Most rank and foul, rank and file led the vessel
Dedicated to those who squander, opportunistic heathens
Perversions of what is rational, just, and expected
Expectations overblown, as the archer might aim it so
Destinations naught, once again all but lost
To emerge as a glutton, no special sauce
Can take away the scars and tarnishes abound
Forsaken, as a castaway 'gainst his will
Never to seek safe haven but onward he goes
To victory? alas, to shame
To forego the treachery in trade for something grand
Bespoke to him the precious, though not without grit
To gain his triumph he must now be flayed
To build his kingdom, he must lose it all
Broken down, pinned to the wall, sink or swim

In the cottage, I do away with all my fears
Emboldened I stand, though it is nothing but farce
This is the place where dreams die
Here we suffocate, beyond all our years
What resonates is a cloud, this pollution of self
Scratched out resin, the torment of the ******
Another hit stretches night into day
Gloom of lament darkens the dawn
Beseeching, wretched face does not hold
Vanquished by the same token, drawn into the light
Perfectly irregular, blackened skies, pulled deep into the mist
Dredged through drudgery in many years past, apart from this reality
Behold today, new demons arise, supplanting the hollow, frail heart
Seemingly wanes, to become renewed, yet in different forms
Cannot escape, one ditch subverted, though enters another
The haunted, portrayal of a soul inexorably marred
All the change in the world, yet painstakingly the same

Smiling at the abyss
Burns vermilion
Tying into dusk
Fables underhand
Destroys the meek
Hollow solitaire
Denies sword of mercy
Lowly insult, abject it must cease
Lest folly the wicked
For all will be known

Cognition folds, far from equilibrium
The cursed drawl which heeds no name
Elusive, sane, tells the quiet whisper
A pox for all, laid down to pine
Hitherto pale ash is flung
Nary a warlord conquering thrones
Shall meet the daylight unbequest
Fallen kings, though not of repute
Beckon the safety of tattered shrouds
Veiled, to no avail for some
Drunk, consternation comes undone