FOREVER LOST / LAKE OF ASH

FOREVER LOST
Life is swarming
Life is oozing
Life is crawling
Life is dripping
Life is squirting
Life is rotting
Life is dying

To be reborn, you must first admit that you are dead

Indoctrinated by the state as a child
Our minds were stripped of the capacity to function
In preparation for war, they would race us against one another
Running circles around a track like dogs

In defiance and disgust, I would walk casually, ensuring I was always last
I have carried this attitude with me, and if life is a race
I am perfectly content to let everyone finish before me

A struggle to the death--- Life!

Make no mistake, my little ones
Life is a struggle, a constant struggle to the death!

I still live...
"Hahaha, well don't worry, it happens to the best of us, you know!"

One, please!
"Enjoy the ride! Please remain inside the vessel until it grinds to a halt!"

I wander the endless corridors of the Architectural Monstrosity
Vaulted ceilings, almost imperceptibly high, arching into darkness
Stairways leading into confined crawlspaces, or no place at all
The air crisp and sterile, sealed off for centuries
Each room designed more illogically than the last
A madman's interior design
And as I wander the labyrinthine halls, searching the chambers
I discover not a soul
Not a trace of inhabitation
No one is here, nor has anyone ever been here
No one, but me
Did I construct these hollow halls?
The Hallowed, Hollow Halls of Hell?
Am I the architect, the designer who drew up the plans of madness?

For years and years, I have struggled to find my way
But now I must admit, I am lost
Forever lost

I will never find my way
Forever lost


LAKE OF ASH
Get belligerent with those drums
It is time to initiate the festivities
We will undermine the authority of the President

Cheer one time for the Platypus
Cheer another time for the Octopus
Cheer a third time for the burning Black Flame
The Lake wants my blood, and the Platypus is Love

Maple - ancient and proud
We drain its lifeblood; it is delicious
Is what we do wrong?
We think not, because it is so delicious!
The wet, earthy smell of decomposing leaves
Infinitely more wholesome than the smell of decomposing flesh

Gonna crash and burn in my dirigible
Gonna smash and drown in my hovercraft
Gonna cease to exist in my time machine
Twist and shout in the twisted wreckage

Lost souls, starved for human contact
Whispering, so you will move closer to hear

Emerge from the Lake of Ashes
Arise from the Sea of Embers
Soot ascension
Resurface from the Ashen Crater
Broach the embers
Smouldering resuscitation

Unexpectedly, my endless repose is interrupted
I stir from my bed beneath the fathoms of floating ash
In a swirling cloud of inky expansion, I struggle to broach the surface
The black fluid in my lungs weighs me down
I must try... I must
I emerge
Wipe the wet soot from my eyes
The moonlight---
I LIVE!