Crown of Iron,
Tears of Freedom,
Shards of Hope,
I am all of these,
And more,
Much more,
I am a Man.

For those who never came back,
For those who were told fragrant lies,
For those who once dreamt of peace,
For those who sleep in forgotten soil,

For those who left behind fresh faced roses,
For those who waved away weeping mothers,
For those who sang the dying hymns of life,
For those who once farmed and tilled the land,

For those who slipped and fell in spiked ditches,
For those who danced with bayonets and bullets,
For those who serenaded the shrieking shells,
For those who drank and sank in slippery trenches,

For those whose bones bleach in desert dust,
For those whose blood and hopes were betrayed,
For those whose lives line the poppy and flags,
For those whose souls were sacrificed for us all,

*For them there is no today, only yesterday…

I have seen emperors fall,
And I have seen empires crumble,
I have felt the tears of history,
And I have bled the blood of nations,
I have witnessed slavery,
And I have watched freedom die,
I know the silence of a hollow heart,
And I know the pain of memory,
I stand here mute and cold,
But one day I will dare to speak,
Fear me on that dread day...

In a world rotting with death,
Piled high with decay and mess,
In a land where flags are flesh,
Where the carrion crows fly,
The birds of Freedom die,
Their nests encrusted with lies,
Our Earth coughs and withers,
Our birds float on dead rivers,
Our nation with fear shivers.

"I am not alone,
In the city of faceless shadows
I walk in the light of the Beloved."

The night of my soul is here,
And the ship of my life has sunk,
My songs scatter over the dark skies,
And my hopes melt upon the breath of the sun.

But know this...

A new song will rise,
A new light will shine,
A new day will dawn.