The Raven That Refused to Sing (and Other Stories)

Here we all are born into a struggle To come so far but end up returning to dust Oxfam panache and tips his hat (Laces undone) He has no truck with idle chat (Work to be done) The songs he learned from scratched LPs Stops in mid-flow to sip his tea He strums the chords with less than grace (Songs we all know) Each passing year etched on his face (Sun, rain or snow) The words he sings are not his own They speak of things he'll never know

Submitted by NecroLord — Feb 14, 2026

Cold windowpane A car upturned in the rain Wait on in vain Don't try to bear the blame Deal with the pain Dust down your wings again You need to clear away All the jetsam in your brain And face the truth Well, love can make amends While the darkness always ends You're still alone So drive home A pause without end A moment in time suspends How could she leave? Release all your guilt and grieve Give up your pain Hold up your head again You need to clear away All the jetsam in your brain And face the truth Well, love can make amends While the darkness always ends You're still alone So drive home Drive home, drive home Drive home, drive home Drive home, drive home Drive home, drive home Drive home

Submitted by NecroLord — Feb 14, 2026

The Holy Drinker and his curse In constant serfage to unquenchable thirst And from his stupor the night gives birth The devil rises from right out of the earth With shaking hands and blackened heart The glass he pours, this time it's also the last In rapt communion with himself The Holy Drinker is going straight in to hell This coffin was made from a tree Please hammer a nail in for me The bottle slipped right through Plague pits Now underground Take me down Down Put me in chains

Submitted by NecroLord — Feb 14, 2026

Carried away by the river that passes Through bulrushes on to the sea Dragged by the current to rest on the stakes Of the breakwater shaded by trees Beginnings and endings Love intersecting a rift that will break us apart Love learned, in turn Dreams burned Love learned, in turn Dreams burned I am tired of struggling And the rain is beating down on me I tried to be the way that he wanted me to be I did not hear the pin drop down I did not hear my heart I have not lived and loved enough Things are left unsaid, undone It was not to meant to be like this Drifting off without a kiss We built our love, we built our ark (Things I built to) Nothing ends before it starts (Measure my life) I cannot feel my arms and legs (Mesmerized by) I don't deserve this bitter end (My own gifts, I) Love learned, in turn Dreams burned Love learned, in turn Dreams burned I am tired of struggling And the rain is beating down on me I tried to be the way that he wanted me to be I did not hear the pin drop down I did not hear my heart

Submitted by NecroLord — Feb 14, 2026

The watchmaker works all day and long into the night He pieces things together, despite his failing sight Though all the cogs connect with such poetic grace Time has left its curse upon this place Each hour becomes another empty space to fill Wasted with the care and virtues of his skill The watchmaker buries something deep within his thoughts A shadow on the staircase of someone from before This thing is broken now and cannot be repaired Fifty years of compromise and aging bodies shared Eliza dear, you know There's something I should say I never really loved you but I'll miss you anyway You were just meant to be temporary while I waited for gold We filled up the years and I found that I liked having someone to hold But for you I had to wait Until one day, it was too late Cogs and levers mesh We are bound in death Melt the silver down I'm still inside you Cogs and levers mesh We are bound in death Melt the silver down I'm still inside you Cogs and levers mesh We are bound in death Melt the silver down I'm still inside you

Submitted by NecroLord — Feb 14, 2026

Sing for me Sing for me You can come with me You can live with me Heal my soul Make me whole *The raven sings in a dream* Sister I lost you When you were still a child But I need you now And I need our former life I'm afraid to wake I'm afraid to love But just because I'm weak You can steal my dreams You can reach inside my head And you can put your song there instead Please come to me Please stay with me Please Sing Cry Cry Sing to me raven, I miss her so much Sing to me Lily, I miss you so much Sing to me raven, I miss her so much Sing to me Lily, I miss you so much Sing to me raven, I miss her so much Sing to me Lily, I miss you so much

Submitted by NecroLord — Feb 14, 2026