Through Thick and Thin


My Forest

 

Show me the way

The way out of this dark bleak sundown

Rise my sun to bring soft morning to my pain

Find some way to ease this pain

I've lost my way in this dark forest

The forest I planted

Unruly and overgrown

Turned against the planter

Thorns took over the path catching my skin

Slashing my epithelial layers

Blood dripping to the invisible forest floor

I am lost in my own world

Once a beautiful grove

Now ugly overgrowth of weeds and briers

Showing the true torment of my soul

Each twisting branch and leaf represents my confusion and pain

No light leaks through the thick canopy

No moon to show dim illumination

I cannot run

I cannot turn around

I've twisted and wound my way deep into the forest

It has to end somewhere

I hoped that if I kept walking maybe I would eventually walk myself out

Praying for that relief to leave this hellish grove

But I am lost

Who knows how long

All I want is out.


Piper Marau


Tempest

Yeah, how stupid could I be
Dipping my feet in the most dangerous lake
It pulls you down the stream so playful
You never hear that waterfall until you go over
It all looked so peaceful from a distance
Pulling you under, there is no escape
There is no fixing what has been done this time
I try to ignore you as I pass this lake
Every time though, temptation draws me in
Again I am pulled under and down to the rocks
Like each day repeats itself and I try to resist
How can I escape this tempest today
Is there another way I can walk this time
Some way to alter this time loop
But again I think a nice swim will do
I won't go in deep, I'll just play a bit and leave
Then the undertow catches me and pulls me 'round
It feels so blissful in that water
I've never felt so alive than when down that stream
Then the morning comes and I am torn among the rocks
And it all starts over again

Piper Marau


Cashing In

 

I sat alone in those woods

The animals running about me

The darkness settled, the chill rose

The sweet smell of rotted leaves

Drifted through my senses

I took one last look around

The sun making its final goodbye

No longer were the clouds radiant

A dense air filled the night

The feeling crept over me

No, I am not alone

My fears chased me into this wood

Imaginary terrors kept me in

Eyes gone black with insanity

The fog has swallowed my figure

Then plays the scenes of my past

The loss and pain I've caused

"Run, Run, Faster, Now breathe

Feel the sweat as it drips into your eyes

Notice as the muscle begins to tear

You have work to do"

I'm caught and sold, I know

MY soul rented to pay my debts

Here I exist only to suffer

My daemons coaching me

Showing me my right and wrong

Making me sorry for every day

I wait for death, gladly

To sweep across my body and steal me away

No death exists here

The smell of earth has come back to me

 The animals are stirring

I look around my shackles

My chains were removed

I turned to see myself

Standing before me I felt such sorrow

I collapsed to the ground weeping

She mourned the lost, she felt no peace

Full of emptiness in her heart and pain in her soul

The evil that resides in me

The sun now makes its first glow

She roars for me to get up

Flames shoot through her eyes

"GO.  You've paid part of your debt

The rest, you must carry.  A mark of shame

No love but true love may endure your mark.

Don't be careless.  Go, but you are not released."

Her eyes went black with sadness

The forest was becoming clear

Alone I stood among the trees

The voices disappear

I knew my turn had come

All things come back around

Myself, to be black listed

Now I must start over

Slapped back into the Right

I see the path before me

The sun now shining in my eyes.

 

Piper Marau


The Path to Self Destruction

 

On the road

Along the way

Crimson sunlight peaks

Ready to start the day

Upon this path I'm forced to see

The images and people

And how they used to haunt me

A bird flies left

A rustle in the trees

I stop a moment to give my heart rest

A long journey its been

For weeks and months I've searched

Such a demolition on this path

No wrong turns left to make

Somehow I know I'm nearing the end

It becomes so bright despite the wood

Time again to move

Perhaps this time for good

Alone, I've wandered

Pushing out all search and rescue

Determined by pride, abandoned by love

The torment has ended

Now only a flash back

I emerge this day

So scalded, shed away my old skin

Upon this path of self destruction I've found

The strength to live within

 

Piper Marau


The Wood

 

Again, here I am

Standing at the crossroads

The same birds singing in the trees

With the heat of the sun

Beating on my shoulders

To the left I see

The tempest I've visited so much

I hear the water dancing on the pebbles

It calls me so sweetly

But I know better

To the right I see a gnarled wood

Dark and thick it stretches

I remind myself there is a light at the end

Through it is the most dangerous path of the two

Filled with inner daemons

The frightening truths you don't want to see

Both filled with trials, the paths wind on

One to destroy me with temptation

The other filled with the consequence of temptation

My feet grow restless as I contemplate my direction

The memories flood my vision

The pain and torture I suffered on each path

How facing near death to the left taught me the value of life

I gained a new desire to live

To the right I fought against my fears

Facing the horrible things I have done

My skin torn from the thorns

I look again down each path

Remembering the lessons I had learned

How walking in circles brought me back to this same spot

And this time my decision is to turn around

And go another way.

 

Piper Marau