1. Velvet Darkness They Fear

"Gaunt and gnarl'd..."

Fair And Guiling Сopesmate Death

"Gaunt and gnarl'd
Reflecteth the silver shield this welkin aghast,
And with haste translateth to gild'd black post and fast."

"Anon – anon, say I! – the lid aside,
Crawl without this velvet-clad coffin blest,
The bottom sand of the hourglass is at tide,
'Tis and hath e'er been merry blood to pest –
To be adust for time longer can I not bide,
Hence the heart hale out thro' the chest!
Misery thee?! – Rather misery me! –
For in Time's durance am I naught but wee."

"Sensing this pine is as deep as the deepest chasm,
Hither! – cede and fulfil my phantasm!
Cherish me and sonorously do me laud –
For dread! – thine eyes will behold a guise faugh'd."

"This tender and loving pest I to thee bequeath,
Thence swiftly wilt thou errant to 'Neath."

"And to me should'st thou be the humblemost knave,
Lest fear! – spit I on thy cist and grave! –
Lest leer I at thee and do bewitch,
And the tharms fluttering claw'd and eldritch."

"To conquer thee and thy blood for glore
Art thou my afeard and reluctant whore;
Irksomely coy, save wilied by alarum,
Bear this torture and maim with decorum."

"One candle left to burn now, before the darkness comes..."

"If e'er always was I this blissful and blithe
Would I resign to but its wee tithe."

"Purvey my ache and quench my profoundest urge,
And to thee will I sing the lull-dull dirge;
Deliver thy blood like the rill filleth the ghyll."

"Burrow to the trothplight with the Night and Devil! –
Bid Him to league with me – forsooth, merry to 'come 'twill."

"Whilom wast thou vestal, yet now flit to thy tryst,
Elsewise will I coerce thine consonantry to turn whist;
Grasp I the snath and cut off thine breath,
So that thou canst in darkness and inferno vester,
For do I solely what He to me liefly saith."

"Death – oh! fair and 'guiling copesmate Death,
Be not a malais'd beggar; claim this bloody jester!"

Bring Forth Ye Shadow

Time is an abyss –
Profound as a thousand nights;
I sojourn my haste, I make respites
For what availeth this eager pace?
One step more naught to face,
Save the heirloom fatal kiss.

I rave no more 'gainst Time or Fate,
For lo! my own shall ne'er come to me,
Yet! – Who doth my future narrate?
Dim the lights – I cannot see!
Bring forth ye Shadow! –
With whom dancest thou?

Time hath stopp'd –
Yet for others ne'er halteth;
For me the Pages of Life do not turn,
Lo! – on the funeral pyre they burn.
The oh so eathing Velvet Darkness they fear –
Heed! – wherefore delve a burrow,
When in my arms "O! Come here"? –
I say, elsewhither is naught but sorrow!

For what deemest thou so dear thy blood
When through my veins it could flood? –
Bide to merry-make me unaptly;
And hence grant me the fell gift,
The gift of passing on the dark trick.
'Tis such a brazen act of erotic;
Trifle for thee, yet for me grandly thrift,
O! such an innocence depriv'd so hastily –

Alas, for what deemest thou so dear thy blood
When through my veins it will flood?

Seraphic Deviltry

Whether He the quaint savant's power doth hold I know not,
Albeit?tat a thousand stars' birth He is –
Quoth I that for reasons to me oblivious
August of a granditude of servants is He held,
And by plastic consonantry e'en more servants to the host added are –
Pelf they are, dare I say!
Maugre His diurnal seraphic deviltry
I say that deviltry – 'tis forsooth deviltry! –
Mind not this in scintillating shades clad is;
To claim the glore is He suffer'd.
"Grant me the fatlings", qouth He, "the fatter the better!",
And died they of starvation;
They are not slaughtering their fatlings –
They are slaughtering 'hemselves.
Sith I at time of yester the questions durst ask,
And dare I say this burthen weightful was,
Wrack of His machine-like motion was I named,
Tho' blind and fond the jesters rebuilt
The machine alike – yet whetted and dight are its edges...

And When He falleth

Liv:
"Be my kin free fro carnal sin,
Bridle the thoughts of thy Master."

Raymond:
"There hath past away a glore fro the earth;
A glore that in the hearts and minds of men,
Men demented – blinfolded by light,
Flourisheth as weed in their well-groom'd garths."

Liv:
"The quality of mercy and absolution,
Whence cometh such qualities?
Build thyself a mirror in which
Solely wanton images of thy desire appear, appear, appear!"

Raymond:
"Might I too was blindfolded ere,
Tho' years have master'd me
A masque of this to fashion:
S?er blest, thou best philosopher!"

Liv:
"'Tis the divine tragedy –
The fool and the mocking court:
Fool, kneel now, and ring thy bells!:
Make us guffaw at thy futile follies,
Yet for our blunders – Oh, in shame;
Earth beareth no balm for mistakes –
We hold the Earth fro Hell away."

Raymond:
"'Tis the divine comedy –
The fool and the mocking court:
Fool, kneel now, and ring thy bells!:
We hold the Earth fro Heaven away."

Prince Prospero:
"That cross you wear around your neck; is it only a decoration, or are you a true Christian believer?"

Francesca:
"Yes, I believe – truly."

Prince Prospero:
"Then I want you to remove it at once! – and never to wear it within this castle again!
Do you know how a falcon is trained my dear? Her eyes are sewn shut. Blinded temporarily she suffers the whims of her
God patiently, until her will is submerged and she learns to serve – as your God taught and blinded you with crosses."

Francesca:
"You had me take off my cross because it offended..."

Prince Prospero:
"It offended no one. No – it simply appears to me to be discourteous to... to wear the symbol of a deity long dead. My
ancestors tried to find it. And to open the door that seperates us from our Creator."

Francesca:
"But you need no doors to find God. If you believe..."

Prince Prospero:
"Believe?! If you believe you are gullible. Can you look around this world and believe in the goodness of a god who
rules it? Famine, Pestilence, War, Disease and Death! They rule this world."

Francesca:
"There is also love and life and hope."

Prince Prospero:
"Very little hope I assure you. No. If a god of love and life ever did exist... he is long since dead. Someone...
something rules in his place."

Raymond:
"Believe? In a deity long dead? –
I would rather be a pagan suckled in creeds outworn;
With faërytales fill'd up in head:
Thoughts of the Book stillborn."

Liv:
"Shadow of annoyance –
Ne'er come hither!
...And when He falleth, He falleth like Lucifer,
Ne'er to ascend again..."

Der Tanz Der Schatten

Liv:
“Gleichwohl hast du deine Augen versteckt
Lichtschein hinter der Dunkelheit;
Ein Licht das mir gezeigt hat,
Daß du von Angst erfüllt bist.
Erzähle mir bitte
Warum du diese Angst in Dir trägst?!”

Raymond:
“Meine Augen sind so dunkel,
Auch sind die Visionen schwarz,
Schwarz wie die Nacht;
Der Dämmerzustand des Menschen –
Ist meine Zeit des Daseins.”

Raymond:
“Ich bin so alleine;
Einsamkeit in Ewigkeit –
Gedanken nur für mich,
Mit dem Schatten flüstere ich –
Mit dem Schatten tanze ich –
Einsam wandere ich,
Das Blut begehre ich: Totentanz.”

Liv:
“Tanze nicht mehr mit dem Schatten,
Tanze bitte nicht über das Grab;
Tanze mit mir den Walzer Luzifers.
Ich sehne mich deine Braut zu sein
– Um zu Finsternis zu werden.”

Raymond:
“Den tödlichen Kuß zu empfangen;
Folge der Finsternis in das Nichts! –
Süßer Nektar auf deinen Lippen;
Ein Rinnsal blutfeuchtes Leben,
Ich lecke die Liebe aus deinem Gesicht,
Ich lecke den Haß aus deinem Gesicht.”

Raymond:
“Ein so berauschendes Gefühl:
Meine bittere Existenz zu schmecken!”

Liv:
“Für immer und unendlich:
Ein Seelsorger deiner bin ich.”

Liv:
“Laß mich Deinen Kuß begrüßen:
Den selbstzerstörerischen Kuß...”

Raymond:
“Gebe dich mir hin!,
Ich war von Trauer erfüllt,
Ich war so untröstlich,
Doch du hast die Liebe entfacht...”

Liv:
“...Bis ich sterbe, umarme mich,
Und ich werde wieder auferstehen...
Ich liebe dich...”

Black As The Devil Painteth

An artist is what is call'd the self that the brush holdeth –
Though hath it then caringly caress'd the Canvas of to-morrow?,
O Canvas! for thee I hold my tool – still! passionlessly it quivereth,
Minding not that my hands are more than apt;
My Muse,

Where is hidden
The blue-hued arch 'neath the High Heaven's rich emblazonry,
The flowery meadow, embrac'd by the horizon – snowflaked and aëry mountains,
In which the barebreasted maidens dance to the lay o' midsummer,
Aloft the distant lazy flapping of the doves in vainglore.

O Canvas!, wherefore canst thou these images not allow? –
I deem a projection of my Theatre they should be! –
Then, I challenge thee the wisdom of naysaying the yearns o' mine –
What is this unforseen that not enjoineth light shades to be skillfully painted?

The raven sky prey'd on by the snowfill'd, blustery clouds,
Unadorned the meadow – hunger driveth the wolf out of the wood,
The maidens chained and whipped within a dreary dungeon –
And, lo! 'twixt the wizen roses a mossy grave:
"The Devil is as Black as he Painteth" –
O Canvas! wherefore?...

On Whom The Moon Doth Shine

Liv:
"O soft embalmer of ye still midnight,
Allow me thee to adown,
Of any sort thou fanciest;
Each holdeth its own fancy, I say –
Yet the pleasure we partake in
Was caus'd by the fang'd grin,
Save! do I for him anger hold?:
Nay – I knew I was fey!"

Raymond:
"Had I what it taketh, I would do;
I sense – I cannot sense,
I am – yet! I am not –
Once I kiss'd the image
Of the Seven Angels of Death..."

Liv:
"Yet as thou so didst,
On my lips a kiss landed,
And with the shadows blended
The tendermost silken mourn;
In which the light hidden is –
Yon Hell's brazen doors
Wrothfully it trieth to push."

Raymond:
"Then, lo! the Bleak Death,
Serpent-like 'twixt the breasts crept:
Hush'd with a gasp of life's breath,
Together red tears they wept,
And pass'd the procession of dancers dead –
As in darkness were we lock'd in wed."

Liv:
"Hush'd with a gasp of life's breath,
Together red tears we wept – in vain,
And pass'd the procession of dancers dead –
As in darkness were we lock'd in wed:
I kiss'd the Seven Angels of Death."

Raymond:
"And Hell open'd its doors,
Yet what was 'fore my eyes
But if not the brightest light."

Liv:
"Yet what was 'fore my eyes
But if not the brightest light."

The Masquerader And Phoenix

Hist! – The sonorous orchestral ambience and the arabesque-stanc'd ballerina,
Her wee feet in an alacritic m?lstrom-twirl,
And the dust-hurl with her tears blendeth – Egad! this quagmire;
Pasteth her unaptly apt feet to the stage:

Like the wither'd rose of the luciferous Eden
By the mummer'd-masquerader espied vigilly and mockingly,
His behesting visage, tho' ruddily mummer'd 'tis –
Embower'd and eddying oft and eft gloam by gloam,

Her sweetness ne'er cloy – further! further! further! –
His scratching and dallying hollow-hearted eyes
Her breasts and vestal heart caress,

And like the dove and bird of prey leapeth she a?rily,
Whileas the orchestra playeth on travailingly;

His one and sole swath
With the pizzicato'd ensemble blendeth –
And her umbral f?tal scream –
As the song climaxeth
And slowly dieth
Away...

перевод: "Бархатная тьма их страшит" (Lightbringer) »

2. Fair And Guiling Copesmate Death

"Gaunt and gnarl'd
Reflecteth the silver shield this welkin aghast,
And with haste translateth to gild'd black post and fast."
"Anon – anon, say I! – the lid aside,
Crawl without this velvet-clad coffin blest,
The bottom sand of the hourglass is at tide, "Sensing this pine is as deep as the deepest chasm,
'Tis and hath e'er been merry blood to pest – Hither! – cede and fulfil my phantasm!
To be adust for time longer can I not bide, Cherish me and sonorously do me laud –
Hence the heart hale out thro' the chest! For dread! – thine eyes will behold a guise faugh'd."
Misery thee?! – Rather misery me! –
For in Time's durance am I naught but wee."
"This tender and loving pest I to thee bequeath,
Thence switly wilt thou errant to 'Neath."
"And to me should'st thou be the humblemost knave,
Lest fear! – spit I on thy cist and grave! –
Lest leer I at thee and do bewitch,
And the tharms fluttering claw'd and eldritch."
"To conquer thee and thy blood for glore
Art thou my afeard and reluctant whore;
Irksomely coy, save wiliйd by alarum,
Bear this torture and maim with decorum.
"If e'er always was I this blissful and blithe
Would I resign to but its wee tithe."
"Purvey my ache and quench my profoundest urge,
And to thee will I sing the lull-dull dirge;
Deliver thy blood like the rill filleth the ghyll."
"Burrow to the trothplight with Night and Devil! –
Bid Him to league with me – forsooth, merry to 'come 'twill."
"Whilom wast thou vestal, yet now flit to thy tryst,
Elsewise will I coerce thine consonantry to turn whist;
Grasp I the snath and cut off thine breath,
"Death – oh! fair and 'guiling copesmate Death, So that thou canst in darkness and inferno vester,
Be not a malais'd beggar; claim this bloody jester!" For do I solely what He to me liefly saith."

перевод: "Красота и коварство противостояния смерти" (Lightbringer) »

3. Bring Forth Ye Shadow

Time is an abyss –
Profound as a thousand nights;
I sojourn my haste, I make respites
For what availeith this eager pace?
One step more naught to face,
Save the heirloom fatal kiss.

I rave no more 'gainst Time or Fate,
For lo! my own shall ne'er come to me,
Yet! – Who doth my future narrate?
Dim the lights – I cannot see!
Bring forth ye Shadow! –
With whom danceth thou?

Time hath stopp'd –
Yet for others ne'er halteth;
For me the Pages of Life do not turn,
Lo! – on the funeral pyre they burn.
The oh so eathing Velvet Darkness they fear –
Heed! – wherefore delve a burrow,
When in my arms "O! Come here"? –
I say, elsewhither is naught but sorrow!

For what deemest thou so dear thy blood
When through my veins it could flood? –
Bide to merry – make me unaptly;
And hence grant me the fell gift,
The gift of passing on the dark trick.
'Tis such a brazen act of erotic;
Trifle for thee, yet for me grandly thrift,
O! such an innocence depriv'd so hastily –

Alas, for what deemest thou so dear thy blood
When through my veins it will flood?

перевод: "Отбросьте тень" (Lightbringer) »

4. Seraphic Deviltry

Whether He the quaint savant's power doth held I now not,
Albeit aetat a thousand stars' birth He is –
Zuoth I that for reasons to me oblivious
August of a granditude of servants is He held,
And by plastic consonantry e'en more servants to the host added are –
Pelf they are, dare I say!
Maugre His diurnal serphic deviltry
I say that deviltry – 'tis forsooth deviltry! –
Mind not this in scintillating shades clad is;
To claim the glore is He suffer'd.
"Grant me the fatlings", gouth He, "the fatter the better!",
And died they of starvation;
They are not slaughtering their fatlings –
They are slaughtering 'hemselves.
Sith I at time of yester the questions durst ask,
And dare I say this burthen weightful was,
Wrack of His machine – like motion was I naméd,
Tho' blind and fond the jesters rebuilt
The machine alike – yet whettйd and dight are its edges...

перевод: "Божественная чертовщина (Божественное коварство)" (Lightbringer) »

5. And When He Falleth

"Be my kin free fro varnal sin,
Bridle the thoughts of thy Master."
"There hath past away a glore fro the Earth;
A glore that in the hearts and minds of men,
Men dementйd – blindfoldйd by light,
Hourisheth as weed in their well-groom'd garths."

"Might I too was blindfoldйd ere, "The quality of mercy and absolution,
Tho' years have master'd me Whence cometh such qualities?
A masque of this to fashion: Build thyself a mirror in which
Seer blest, thou best philosopher!" Solely wanton images of thy desire appear!"

"'Tis the Divine Comedy – "'Tis the Divine Tragedy –
The fool and the mocking court; The fool and the mocking court;
Fool, kneel now, and ring thy bells! Fool, kneel now, and ring thy bells!
We hold the Earth fro Heaven away." Make us guffaw at thy futile follies,
Yet for our blunders – Oh, in shame;
Earth beareth no balm for mistakes –
We hold the Earth fro Hell away."

"Believe? In a deily long dead? –
I would rather be a pagan sucklйd in creeds outworn;
Whith faartytales fill'd up in head;
Thoughts of the Book stillborn."

"Shadow of annoyance –
Ne'er come hither!
...And when He falleth, He falleth like Lucifer,
Ne'er to ascend again..."

– Dialog from "And when He Falleth" –

Male Voice Female Voice

That cross you wear around your neck;
is it only a decoration, or are you a
true Christian believer?

Yes, I believe – truly

Then I want you to remove it at once!
– and never to wear it within this castle
again! Do you know how a falcon is trained my
dear? Her eyes are sown shut. Blinded temporarily
she suffers the whims of her God patiently, until
her will is submerged and she learns to serve –
as your God taught and blinded you with
crosses.

You had me take off my cross because it
offended....

It offended no-one. No – it simply appears
to me to be discourteous to... to wear
the symbol of a deity long dead.

My ancestors tried to find it. And to open
the door that seperates us from our Creator.

But you need no doors to find God.
If you believe....

Believe?! If you believe you are gullible.
Can you look around this world and believe
in the goodness of a god who rules it?
Famine, Pestilence, War, Disease and Death!
They rule this world.

There is also love and life and hope.

Very little hope I assure you. No. If a god
of love and life ever did exist... he is long
since dead. Someone... something rules in his
place.

перевод: "И когда он пал" (Lightbringer) »

6. Der Tanz Der Schatten

"Meine Augen sind so dunkel, "Gleichwohl hast Du Deine Augen versteckt
Auch sind die Visionen schwarz, Lichtschein hinter der Dunkelheit;
Schwarz wie die Nacht; Ein Licht das mir gezeigt hat,
Der Dämmerzustand des Menschen – Daß Du von Angst erfüllt bist.
Ist meine Zeit des Daseins." Erzähle mir bitte
Warum Du diese Angst in Dir trägst!"

"Ich bin so alleine;
Einsamkeit in Ewigkeit –
Gedanken nur für mich,
Mit dem Schatten flüstere ich –
Mit dem Schatten tanze ich –
Einsam wandere ich,
Das Blut begehre ich: Totentanz."

"Den tödlichen Kuß zu empfangen; "Tanze nicht mehr mit dem Schatten,
Folge der Finsternis in das Nichts! – Tanze bitte nicht über das Grab;
Süßer Nektar auf Deinen Lippen; Tanze mit mir den Walzer Luzifers.
Ein Rinnsal blutfeuchtes Leben, Ich sehne mich Deine Braut zu sein
Ich lecke die Liebe aus Deinem Gesicht, – Um zu Finsternis zu werden."
Ich lecke den Haß aus Deinem Gesicht."

"Ein so berauschendes Gefühl: "Für immer und unendlich:
Meine bittere Existenz zu schmecken!" Ein Seelsorger Deiner bin ich."

"Laß mich Deinen Kuß begrüßen;
Den selbstzerstörerischen Kuß..."

"Gebe Dich mir hin!
Ich war von Trauer erfüllt,
Ich war so untröstlich, "... Bis ich sterbe, umarme mich,
Doch Du hast die Liebe entfacht..." Und ich werde wieder auferstehen...
Ich liebe Dich..."

перевод: "Танец теней" (Lightbringer) »

7. Black As The Devil Painteth

An artist is what is call'd the self that the brush holdeth –
Though hath it then caringly caress'd the Canvas of to-morrow?,
O Canvas! for thee I hold my tool – still! passionless it quivereth,
Minding not that my hands are more than apt;
My Muse,

Where is hidden
The blue-huйd arch'neath the High Heaven's rich emblazonry,
The flowery meadow, embrac'd by the horizon – snowflakйd and aery mountains,
In which the barebreastйd maidens dance to the lay o' midsummer,
Aloft the distant lazy flapping of the doves in vainglore.

O Canvas!, wherefore canst thou these images not allow? –
I deem a projection of my Theatre they should be! –
Then, I challenge thee the wisdom of naysaying the yearns o' mine –
What is this unforseen that not enjoineth light shades to be skillfully paintйd?

The raven sky prey'd on by the snowfill'd, blustery clouds,
Unadornйd the meadow – hunger driveth the wolf out of the wood,
The maidens chainйd and whippйd within a dreary dungeon –
And, lo! 'twixt the wizen roses a mossy grave:
"The Devil is as Black as he Painteth" –
O Canvas! wherefore?...

перевод: "Чёрт страшен так, как его малюют (Дьявол чёрен настолько, насколько нарисован)" (Lightbringer) »

8. On Whom The Moon Doth Shine

"O soft embalmer of ye still midnight,
Allow me thee to adown,
Of any sort thou fancieth;
Each holdeth its own fancy, I say –
Yet the pleasure we partake in
Was caus'd by the fang'd grin,
Save!, do I for him anger hold?
Nay – I knew I was fey!"
"Had I what it taketh I would do;
I sense – I cannot sense,
I am – yet! I am not –
Once I kiss'd the image
Of the Seven Angels of Death..."
"Yet as thou so didst,
On my lips a kiss landйd,
And with the shadows blendйd
The tendermost silken mourn;
In which the light hidden is –
Yon Hell's brazen doors
Wrothfully it trieth to push."
"Then, lo! the Black Death,
Serpent-like 'twixt the breasts crept;
Hush'd with a gasp of life's breath, "Hush'd with a gasp of life's breath,
Together red tears they wept, Together red tears we wept – in vain,
And pass'd the procession of dancers dead – And pass'd the procession of dancers dead –
As in darkness were we lock'd in wed." As in darkness were we lock'd in wed;
I kiss'd the Seven Angels of Death."
"And Hell open'd its doors,
Yet what was 'fore my eyes "Yet what was 'fore my eyes
But if not the brightest light." But if not the brightest light."

перевод: "Кому светит луна" (Lightbringer) »

9. The Masquerader And Phoenix

Hist! – The sonorous orchestral ambience and the arabesque-stanc'd ballerina,
Her wee feel in an alacritic maelstrom-twirl,
And the dust-hurl with her tears blendeth – Egad! this quagmire;
Pasteth her unaptly apt feet to the stage;
Like the wither'd rose of the luciferous Eden
By the mummer'd masquerader espied vigilly and mockingly,
His behesting visage, tho' ruddily mummmer'd 'tis –
Embower'd and eddying oft and eft gloam by gloam,
Her sweetness ne'er cloy – further! further! –
His scratching and dallying hollow-heartйd eyes
Her breasts and vestal heart caress,
And like the dove and bird of prey leapeth she aerily,
Whileas the orchestra playeth on travailingly;
His one and sole swath
With the pizzicato'd ensemble blendeth –
And her umbral foetal scream –
As the song climaxeth
And slowly dieth
Away...

перевод: "Феникс и маска" (Lightbringer) »