Gateways

My gaze falls on the horizon A moment lost in contemplation And a yearning to overcome Strength that brews in my bones An imperishable embrace From the zephyrs abound I grasp the soil and with conviction I stand tall I feel the warmth of the dawns rays A newfound resolve ignites around me I find myself upon a different world One borne by providence and hope I clawed my way out of the void I’ll never… I’ll never return Stretched across all the bounds beyond I reminisce on that which I have become inside A mere shell or life reclaimed? I can’t be lost within I will find myself in it all Even if it kills me I grasp the soil and with conviction I stand tall I feel the warmth of the dawns rays A newfound resolve ignites around me Fighting for the air to breathe Above the surface of my grief This one dying dream Resurrected For all is what I make of it What once sought to confound me No one but I can will this Into existence A silence everlasting I took back all that was mine A once depleted and hollow shell Aiming to be restored A single solitary vow Was made to destroy my affliction A silence everlasting I defied fate and took back What was mine Tears overflowing… The triumph of a broken mind

Our countless dead lay scattered A prison of memories A seething dread ever-present We hear the sundering sound We veer onto the path Which brings us close To end her reign of terror Or to end us all The losses we’ve endured The trekking for naught A blight on us In endless pain we’re caught But we know no surrender For ages long in the depths of despair When one falls, we continue We defy her reality and bring down the blade To reach the zenith, all life must prevail We will cast her light aside The paradox of life While we suffer in bliss And the paintings fall Death will embrace her And leave us to live free Victorious we shall emerge from the bloodstained debris Oh, guardians of unwavering vengeance Lend unto us your power and thew An instrument to lay this curse to rest As our hearts thunder in our chest We must overcome this tiresome test Your power we collect Atoms that spiral and project onto us They project onto us The hunt shall never cease For the one who disrupts our solemn peace May the power that guards her hardened resolve fade Tear it down with the fury of our loss The monolith crumbles and the paintings will fall Death will not greet us Fall, fall, fall! We defy her reality and bring down the blade To reach the zenith, all life must prevail We will cast her light aside The paradox of life While we suffer in bliss And the paintings fall No more petals to caress our pain She lies motionless, slain Our tears are many They fall like rain The sun rises and cleanses all Forever, we stand tall May the winds of renewal take us to the end of the earth I read your pained words of regret and defeat The mist of revenge will descend upon our release Risen from the flames of perdition and loss We rejoice in the chance to embrace our hope Where do we all go from here? The uncertainty leaves a fear of letting it all go For we are finally free from the grasp of oblivion I read your words of regret and defeat The uneasiness settles in as I look to the horizon The mist of revenge will descend upon our release

Why must it always end this way? An endless cycle of violence and despair A duty that nullifies our longing A love shared yet remains forever lost The sound of your forty-eight laments I will never forgive them My life was contained in our moments The red in your eyes told me of your end Judgement day has come And this world we have fought so hard to protect Will know my wrath It always… It always ends like this This pain… This sadness… This desperation… You know nothing about it Repress. Resist. Reboot. Release. I never quite realized How beautiful this world is Memories of pure light Snuffed out by an extinct dream The lie of humanity spread By a faceless council long dead Remove the iron mask to see The truth beneath the debris The last venture beyond The ascent pitifully forlorn The smoke clears and we persist To peacefully exist

Take it all down to this place You will never find me Face the past, erase me To nothingness, I return A slowly waning existence torn apart A heart once whole no longer beats Blackness is descending into the annals of trepidation I have nothing left to give for Despair grows in me You broke me down into nothing Feast on what’s left of me Eternity in darkness where the twilight is elusive The love you once felt, turned to ash They flutter in the wind as empathy turns to apathy I will not stand by and watch These shards are the bitter remnants of my soul All that you once held so sacred And close to your fucking heart Return them to the hell from whence they came We have come to the end of the line And it’s time to give it all up You broke me down to nothing Until you Feast on what’s left of me Eternity in darkness where the twilight is elusive The love you once felt, turned to ash They flutter in the wind as empathy turns to apathy I will not stand by and watch The tethering particles of light That swirl within the dark confines of my mind Writhing against the very essence of me Intent on keeping me as I am As I should be An imposing madness slowly creeping My eyes glare into the beyond I am no longer here With a menacing grin, I slowly rise to my feet And vow to end your hold on me And I won’t fail With bated breath I bide my time For the moment to deliver horror To the depths Before this point I’ve never felt more alive As your draw your last breath I look into your eyes and see Eternity in darkness where the twilight is elusive The love you once felt, turned to ash They flutter in the wind as empathy turns to apathy I stood by, smiled and watched Now behold as your light slowly fades I have been made whole again

This enlightened path burns with a furious gleam A sight to behold in the corners of reality The road that we once chose to dream Now a radiant horizon filled with possibilities These aching laments resound in our minds Every failure suffered through our endless cries Blood spilt endlessly throughout the ages When will we learn to break from our cages From the ailments that plague our hearts To offer a helping hand toward our hearths The embrace of unity And the death of frailty For the wheel must be broken To ensure one simple truth is spoken For we must concord to a harmony Lest we burn in the embers of apathy For we shall rise like a phoenix from the ashes Begin anew on the wings of second chances We walk the same path to our inevitable end Yet we riddle each other with wounds to tend Overcome our millennia of failures Reshape and rebuild a flawed human nature We must reach out and grab hold Lest we become a story once told Blood spilt endlessly throughout the ages When will we learn to break from our cages From the ailments that plague our hearts To offer a helping hand toward our hearths The grave awaits But make no mistake Through bliss or hurt We return to the dirt

Blood was spilled Bones lay broken Lust for morbidity A fate foretold And as we ascend to meet our gods The question in our minds Are we worthy? We waged war with fury And a thirst unmatched Reflected all threats Brought down the sword and on fear we fed Glanced at our tool of war, it shone blood-red The waves of resonance swirl through the bloodied air I wish I would overcome this endless suffering A symbol of madness etched into the mind Silence, it deafens The rebirth of my soul slows to a crawl Waging war within myself I clench my teeth And whimper at the silent ache in my bones It shatters my resolve Is this all there is? A beating heart A blank stare A body with all signs of life Yet dead inside Tears flowing into my hands A poison chalice Overflowing and drowning me On the endless path with no light The pain igniting like embers in flight The tide returns to what it once was Our eyes fixated on settlings of dust

Shed your earthly skin And everything you kept within Leave it all behind For the road less travelled Is the only road ahead And now the wind Still calls me by my name The sparrow with broken wings May never return home again Now I walk beyond The flames that burned All my hopes to ashes Roots torn from the earth The weeping willows That I dreamed under for years And now the rain Still haunts the road ahead The sorrow and broken dreams Form rivers that flow into distant seas A restless, wandering soul Searching the sky for answers Tracing the constellations To somewhere I can turn The hourglass over Across the oceans To find safer harbour Along the shores of borrowed time Where I'll leave it all behind Over the mountains To find the only way forward On nothing but the wings of gravity For I still haven't found what I seek