Well, my voice is back. Here are some offerings.

[Voran]

A song about the passage of time, and how all things are transient. The song was inspired by several things that merged in my head and demanded to be written. One was that I had a beloved pair of wild raven friends who I fed almost daily for years. They flew away when COVID happened, and I have rarely seen them again. I miss my winged family members, but at the same time, it is a relief not to worry that children might throw rocks at them; they moved to an area high up on a rock face. The other thing that contributed to this song was a rainstorm when I was out on a hike. It was hot weather and I didn't mind the rain - I much enjoyed the free coolant. It was a strangely poetic experience feeling the rain run down my face and soak my mohawk flat to my head. It seemed a reminder that everything is transient and changeable; raindrops become streams, or drain deep into the earth. Lightning flashes only once, then the sky goes dark.

Lyrics:

Heed my words, said the rain
I too am mortal and must change form
I too in time will be no more
I will be dewdrop and black cloud and raging monsoon
And the black raven will fly far away beyond the moor

Heed my words, said the sea
I too am ruled by the white orb high above the tor
I too in time will crash upon the shore
I will be great flood and white foam and whirling gyre
And the black raven will fly far away beyond the moor

Heed my words, said the sun
I too in deep time will be no more
I too harbour greed, I will devour all
I will be bleached sky and red death and fire-blackened earth
And the black raven will fly far away beyond the moor

A song re-imagining the Biblical serpent as simply an older and wiser figure telling young Eve some truths she doesn't want to hear.



I trespassed in a bright garden
Yellow light lanced through opal-green leaves
She glided through dew-laden grass
She spoke to me

She said it is not forbidden to eat from the apple tree
But they will think you a lock that yields to a key
They will treat you as white silk stained with red wine

I can't unknow this
The serpent's venom rushes through my veins
I can't unknow this
I cannot purge white silk of a blood red stain

I lay with Adam at night
I tasted the hot metal of his mouth
I stood watch after dark as he slept
I guarded him from the worst of Satan's henchmen

He said it was kind of you to watch over me
But it is not enough, if you really loved me
You would lay face down and give up another kind of purity

I can't unknow this
The serpent's venom rushes through my veins
I can't unknow this
I cannot purge white silk of a blood red stain