Harbinger of Suffering

He walked, a dark and bitter man, face ever set against the wind Leather coat, collar upturned, lip twisted in a scowl Sun-set silhouette, ragged monument to man's worst flaws Dark outline against burning sky, brooding and alone Defying the lash plied by unseen hands His boots clave to the ragged stone Wandering through spirit, the wasteland within A construct of tattered skin, stretched over incised bone The pool from which he drank rippling like flawed glass Myriad reflections cross its surface played Sleeper that wakes staring back from verdant depths Lips move in song, but not a sound made The face of a stranger was that which he saw Shadows that were and might be The voice that spoke was for his ears alone "Become, in mind, like me He reeled, like a drunken man As the earth was torn from beneath his feet Shattered he lay before a throne of gold 'Midst the ruin of Self, forged of conceit The whisper of the One Enthroned Shook him to the core "I will block out the sun from the sky Shroud you in darkness and leave you with nothing And 'Ohh! We are abandoned!' you cry Tell me is this the "freedom" you longed for Anathema! To you, I am curse and a lie Let us see if YOUR hand can work your salvation From sorrow to burgeoning pride The vacillation so common to man Swallowed by ego inflamed How long till he falls again "I'm falling... I'm falling I'm falling... I'm falling into oblivion I'm falling like a star to earth A blinding ray of light I've tasted the forbidden fruit And I know wrong from right Now direct your eyes to center stage And see this shadow of a man Locked in conflict with The Dragon Just like it all began "I will block out the sun from the sky Shroud you in darkness and leave you with nothing And 'Ohh! We are abandoned!' you cry Tell me is this the "freedom" you longed for Anathema! To you, I am curse and a lie Let us see if YOUR hand can work your salvation "Having failed in every way Will you yet choose me? Soul stained black by what I've done The illusion that I'm free "Chosen, set aside, marked by maker's hand An iron wall, a voice unheard, prophet to a dying land "I will block out the sun from the sky Shroud you in darkness and leave you with nothing And 'Ohh! We are abandoned!' you cry Tell me is this the "freedom" you longed for Anathema! To you, I am curse and a lie Let us see if YOUR hand can work your salvation He walked a dark and bitter man, face ever set against the wind Leather coat, collar upturned, lip twisted in a scowl Sunset silhouette, ragged monument to grace of God Dark outline against burning sky, brooding, not alone