by Gareth, October XIX

He broke the laws of the elders
So they plucked out his eye –
Took his land and fortune
Left him to die

Found on the shore line
Left for the tide
Sees his life blood leaving
Circling lower the vultures fly
These bones may be broken
But the spirit can’t die
And the gods see his anguish
And give him a sign
From the floor of the ocean
The ship of the lost souls rises
And they take him where no one sleeps
While the undead cry
And in the world above the sea
On his land they live

He was met at the gates of Hades
By the guardian of the lost souls
The keeper of the unavenged
And he did say to him
Let him not pass
Return to the world from which he came
And seek payment not only for the known anguish
But to indicate the souls of the unavenged
And he placed in his hand a sword
Made for him called ‘Vengeance”
Forged in brimstone
And tempered by the woeful tears of the unavenged

And to carry upon his journey back to the upper world
They brought forth their demon horse called Black Death
A grim steed, so fierce and mighty and black in colour
That he could stand as one in darkness
Save for his burning eyes of crimson fire
And on the night they rode up from hell
The pounding of his hooves they clapped like thunder

Burning down
Death and destruction
Raping the daughters and wives
In blood I take my payments

No one can escape me, on Black Death I ride
When kissed by the sword of vengeance
Your head lays by your side
I take the lives of all that I once knew
A torn flesh of a slow death waits for you
I take their wives and daughters
They stand there watching
But that they must pay when I’m through.