I. In the Valley
I am born;
I am me.
I am new.
I am free.
Look at me;
I am young.
Sight unseen;
Life unsung.
My eyes have just been opened,
And they’re open very wide.
Images around me
Don’t identify inside.
Just one blur I recognize,
The one that soothes and feeds.
My way of life is easy,
And as simple are my needs.
Yet my eyes are drawn toward
The mountain in the east.
Fascinates and captivates;
Gives my heart no peace.
The mountain holds the sunrise
In the prison of the night,
Till bursting forth from rocky chains,
The valley floods with light.
Living one long sunrise,
For to me all things are new.
I’ve never watched the sky grow
Pale, or strolled through fields of dew.
I do not know of dust to dust.
I live from breath to breath.
I live to climb that mountain
To the Fountain of Lamneth.
Ii. Didacts and Narpets
Listen!
Iii. No One At the Bridge
Crying back to consciousness,
The coldness grips my skin.
The sky is pitching violently,
And drawn by shrieking winds.
Seaspray blurs my vision.
Waves roll by so fast.
Save my ship of freedom.
I’m lashed, helpless, to the mast.
Remembering when first I held
The wheel in my own hands,
I took the helm so eagerly
And sailed for distant lands.
But now the sea’s too heavy.
And I just don’t understand,
Why must my crew desert me
When I need a guiding hand?
Call out for direction
And there’s no one there to steer.
Shout out for salvation
But there’s no one there to hear.
Cry out supplication
For the maelstrom is near.
Scream out desperation
But no one cares to hear.
Iv. Panacea
The whiteness of confusion
Is unfolding from my mind.
I stare around in wonder.
Have I left my life behind.
I catch the scent of ambergris
And turn my head, surprised.
My gaze is caught and held and I
Am helpless, mesmerized.
Panacea, liquid grace.
Oh, let me touch your gentle face.
Enchantment falls arond me
And I know I cannot leave.
Here’s a meaning for my life,
A shelter from the storm.
Pacify my troubles with
Her body, soft and warm.
Naked in our unity,
A smile for ev’ry tear.
Gentle hands that promise me
Comfort through the years.
Yet I know I must be gone
Before the light of dawn.
Panacea, passion pure.
I can’t resist your gentle lure.
My heart will lie beside you,
And my wandering body grieve.
V. Bacchus Plateau
Another endless day.
Silhouettes of grey.
Another glass of wine.
Drink with eyes that shine.
To days
Without that chill at morning.
Long nights,
Time out of mind.
Draw another goblet
From the cask of forty-three.
Crimson, misty mem’ry,
Hazy glimpse of me.
Give me back my wonder.
I’ve something more to give.
I guess it doesn’t matter.
There’s not much more to,
Not much more to live.
Another foggy dawn.
The mountain almost gone.
Another doubtful fear.
The road is not so clear.
My soul
Grows ever weary,
And the end
Is ever near.
Vi. The Fountain
Look the mist is rising,
And the sun is peaking through.
See the steps grow lighter
As I reach their final few.
Hear the dancing waters;
I must be drawing near.
Feel, my heart is pounding
With embattled hope and fear.
The key, the end, the answer,
Stripped of their disguise.
Still it’s al confusion,
And tears spring to my eyes.
Though I’ve reached a signpost;
It’s really not the end.
Like old Sol behind the mountain,
I’ll be coming up again.
Now at last I fall before
The Fountain of Lamneth.
I thought I would be singing,
But I’m tired, out of breath.
Many journeys end here,
But the secret’s told the same.
Life is just the candle,
And a dream must give it flame.
I’m in motion.
I am still.
I am crying.
I am still.
I’m together.
I’m apart.
I’m forever
At the start.
Still, I am.