tired bones A rhythmic pulse through stagnant vein His breath escapes without a sound His feet grinding against the stone The sheen of his rusted old blade To bring in his pitiful harvest The toll of the days long labour A body that slowly decays He stares upon the ageless face Of father pain and mother grief Is it with them that he will find His respite in their embrace? What hope has he now To wipe the dirt from his eyes

Draped in the cloth of eternity Reaching out the shaded hand In silence save the river's tide That separates the land Oh great was the flame of the spirit That cast long shadows over my soul Guiding my fate without knowledge Ere the black fire swallows me whole Great was the strength of my frenzy That clouded my innermost eye Not the light of the sun could reach it 'Nor the glow of the moonlit sky Great was the call of the specters The folly of poisonous pride Through my veins ran the blood of misfortune The binds of the living untied Now I stand at the mouth of the river Where the ferry sits waiting for me Not the pity of merciful masters Unheard are the sounds of my pleas In the silence I find myself standing As the black flame begins to subside There asks the hand for its offer To traverse 'cross the river's red tide