Cailleach - A Sea of Trees

Regaining sense, amidst the dense web of limbs
Dazed, bitten by the cold I wander onwards

Will there ever be reprise for me?
The sinning man can never rest
He fears what haunts this place

What foolishness, what sickness of the mind
Caused me to venture so far into the sea of trees

Far beyond the caves of ice and wind
Yet now, pining for the taste of life
A taste not found in these bone yards, I plead with the spirits
Release me from this forest hell, O sea of trees, allow me peace

The forest whispers, the fallen wood snaps underfoot
Through the thickening fog they reach for my arms
And are kissed with my blood
O, life's irony that it should be spilled
As I attempt to escape a place in which I sought only death

And so I plead with the unseen to allow me passage
Surely I do not belong amongst the dead – or at least
Less so than those I left behind
I see faces framed, flickering in the darkness
As thick clouds bear down upon me across the evening sky
A breath of air, evaporates
A glimmer of light, a flicker of hope

Quickening my pace past the whispering stream
Climb towards the clearing
The sky is still on fire, it is bleeding into the sea
I stumble as I reach the hilltop, and fall so weary to my knees

I now know what madness brought me to venture within this sea of trees,
The very same sickness that grips all men

For all come to know this place, spreading into the horizon's grey
Under the burning sky, as my eyes concentrate
I see the legions of spirits, black lake Nidstang
There is no escape, no mercy

There is only pain and an end.

“I found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom. So, goodnight”