[duet]

ix

the voices of faraway winds call out.

cackling, crackling like a witches' bonfire.

come to us, the flames say; come to us,

and be one of us. it's warm inside, and cold

out. come and be warm.

the snows are harsh against my cheeks,

but i cannot stop. the road is long

and unending, but i cannot stop. this is my

curse: to walk this earth for all days,

all nights, until time ends.

the sun does not shine here where the

dark and fallen dwell. the trees are not friendly;

they whisper twisted truths and falsehoods

to mislead us. they took him; 

but they cannot take me.

the ice keeps me away from their

beckoning branches; every step off the road,

and i am impaled. so i do not step off.

i walk on, ahead, knowing i am only going

in circles.

i tread this path toward the mountains,

and the stars mock me; almost there,

they whisper. just a little more. and when i wake

from my slumber i am on the other side of the ocean

once again. and the stars mock me.

in summer the sun strives to be brighter than

the witches' bonfire. the flames dance and leap

towards the sky; but they cannot reach that high.

they burn the clouds and rains fall,

and create their own destruction.

the winds come at night, and harshly rekindle

the ice of the blinding dark. my eyes are open,

or closed; it makes no difference. i cannot see

either way. and you are

blocking my road.

move, i say. you do not respond. move.

i try to push you but you only fall back,

slowly. you are a corpse; you are dead.

you died long ago. and i am alone

on this road.

the moon sheds silver beams to point me

the wrong way. and i must follow while i can,

for the other way leads back to the witches' bonfire.

and i cannot go back, or i shall go mad.

and i shall not even be able to die.

death is ahead; i can see it so close.

but the stars mock me, and the winds scream

in my ear. the witches are cackling; i can hear them

even from here. there is no way to go, they sneer.

only ahead. only ahead.