L
Lord Of The Forest
Guest
The first part of The Labyrinth is perhaps the deepest window into my soul of anything I've ever written.
The second part was written for my parent's anniversary and the third, for a friend's wedding.
I was heavily influenced by Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 Version) and some lyrics from Nightwish's "Dark Passion Play" album when writing this.
The Labyrinth
At Eventide, we frolic throuth the meadows of Elysium,
Beside the crystal waters as clear as windows into the deep.
The sky groweth dark and the clouds roll swiftly,
Brining with it, showers of lifegiving rain.
With delight, we run hand in hand through the rain
While laughing and whispering secret word of love in each others ears.
Our clothes darken as we chase each other through the labyrinth of sod and stone,
Our bare feet growing cold as we run through the wet grass.
Happily we wander the winding pathways marked by stone statues of the whitest marble,
That lie among the Autumn leaves beneath the twisted walnut tree.
At the center dwelleth the altar, covered by a blanket of dark green moss
And overlooked by two moss-covered seraphim carved of granite and slate.
Behind it, and overgrown with long tendrils of emerald green ivy on its stony facade,
Rests the ancestral burial chamber, on its heavy door inscribed,
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine.
The faces of lions hewn into stone below the torch holders stand frozen in mid-roar,
Their lifeless eyes staring a penetrating gaze that reaches into the very depths of ones soul.
I lead my dearest by the hand across the lush carpet of grass and leaves
To a patch of snowdrops underneath the great weeping willow,
With which I will use to fashion a wreath for thee, my love.
And I shalt place it lovingly atop thy beautiful head
I move to the ivy to pluck a pair of the purest and whitest blossoms of them all,
And place them in thy long beautiful brown hair.
To thee I shall speak, saying, An angel thou art, with flowers in thy hair.
We shall dance together under the grey skies, amid the rain of Hope,
We shall drown as we gaze into each others eyes,
And partake of loves sweet nectar with true loves first kiss.
In the hours of darkness, when the harvest moon reigns,
We dance a solemn waltz by the light of candles,
One for every bright dream in the world.
Dance we, to the elegy of all hopes and wishes
Slain by the slow decay of Time.
We hold each other in the hushed stillness of the moonlit night,
Weeping tears of joy, we sing the canticle of our beautiful love.,
Pledging our love to each other and vowing neer look back,
Facing the epoch of time with our hearts intertwined for eternitys age.
----
The Labyrinth - Part II
I sit on the wicker chair
On the balcony overlooking the vast forest:
As vast as my love for thee.
The cool breeze kisses my cheek
As I watch the dusk turn to dark,
A cloudless sky without a star.
A ship on the great black sea
Reflecting no the light of her home harbor.
Calm, yet in great turmoil.
Turmoil which echoes that of my own soul.
A tear slips from my cheek onto the aged page of the Book of Life,
Smearing the ink and wrinkling the paper.
I stare into the cold and desolate night
The book falls on to t he marble floor,
Opening to a withered leaf forgot ten by time.
I stoop to pick up the leather-bound tome,
Which I place upon the bookcase with the stone angels,
Sorrow written on their petrified faces.
Candles are lit.
One for you,
One for me,
And finally, one for our sacred moon.
She, whose light turneth the tide,
Is the fairest of all the lights in the heavens.
A hushed silence blankets the valley
I see the runes inscribed into the stone wall glow a silverish blue.
"To thee, I give myself.
To death and pain
Would I willingly go,
But for thy sake.
Even in death,
Will I love thee.
For my love for thee
Shalt neer die."
Still, my love,
I wait for thee
To return to my arms
And, to thy head,
I shalt place upon,
A garland of green.
----
The Labyrinth - Part III
Upon the grass of green, they walk,
Hand in hand, hearts intertwined, together.
They gaze into one anothers eyes,
While all round the birds
Sing a song of merry joy
And the crickets hiding in the dew-soaked grass
Joyfully announce the triumphant arrival.
Her long brown hair,
Flowing gracefully about her shoulders.
The emblem of beauty and wisdom.
The pearl of highest price,
Further accentuated by her flowing white gown,
Spotless and perfect.
He shapes a wreath of greenest grass
And places it atop her head with loving care.
Together they dance amid the stone angels,
In the Fields of Elysium.
For doth she not know?
That he would penetrate
The very gates of Hell
To save her from harm?
She who loveth him as none else,
She who raiseth his offspring.
Clothed in black:
The bold warrior,
The tender romantic.
Verily, his gentle strength
May send tremors through the earth,
Or calm a raging tempest.
They sit in a darkened room,
Illuminated by a thousand candles.
For the future seemeth bright.
Joy, happiness, and love to spare.
The stars smile down upon them
While our Moon shines upon
The ancient text carved into the stone table.
As the clouds roll away from our ivory Moon,
The letters take on a silverish colour,
Forever they stand
Neer more bound
By chains nor shackles.
A ring of gold, they bear
Till Lifes final Breath
And the Graves cold hand
Separate them.
They place a golden ring
Upon the others hand,
Tears of joy streaming down their cheeks,
Falling onto the marble path,
As silent and still,
As Winters first snow.
As the sun breaks through the night,
A new day hath begun,
Yea, a new age, indeed.
The bells toll, echoing throughout the valley,
And resounding through Time,
Heralding a new epoch in Time:
Two lives, two souls,
Coming to be, as of one.
For what love hath knit together,
Not even death can destroy.
Beside the water still in the valley green,
They walk oer the lush carpet of grass,
As Winds soft caress gently kisses their cheeks
Their souls residing together as one
In the Elysian Fields, those Meadows of Heaven,
Where the nymphs and fairies dance,
And Pains sharp sting penetrates not.
Her hand he holds, neer shall he let go,
His dearest love, his lady he shall defend,
Even if he himself shall fall.
Her constant and steadfast love and devotion for him,
Unchanging as the stars in the heavens.
A Rose, glowing brilliant through the bitter sorrow of Winter,
A Lighthouse, illuminating the pathway home through raging tempests.
Seasons come and seasons go,
Yet, faithful as our holy Moon, they shall be,
Unending as the rings of gold they wear on their hands,
Intertwined with unwavering affection.
A Tree, standing for all to see,
Roots deep and branches strong,
Flourishing and thriving,
Their influence and foundation
Remembered as their descendents fill the earth.
Time stands still as they pledge their love,
In the garden green, in the cool of Eventide,
Their hearts alight with the fire of truest love.
Their hearts sewn together by the unbreakable thread of Trust.
They shall wax ever stronger with each passing day,
Together forever, separate them nevermore.
The second part was written for my parent's anniversary and the third, for a friend's wedding.
I was heavily influenced by Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 Version) and some lyrics from Nightwish's "Dark Passion Play" album when writing this.
The Labyrinth
At Eventide, we frolic throuth the meadows of Elysium,
Beside the crystal waters as clear as windows into the deep.
The sky groweth dark and the clouds roll swiftly,
Brining with it, showers of lifegiving rain.
With delight, we run hand in hand through the rain
While laughing and whispering secret word of love in each others ears.
Our clothes darken as we chase each other through the labyrinth of sod and stone,
Our bare feet growing cold as we run through the wet grass.
Happily we wander the winding pathways marked by stone statues of the whitest marble,
That lie among the Autumn leaves beneath the twisted walnut tree.
At the center dwelleth the altar, covered by a blanket of dark green moss
And overlooked by two moss-covered seraphim carved of granite and slate.
Behind it, and overgrown with long tendrils of emerald green ivy on its stony facade,
Rests the ancestral burial chamber, on its heavy door inscribed,
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine.
The faces of lions hewn into stone below the torch holders stand frozen in mid-roar,
Their lifeless eyes staring a penetrating gaze that reaches into the very depths of ones soul.
I lead my dearest by the hand across the lush carpet of grass and leaves
To a patch of snowdrops underneath the great weeping willow,
With which I will use to fashion a wreath for thee, my love.
And I shalt place it lovingly atop thy beautiful head
I move to the ivy to pluck a pair of the purest and whitest blossoms of them all,
And place them in thy long beautiful brown hair.
To thee I shall speak, saying, An angel thou art, with flowers in thy hair.
We shall dance together under the grey skies, amid the rain of Hope,
We shall drown as we gaze into each others eyes,
And partake of loves sweet nectar with true loves first kiss.
In the hours of darkness, when the harvest moon reigns,
We dance a solemn waltz by the light of candles,
One for every bright dream in the world.
Dance we, to the elegy of all hopes and wishes
Slain by the slow decay of Time.
We hold each other in the hushed stillness of the moonlit night,
Weeping tears of joy, we sing the canticle of our beautiful love.,
Pledging our love to each other and vowing neer look back,
Facing the epoch of time with our hearts intertwined for eternitys age.
----
The Labyrinth - Part II
I sit on the wicker chair
On the balcony overlooking the vast forest:
As vast as my love for thee.
The cool breeze kisses my cheek
As I watch the dusk turn to dark,
A cloudless sky without a star.
A ship on the great black sea
Reflecting no the light of her home harbor.
Calm, yet in great turmoil.
Turmoil which echoes that of my own soul.
A tear slips from my cheek onto the aged page of the Book of Life,
Smearing the ink and wrinkling the paper.
I stare into the cold and desolate night
The book falls on to t he marble floor,
Opening to a withered leaf forgot ten by time.
I stoop to pick up the leather-bound tome,
Which I place upon the bookcase with the stone angels,
Sorrow written on their petrified faces.
Candles are lit.
One for you,
One for me,
And finally, one for our sacred moon.
She, whose light turneth the tide,
Is the fairest of all the lights in the heavens.
A hushed silence blankets the valley
I see the runes inscribed into the stone wall glow a silverish blue.
"To thee, I give myself.
To death and pain
Would I willingly go,
But for thy sake.
Even in death,
Will I love thee.
For my love for thee
Shalt neer die."
Still, my love,
I wait for thee
To return to my arms
And, to thy head,
I shalt place upon,
A garland of green.
----
The Labyrinth - Part III
Upon the grass of green, they walk,
Hand in hand, hearts intertwined, together.
They gaze into one anothers eyes,
While all round the birds
Sing a song of merry joy
And the crickets hiding in the dew-soaked grass
Joyfully announce the triumphant arrival.
Her long brown hair,
Flowing gracefully about her shoulders.
The emblem of beauty and wisdom.
The pearl of highest price,
Further accentuated by her flowing white gown,
Spotless and perfect.
He shapes a wreath of greenest grass
And places it atop her head with loving care.
Together they dance amid the stone angels,
In the Fields of Elysium.
For doth she not know?
That he would penetrate
The very gates of Hell
To save her from harm?
She who loveth him as none else,
She who raiseth his offspring.
Clothed in black:
The bold warrior,
The tender romantic.
Verily, his gentle strength
May send tremors through the earth,
Or calm a raging tempest.
They sit in a darkened room,
Illuminated by a thousand candles.
For the future seemeth bright.
Joy, happiness, and love to spare.
The stars smile down upon them
While our Moon shines upon
The ancient text carved into the stone table.
As the clouds roll away from our ivory Moon,
The letters take on a silverish colour,
Forever they stand
Neer more bound
By chains nor shackles.
A ring of gold, they bear
Till Lifes final Breath
And the Graves cold hand
Separate them.
They place a golden ring
Upon the others hand,
Tears of joy streaming down their cheeks,
Falling onto the marble path,
As silent and still,
As Winters first snow.
As the sun breaks through the night,
A new day hath begun,
Yea, a new age, indeed.
The bells toll, echoing throughout the valley,
And resounding through Time,
Heralding a new epoch in Time:
Two lives, two souls,
Coming to be, as of one.
For what love hath knit together,
Not even death can destroy.
Beside the water still in the valley green,
They walk oer the lush carpet of grass,
As Winds soft caress gently kisses their cheeks
Their souls residing together as one
In the Elysian Fields, those Meadows of Heaven,
Where the nymphs and fairies dance,
And Pains sharp sting penetrates not.
Her hand he holds, neer shall he let go,
His dearest love, his lady he shall defend,
Even if he himself shall fall.
Her constant and steadfast love and devotion for him,
Unchanging as the stars in the heavens.
A Rose, glowing brilliant through the bitter sorrow of Winter,
A Lighthouse, illuminating the pathway home through raging tempests.
Seasons come and seasons go,
Yet, faithful as our holy Moon, they shall be,
Unending as the rings of gold they wear on their hands,
Intertwined with unwavering affection.
A Tree, standing for all to see,
Roots deep and branches strong,
Flourishing and thriving,
Their influence and foundation
Remembered as their descendents fill the earth.
Time stands still as they pledge their love,
In the garden green, in the cool of Eventide,
Their hearts alight with the fire of truest love.
Their hearts sewn together by the unbreakable thread of Trust.
They shall wax ever stronger with each passing day,
Together forever, separate them nevermore.