The Tombs we Filled are Crumbling

The tombs we filled are crumbling
And the idols we built are tumbling
The safety we clung to is frightening
And the burden we bore is lightening

For the day is now near at hand, for which all creation groans
When praise will rise from surf and sand and stars and beasts and stones

The slaves are liberated
Grace is unabated
Now the lost will find
In darkness, Light doth shine

O Martyr! (A Victory Song)

O Martyr, cling to breath no more
O Martyr, shed the cloak of flesh you wore

O Martyr, grasp no more at life
O Martyr, your flesh is worth no strife

O Martyr, you have triumphed o’er your foes
O Martyr, you have escaped their every blow

O Martyr, heed not false prophets foretelling doom
O Martyr, your end is not found in any tomb

O Martyr, do not fear the grave
O Martyr, through death your life is saved

O Martyr, blood has paid the cost
O Martyr, the soul that follows is not lost

O Martyr, look, look on ahead
O Martyr, see the land where death is dead

O Martyr, death is lost in victory
O Martyr, you now shall live abundantly

O Martyr, let go your bloodied sword
O Martyr, go be present with thy LORD

O Martyr, fight and win and die
O Martyr, suffer first, then fly

O Watchman! (A Battle Cry)

O Watchman, abandon not your place
O Watchmen, keep a steady face

O Watchman, guard in night and day
O Watchman, in all conditions stay

O Watchman, heed not shades of night
O Watchman, send out thy beams of light

O Watchman, look upon the plane
O Watchman, see and say the same

O Watchman, watch for coming death
O Watchman, cry warning with all thy breath

O Watchman, see the horde that comes
O Watchman, stand and do not run

O Watchman, gather all your host
O Watchman, revile the assailant’s boast

O Watchman, send forth all your throng
O Watchman, the battle shan’t be long

O Watchman, stay vigilant and true
O Watchman, great things depend on you

O Watchman, the fight will soon be done
O Watchman, you have already won

O Sleeper! (A Call to Arms)

O Sleeper, you slothful, selfish mass
O Sleeper, awake now to your task

O Sleeper, arise now with the sun
O Sleeper, the battle rages on

O Sleeper, abandon not your post
O Sleeper, stand before the host

O Sleeper, lift your dreamy head
O Sleeper, rise now from the dead

O Sleeper, there is yet much to do
O Sleeper, duty calls to you

O Sleeper, awake at once and live
O Sleeper, you have much more to give

O Sleeper, the world around you cries
O Sleeper, open up you eyes

O Sleeper, list to their grim wails
O Sleeper, arise and do not fail

O Sleeper, bring an end to night
O Sleeper, Christ will give you Light

O Sleeper, we’ve Life too much to keep
O Sleeper, live and do not sleep

Swansong of the Dragon

In the night visions I beheld
A terror too terrible to tell
A dreadful dragon as it fell
And dragged behind it the heat of Hell

Its head was bruised and beaten in
The mortal wound worked within
To bring about the serpent’s end
Twas not a question of “if?” but “when?”

But before his grip on life slipped on
He cried out in a voice vile and strong
And the length of the fall that he fell was so long
That he had time to compose a corrupted song

“I fall! I fall! As I fell before
But now I fall forevermore
And the guilt and the blame and the shame that I bore
Are now exceeded an hundred times more

“But, though I go now to my doom,
The doom that down through the ages has loomed,
I have done all I could to make plenty of room
For those who would follow me down to my tomb

“Many I called, and many enticed
Many I baited with the virtues of vice
Many gave in, though they turned me down twice
At last they headed my harmful advice

“I seduced many more with ill-gotten gain
I ensnared them with vows of evading all pain
I gave lust and greed and everything vain
They loved me and mine, and welcomed my reign

“O what a ploy! O what a scheme!
With my cunning and with my wit oh so keen
I granted them more than they ever could dream
Now I must grant them my end, it seems

“That is what makes my deception so great
That they now must share in my torturous fate
They have seen the Truth now, but they saw It too late
I convinced them all that the Truth could wait.”

So singing, he fell away too far to hear
But it chilled my heart that his was so cheered
And my soul could not shake the terrible fear
Instilled by that dreadful song and drear

For, though ‘tis a vacant victory
Yet, it is much more than it should be
For the dragon’s vile and gluttonous greed
Cannot quench the Truth that makes men free

It is my own silence that allows him to sing
Our stifled speech lets his report ring
Oh, how dreadful and dire a thing
When the song of the dragon drowns the Truth of the King

comes Light

I must not cower
I must not hide
Though I have no power
And by Nature’s laws, I have no cause for pride

I must not falter
I must not fail
And my way must not be altered
Though its end betides the place where all joys hide behind Death’s veil

I must press on
And I must fight
Until all shadows have flown and gone
And, with their last flight and death of Night, comes Light

The Highway

The Highway

When I got on this road I didn’t know where it was going
There were no roadsigns pointing the way
But it went the direction the wind was blowing
And it looked as soothing as any road may

Now I’ve been going this way for quite a distance
No mile markers tell how far I’ve gone
I have only my feet’s uneven cadence
To measure the distance I’ve come

But at least this highway is not as thin as the other
Though its direction seems driven by chance
I never could stand narrow pathways that smother
And limit your freedom to dance

And that other way looked so rough and jagged
Not nearly as smooth as this one I’ve found
The other would have left my feet ragged
Here, good intentions pave the ground

So, still I walk this highway, not knowing my end or my speed
In the end I have done it all my way: each step, ev’ry thought, word, and deed
So, I hope that may be good enough when I come to the end and am dead
And I hope that hope is not snuffed when I arrive at the fire ahead

And now, despair grips my spirit
And now, my soul is not well
I can smell the flame, I’m so near it
This smooth highway has led me to Hell

Thus, highways are not always as they appear
And an easy road may lead to wrath
Be not dismayed by doubt and fear
Follow the straight and narrow path