I'm not a storyteller
But I'll tell you this tale
If we read together

I stare into the ether
Preoccupied and windswept
Infinite and tranquil

I belong here
At one with the slow decay
I belong here
Weaker by the day

I need some strength to draw on
The horizons calling
I hear the soft and distant droning
Of the world that once was

I feel the wetlands under my feet
And the wind under my skin
And I watch the footprints slowly disappear

The time of tribulation
Brings on the trepidation
I'm paying penance for their sins

I no longer use words
I don't trust my own thoughts
And this odyssey will test my resolve

Focused to a fault
Determined to evolve

To the bitter end
To the bitter end
To the bitter end I'll own my descent

To the bitter end
To the bitter end
To the bitter end I'll own my descent

Testing my resolve

To the bitter end
To the bitter end
To the bitter end I'll own my descent

To the bitter end
To the bitter end
To the bitter end I'll own my descent

There is no faith to call on
Solitude is my God
I see the rough bounds slowly rising
Through the ash and the dust

I feel the blackness poisoning
Memories like crumbling stone
'Cause I watched humanity slowly disappear

I'm spitting curses at the sky
It might well make matters worse
Inhaling smoke, choking on life
And tracing patterns in the dirt

Hang my head
In penitence
In memoriam
In reverence

And I keep trying
I am surviving

And I keep trying
I am surviving

Navigate inside to stem the tide
Or float my soul on this body of water
No sun, no salt, no sand, no life
Replaced by remnants of war

Hang my head
In penitence
In memoriam
In reverence

And I keep trying
I am surviving

And I keep trying
I am surviving

I acquiesce, resume the quest
Illusions in the mist, echoing my choice
Traverse the highlands, traverse the emptiness
Unfinished business and suppressed internal noise

Resume the quest
(Can't quite shake the malaise)
Illusions in the mist
(In this myriad of shades)
Echoing my choice
(Appreciate the beauty to justify the pain)

Traverse the highlands
(Can't quite shake the malaise)
Traverse the emptiness
(In this myriad of shades)
(Appreciate the beauty)
To justify the pain
(Justify the pain)

I bask in the glow as I turn an ember to flame
Enveloping darkness is once again tamed
Tendrils of smoke dance their dance of despair
And the aftertaste lingers overhead in the air

Simmering lifeblood, with a song left to sing
Could I fly above the crags, and live my life on the wing
I'll always question why the world is wild again
And the answers lie back where the story began

Wingspan of an angel
Soaring through the hazy realm
Camouflaged in the darkening skies
Unaware she's the saviour
Mirroring the behaviour
Of the will of the traveller, ever stronger

We struggle without purpose
Inept, unkempt and worthless
Our generation was defined
We left our prior lives behind

Flawed underground resistance
Compassionate indifference
No accolades remained
In the broken empty frames

Creating daily martyrs
Atmospheric change discarded
Apocalypse denied
And we gave up the fight

So I'll contour round the mountains
Though the outcome is uncertain
A journey justified
A front row seat to the decline

Wingspan of an angel
Soaring through the hazy realm
Camouflaged in the darkening skies
Unaware she's the saviour
Mirroring the behaviour
Of the will of the traveller, ever stronger

The ghosts of humanity calling
Through the solemn sound of the Ptarmigan's cry
Anterior echoes lamenting
Through the harrowing sound of the Ptarmigan's cry

The bittersweet melancholy
The frightening sound

My breath condenses, in the freezing air
The trails of vapour taking flight
The willow's web swaying in the breeze
Catching my dreams

At the edge of a precipice
The resonance is my own breathing
Addicted to the ambience
Smile as the abyss casts its net

When I stand on the peaks looking down to the glens
No matter the time just give in to the silence
Betraying my inner sense of calm
The ever prevailing presence

The rivers still run in spate through the Glen
And always I find I'll surrender to silence
Ripples of shockwaves from beyond
The call of descendants
Just give in to the silence

Ethereal fingers with a gentle shove
Shifting perspective in the rain
Raising my eyes to the sky above
Aurora and flame

Have I reached heaven yet?
Along the way I stopped believing
Fell victim to the transience
Worship at the altar of the void

When I stand on the peaks looking down to the glens
No matter the time just give in to the silence
Betraying my inner sense of calm
The ever prevailing presence

The rivers still run in spate through the Glen
And always I find I'll surrender to silence
Ripples of shockwaves from beyond
The call of descendants
Just give in to the silence
Just give in to the silence

Tributaries flowing free, deterioration unseen

[The following quote is taken from Henry David Thoreau:]
"Not til we have lost the world
Do we begin to find ourselves"
Trying to feel something profound
I'm still resentful of the daily burdens

"Not til we have lost the world
Do we begin to find ourselves"
Trying to feel something profound
I'm still resentful of the daily burdens

And here comes the snow
The black clouds descend
Malevolent, foreboding, with vicious intent
White landscape like a sheet and no hope in the bleak
White landscape like a sheet and no hope in the bleak

And here comes the snow
The black clouds descend
Malevolent, foreboding, with vicious intent
White landscape like a sheet and no hope in the bleak
I'm admitting defeat, my soul is too weak

When I stand on the peaks looking down to the glens
Plotting a course that summons me miles from home
(Just give in to the silence)

When I stand on the peaks looking down to the glens
Plotting a course that summons me miles from home
(Just give in to the silence)

When I stand on the peaks looking down to the glens
Plotting a course that summons me miles from home
(Just give in to the silence)

The Aurora's gone
The Aurora's gone

Into the vacuum of contemplation
I gaze at the stars
Unsurprised that I am held again
Into the flares of the illuminating
Rays dancing through
Intertwined with them I'll follow you

I was told that what was
Would be again
When the parasite is purged
The vibrations ahead
Remind me of an internal concern
That the wraith, day by day
The terror
Is close to being unveiled
The spectre in the clouds
A sermon
A lesson in humility

Caledonia
Please watch over me
Caledonia
I'll pay homage to thee

Onto the trail I'm forever yearning
Consumed by the wrath
Stumbling and tasting the despair
Familiar lands withhold untold stories as
I travel through
And Mother Nature lays her claim again

I was told that what was
Would be again
When the parasite is purged
The vibrations ahead
Remind me of an internal concern
That the wraith, day by day
The terror
Is close to being unveiled
The spectre in the clouds
A sermon
A lesson in humility

The unstoppable whispers
The insatiable call
The gentle roar of the trees that
Sway so beautifully
Migration ever northwards
Devastation and loss
The endless murmurs of indifference
Abandoned again

To the bitter end I'll own my descent
To the bitter end I'll own my descent
I'll own my descent

To the bitter end I'll own my descent
To the bitter end I'll own my descent
To the bitter end I'll own my descent
To the bitter end I'll own my descent

I was told that what was will be again
I was told that what was will be again
I was told that what was will be again
I was told that what was will be again

You came from nowhere
You arrived out of thin air
Your cries were astoundingly thin
As your life did begin
It seeped into my skin

I reminisce through the shedding of tears
Of how you grew in the passing of years
I can still see your face

And as I look out over the hills
Wishing that the time had stood still
I'll always remember

You're my redeemer
There's a feeling of pride every day
The sense of warmth when you smile
Makes the struggle worthwhile
'Cause I love you my child

Perception of life in a dream
Reality is not quite what it seems
I've seen it play out

For the tales that tell themselves
Must be allowed to dictate the conclusion
But I'm disillusioned nonetheless

The sound of rain
Deafening pulse through my freezing veins
Reverberation
Death and life become inseparable

Retinas burning
Shaded impressions that guide the way
The miles are behind me
And I'll return home like the prodigal son

Because I always knew
How much of my spirit was in you
This heavenly view
Reward for all that we've been through

Luminescence
Visions of the chaos that I used to know
Familiar sensation
Led by instinctual co-ordinates

Resolution
Time is ticking down 'til I can finally rest
Elevation
Traverse the Bealach, discover what's next

Because I always knew
How much of my spirit was in you
This heavenly view
Reward for all that we've been through

And the sun's getting brighter in the sky
And I can see the rivers running dry
I will learn my destiny tonight
I'm alright

And the sun's getting brighter in the sky
And I can see the rivers running dry
I have become entangled in the light
It's alright

And the sun's getting brighter in the sky
And I can see the rivers running dry
I will learn my destiny tonight
I'm alright

And the sun's getting brighter in the sky
And I can see the rivers running dry
I have become entangled in the light
It's alright