I hear the drums in the distance,
Hills carry the hollow sound,
With fatal persistence,
In it's embrace I drowned,
Beating at my soul,

And this is what it said,
Death is for the living,
Life is for the dead,
These words, unforgiving,
Did fill me with dread,

To the ivory lands did I flee,
For from the watcher I ran,
'Till their city I came to see,
At it's heart I did meet a man,
He told me to hear his word,

And this is what he said,
Death is for the living,
Life is for the dead,
These words, unforgiving,
Did fill me with dread,

To the people I went,
Seeking to refute this revelation,
On this sole task was I bent,
From the ivory men was a declaration,
It bore truths I could not bear,

And this is what they said,
Death is for the living,
Life is for the dead.

I gazed into the masses once again,
As oft I do each day jus' 'fore the morn ray,
This, to divert myself from the perpetual nothing,
And so they passed, eyes shifting now and then,
The parade of the endless masquerade,
Moving with undying fixation throughout the day,
Before such a bleak spectacle,
I sought intrigue, lest I fall in my folly, something,
Amongst such monotony could bring some solace,

(What is their purpose?)

In this pursuit of novelty I found him,
Not unlike the rest, an exact replica of masterful precision,
No fault could be found in this transcription of flesh,
Detail seemed as crystal though the morn still dim,
Yet, with the greatest of scrutiny the answer would remain
No equation nor system for separation,
Not but by the work of chance was he chosen,
While focused, only with my eyes did he I thresh,
Before me, now, was only the man and the street which he tread,

(How can they see?)

I thought as to what action of inquiry to pursue,
For never had I followed them in their repetitious vigil,
Perhaps I could lean insight as I stray from my languor,
May it, this spark of macabre curiosity, subdue,
And so did I step forth from my vantage above,
Approaching I saw he bore no symbol nor sigil,
This I sought as some slight piece with which to identify,
I had known there would be none, yet it chilled me to the core,
I fell in behind him, despite this feeling of trepidation,

(Where do they come from?)

Instead of walking forth, they shambled on,
It seemed to me as it were a single entity, each bound to the next,
Yet, they bore only illusory shackles and masks,
What were these phantasmal creations they had don,
As I focused on his own it seemed to coalesce before me,
It appeared ever-shifting, but never changing, leaving me perplexed,
None of it's forms could fit any description,
So alien, but familiar in the face of the facts,
A feeling of great discomfort came from the spectacle before me,

(What are they?)

As we continued on a second oddity was unveiled,
The masses had always been youthful in form,
But now, as I walked, they aged before me,
Slowly, the man's lids drooped and his skin paled,
Watching in horror, I felt fear coarse through my being,
They did not slow or act as their bodies continued to deform,
Instead they, and the man, remained in their endless exodus,
It was then that I wondered if perhaps they did flee,
For, though their actions disorderly it seemed prearranged,

(What do they seek?)

After some time an antiquated cemetery came into view,
I knew this place, though I had never before visited,
It was in some surreal recollection came the memory,
A place of ashes, dust and the morning dew,
But long had it been since the morn passed away,
I could now make out the moon, though my view limited,
Time had left me on my venture, thus had the day,
And so now sat the moon as the clouds did carry,
But they too trekked on, even as they and the man,

(Where does their path end?)

Ahead they entered the place before and on past my sight,
The man approached the gates and passed inside,
I trailed along to the archway of dark iron and steel,
It's form before me grew menacing, as some strange blight,
It had corroded, but not rust so that it was jagged and bent,
For the first time hesitant, I moved with a tentative stride,
I had resolved to sate my curiosity and I could not were I to stop,
I reached the gate, but passing through a hand I did feel,
It pulled me back with great force and I heard a soft voice.

Only the dead may pass.

Rise in the morning,
Fall back without a fight,
Right back into the night,
Falling 'till the mourning,

As the emptiness grows,
Time simply slips into the void,
The endless repetitions only shows,
Please the people, please the android,

The rain has been pouring,
Yet, the glass hasn't filled,
Though, never has it spilled,
And the answer they are ignoring,

No one knows,
Oh, the hollowness that exists,
The endless repetitions only shows,
These the worlds, these the cysts,

There has been given a warning,
Of this their creations of great sleight,
To achieve such false height,
But, still their hearts they are adorning,

And so it goes and goes,
While they raise their fists,
Right until the final throws,
The world fades into mists,

Meaningless is this warring,
Of a world that remains untilled,
Of dreams that remain unfulfilled,
Look on vacuous, look on abhorring,

As the emptiness grows,
Time simply slips into the void,
The endless repetitions only shows,
Please the people, please the android,

Rise in the morning,
Fall back without a fight,
Right back into the night,
Falling 'till the mourning.

Blue, green, scarlet, and you,
Things that often fade to black,

Catch a fish with bait,
Teach him to cast,
Wrap him up with hate,
Save him for last,

Castles crumble, kingdoms fall,
Some will rise,
Listen for the call,
Die for the prize,

Blue, green, scarlet, and you,
Things that often fade to black,

Heavy clouds ride high,
Daisies in the field,
All is still, close your eye,
As the watchman turns to yield,

Catch a fish with bait,
Teach him to cast,
Wrap him up with hate,
Save him for last,

Blue, green, scarlet, and you,
Things that often fade to black,

Broken the diagnosis,
Change the cure,
Perhaps with prosthesis,
The subject may be pure,

Twist here,
Turn there,
Do not fear,
On to tear,

One looks on,
What ailment scars,
What is this spawn,
Behind phantom bars,

They tried to fix,
Tried to hear the clicks,
They tried to mend,
To make it bend,

A shriek cries out,
It is done,
To clear all doubt,
All saved but the one,

Though, what is not spoken,
It was never broken.

Life, passing and fading,
You frown as it moves on by,
Life, calm and sedating,
Yet your beginning to wonder why,

Living, living in a box of your design,
Oh, it's quiet and nice,
Yes, and you've paid the price,
Living in a box of your design,

Why can't you see,
In this cage of rust,
Who can't you be,
When your world turns dust,

Still, you stay there,
Still, you see it,
Yet you wonder where,
In this life,

Passing and fading,
You frown as it moves on by,
Calm and sedating,
Your beginning to wonder why,

Walls fall down,
When the crows cry,
And the king has lost his crown,
Then truth begins to die,

Now you wonder,
In the field of debris,
If this were a fateful blunder,
Or an act to be set free,

Though, amidst loss,
Memories alone beside you,
Are alone to guide you,
Had it been better,

Living, living in a box of your design,
It was quiet and nice,
Yes, and you'd paid the price,
Living, living in a box of your design.

Red seas cross a bleak horizon,
They move yet they are still,
Robed and clad in red they were,
The men of the missing land,

They wander without reason,
Sees the man on the hill,
He ponders, with them to confer,
He asks what he is to think,

They speak with silence saying;
Help me,
Heal me,
Lead me,

What else can a man do he says,
That man atop the hill,

They speak with silence saying;
Test me,
Teach me,
Correct me,

If you wish he says,
That man atop the hill,

The seas stand still,
What could not be done, the miracle,
By the man atop the hill,

They speak with silence saying;
Move us,
Push us,
Change us,

What else can a man do he says,
That man atop the hill,

They speak with silence saying;
Watch us,
Control us,
Rule us,

If you wish he says,
That man atop the hill,

The seas were one,
Each and every the same,
Held in a current of order,

They whisper saying;
Release us,
Free us,
Leave us,

He cannot hear the whisper below,
That man atop the hill,

They scream saying;
What of this,
What of us,
Why us,

He thought to himself,
That man atop the hill,

He looked down upon the seas,
Robed and clad in gray they were,
Then he called softly from above,

You spoke with silence saying;
Help me,
Heal me,
Lead me,

What else could I do he said,
That man atop the hill,

You spoke with silence saying;
Test me,
Teach me,
Correct me.