жаль (Pity)

 

Death-chilled by the cold tears from grieving willows,

I shiver within a lake of sadness.

 

Soul-burnt by the fierce heat of unforgiving flames,

I writhe within a fire of madness.

Demo Recording

Score

 

Dreams of my brother float far above me,

Tracing ever-changing patterns of regret.

 

I search for my sister who lies far below,

But her gaze I begin to forget.

 

A rose scented songbird stole my brother away…

 

But, unknown, I returned as her lover.

 

Our ignorance was bliss on our wedding night,

But then fate the truth did uncover.

 

I was drowned;

 

I was burnt;

 

Our souls hid away:

Tormented and shunned by the world.

 

Then God took notice, paused fate, and took pity,

And a yellow blue flower unfurled.

I am the yellow of the sun;

 

I am the blue of the lake;

 

And once more the world grants us room.

 

I am Kostroma;

And I am Kupalo;

And together, as one, we bloom.

Nøkken Begynner

Striding, sliding, slipping down;

Groping for, grabbing at, grasping Hlin’s hand…

Then failing, flailing, falling through the frozen road;

Spinning and splaying, spiralling down Hel’s glistening mouth,

And feeling, fearing, feeding her ravenous cold:

Snap!

My frigid soul shifts sullenly over her river-boned depths,

And I suffer as her Shepherd of Sins.

Score

Demo Recording

Aadizookaan: the wind snake’s dance

 

Wind dancing through the hollow bone of an eagle’s wing:

Alone…

Score

Demo Recording

 

Wind dancing through the hollow bone of an eagle’s wing:

Searching…

 

Wind dancing through the hollow bone of an eagle’s wing:

Seeing you…

 

Wind dancing through the hollow bone of an eagle’s wing:

Beside you…

 

Wind dancing through the welcome hollow of your open ear:

Whispering…

 

Wind dancing through the sweet tasting flow of your thoughts and dreams:

Within you…

 

Wind dancing through your empty skull and hollow bones:

Alone…

 

Wind dancing through your empty skull and hollow bones:

Searching…

Ma Phae Wah

 

Killed in winter

By bitter hands:

Sister betrayed!

Careless laid: cursed.

I paid a price unfair – and the worst.

Score

Demo Recording

Then, gold leaf cast

On my vast pain

At last did ease

And then please me.

Burmese blessings sought me – made me free!

 

Now graves I guard,

But none barred rest;

The scarred or whole:

Each one’s toll paid.

Your soul will have a place – ready-made.

The ghost ship's last song

 

Rocking and dreaming, surrounded by sea;

Soon nothing left here: nothing of me.

Score

Demo Recording

The sea was wide and my journeys were long:

At first half remembered, now forgotten and gone.

 

Rocking and dreaming, surrounded by sea:

Soon nothing left here: nothing of me.

 

Brocken by wind and bleached by the sun:

Time’s hammers and pains could not be out run.

 

Rocking and dreaming, surrounded by sea;

Soon nothing left here: nothing of me.

 

My memories are mist cast out on the tide;

I have nowhere to go and nowhere to hide.

 

Rocking and dreaming, surrounded by sea;

Soon nothing left here: nothing of me.

 

I sleep now through the waves’ twilight glimmer,

As the dark depths below reach up ever nearer.

 

Rocking and dreaming, surrounded by sea:

Soon nothing left here: nothing of me.

 

The sea, in time, will swallow me whole,

And then, in time... 

Will reach for your soul…

 

Rocking and dreaming, surrounded by sea:

Soon nothing left here: nothing of me. 

Fuyu no Hōmon

 

Tree withering cold

Snow fingers tap my window:

Soft, soft, so softly;

I feel frost breath beside me…

Strangely welcome in the night.

 

Score

Demo Recording

                                       

In winter you come,

To stay with me in the dark:

Feeding on my warmth,

Sharing your seductive cold;

We entwine and slowly merge.

 

Skin withering cold

Lips finding and kissing me

Through the night softly;

I feel my hot life flowing

Toward your frost crusted heart;

 

Soul withering cold;

Your arms turn to freezing mists

That carry me up,

Up toward the aloof stars...

Where you and I disappear.  

Spot chases his tail! (Two and a half minutes of piano mayhem.)

Spot chases his tail!

Two and a half minutes of piano mayhem

Charles M. Lines 

Click here to listen!