I pass through my skel-work at night to search through the hamlet across from the sea To find a suitable offering of blood for the ritual of past retrieved And though I might hunger, though scent overwhelms, I must stave off these pangs For the bounty I cultivate with each new catch brings me one step closer to my needs A taste for tonight, nothing more for me, or I might risk spoiling the brew The plan is too delicate to be compromised by a moment of weakness for food! Just hours away from the final concoction, a breathless wait by the door With one last warm body drained of the sap might the Lady's youth be restored! Ah! Beauty! To dream of years reversed The blood from her fountain Sweetest in a thousand years' curse! I must maintain the strength of the ruse Though she, a VVitch, still has not seen through My hunger will lend itself to mistakes I musn't make haste 'til the final day! Come to me, sweet lover, embrace me, and what have you brought me today? My cauldron bubbles and froths with abandon, eager to accept your prey How precious a gift it is to have such undivided devotion A lesser beast might not have the patience for so many deeds in motion Step forward now and drain the sap, take care not to spill a drop Prepare the base for decoction, fill the bottle to the top Just one sip ought be enough to restore the sag of my skin Now watch as I drink to the bottom and see, I'll never be old again Oh, tonight! We write the final verse Her youth and divinity To satiate a thousand years' thirst! A kiss on the neck On the course of your river A clash of the teeth to ply Two bitten marks through which I'll suck your blood!! A flask of years reversed To slake this ancient thirst

Quiet as a whisper, vacancy as planned I've got an empty purse to fill Tipped off at great risk to my person He owes me more than finder's fee alone Shuffling through drawers, trinkets and papers But once again my partner bags the 'load! My purse is never heavy; naught more to be found He slinks off to the night and leaves me light! What's mine is yours And what's yours will be mine Fasten my bandana, I know where he lives I'll pay a visit to his door Maybe put a scare in him, but keep my dagger sheathed Nobody needs to lose an eye He sleeps with his stash, one eye at attention We run the risk of confrontation No intention to kill, less to leave empty handed I'll have my share despite the means Quiet as a whisper No vacancy within Pick the bedroom door lock Tip-toe 'cross the room Evade the wandering eye Move quick, slip on by A creak in the floor boards Broken sleep, a shrill cry Oh, my friend! You startle me What business have you here? I see you carry your steel at your side And I don't like that look in your eye You say you come to collect your share? I've paid you all that is owed A finder's fee on top of your spoils What more could I bestow? No reason to be hasty Why don't we both calm down I'll cut you in on the next mark I'll keep my ear to the ground That's right, open your hand I'll slip you something in advance You've been an invaluable friend You've truly earned your keep Please put that away Maybe we can work something out Back away from me! Back away! Wipe my bloody dagger, wash my soiled hands My purse is hanging heavy The door to my flat swings ajar I feel a presence lingering What rival might assail me at this hour? I clutch my dagger close to the chest The foyer lies empty, but the corner of my eye My old friend's pallid visage standing by!

Lay down your demands And brandish your hands And take back their lands And tarnish their plans The owners are dead Brick by brick, we'll take it back Hats off to demise Of those who despise The sick and the poor Their heads on the floor The owners are dead Brick by brick, we'll take it back We'll dance on their graves And seize the means We'll sleep in their beds And cancel our debts Distribute their wealth And drink to good health So dance on their graves And seize the means And after the final flag descends to meet the ground The wind will carry the overture of victory's resound And moss will sheath the swords we carried across the sand And roses will find a place in every innocent hand You think we'll make things better? Could we be so uncertain? What might we build together? A new seed of dissent? And when the sun sets on the graves we dug for days What questions might we ask ourselves of different ways? What do we think we're doing? We'll build a better world We'll have our best intentions We'll put the past to rest

Just before the lights went dim I caught a glimpse of a glimmer Of a certain look in that eye To me always known, cold and unmoving And on her feet, above the bed side Brushed in malaise, against my cheek A finger of bone and spectre A gesture in wistful remembrance For all the years I slept in that room Peering at the peak of the mountain Lying awake in its shadow Locked in its stony gaze I longed to feel that warmth again Embrace of arms and welcome Painted fingers entwined with mine From beneath the creak of my floorboard My fear compels me to act against my wishes No-one has seen me but for the Mountain's eye The phantom I've collected belongs to me alone Home is not the way it used to be No-one could feel me, alone in that room A space made for one, now made for two I hear my name, from beneath the bed She speaks to me from inside my weary head And the words take form before my eyes To put me to sleep at night What matter might it be to keep you here with me? The mountain's awful peak is so far away And you're so close, and so real I deign to think of any life outside this mortal confine Just before the curtain's drawn I'll catch a glimpse of a glimmer Of a mountain path that stands untrodden By capable feet as mine A mother's love was all that I needed And all that I knew to want Wrap me in blankets and don't let me out For sins I'd contend in my travels Slipped between my fingers tonight The key to reopen that door Traded in favor of familiar shackles A creature of chosen comforts Might she have chosen a different rest Had she been given the choice But choice to me seems only to be A burdensome debt repaid My fear compels me to act against my wishes No-one has seen me but for the Mountain's eye The phantom I've collected belongs to me alone Home is not the way it used to be No-one could feel me, alone in that room A space made for one, now made for two

Eventide at sea A vessel for two drifts across the heavy waves A solemn return from whence they shouldn't have been Awaited by the ghosts of lives so far away My unlikely beleaguered companion Lies helpless in the throes of his wounds I see the fatal longing in his eyes For the lands where his roses once bloomed We belonged not to the sea Our battles should not have been One day the world might know What they failed to defend A beachhead on the horizon Marks the final leg of our return I see my friend is not long for this world I take his hand in mine to receive his final words My family was taken; I fought never by choice And nothing remains of the world that gave me my voice Our legacy might die, if not for a friend Might I entrust a final task to you before your journey's end? We belonged not to the sea Our battles should not have been One day the world might know What they failed to defend I leave to you this box, with the a rose engraved You'll place my ashes inside You'll take me to the crest of the hill You'll enter the house, and set me on the mantle Beside my son and his mother; they're waiting for me You'll dowse my candle; it no longer needs to burn As I take my place among the last of my kin And the sun can rise and set on our faces each day Far and away from the forsaken waves Don't cry for me My ashes lie composed In the house on the hill In the box with the rose

I walked to the top of the hill With a peach in my hand I'd have brought one for you as well If things went as planned One day you'll see me again I sat cross-legged in the dew The fog brushing my shoulders Imagining a timeline Where we never got older We just stayed young forever I never liked the peach skins I'll leave mine for you Just the way I remember it The way you'd always do And after a little while I'll make my way back down And go about my day And toss my skins on the ground