Trauma

Stars align, a sign The morning skies blush again Recognize the darkening clouds’ ascent, lament As sure as the sun will paint the sky As sure as a living thing must die There surely is more than meets the eye This is a clarion call See the tree, its leaves A palette of gold and red Change will come Winter is just ahead, the end As sure as the sun will paint the sky As sure as a living thing must die There surely is more than meets the eye This is a clarion call No looking back The turning, the burning scent To purify, to clarify, mortify The world alight The mourning, no warning sent No battle cry, to signify, to edify these things No looking back The turning, the burning scent To purify, to clarify, mortify The world alight The mourning, no warning sent No battle cry, to signify, the writing on the wall Overcast, abashed The winds of change stir the calm The crow descends Announcing his sacred song, a psalm As sure as the sun will paint the sky As sure as a living thing must die There surely is more than meets the eye This is a clarion call

Submitted by SerpentEve — Apr 25, 2025

Faceless, without hesitation Baseless, pure speculation, no more Aimless, in blind acclamation Nameless, a lost generation, unsure Fear of the future erases the past We strain at the sutures From under the casque we've made We fall into stupor in legion amassed Reluctant we too are Adorned for this masquerade Spineless 'neath crushing placation Mindless, you preach defamation, appalled Silenced, the new conversation Compliant, no sign of vexation at all Fear of the future erases the past We strain at the sutures From under the casque we've made We fall into stupor in legion amassed Reluctant we too are Adorned for this masquerade Defenseless, against castigation Portentous, denied machinations Breathless, the death of a nation Senseless, a lie our salvation A lie our salvation...a lie's no salvation A dull display The naive swayed And all dismayed A dark charade A fool's parade This masquerade Fear of the future erases the past We strain at the sutures From under the casque we've made We fall into stupor in legion amassed Reluctant we too are Adorned for this masquerade

Submitted by Nargaroth — Apr 25, 2025

Whatever doesn't kill you Only makes you long For days before the trauma For weaker days unhurt not strong And what are the scars that never faded? And what are the wounds that never closed? And what are the wrongs still unforgiven? And what of the pain still unresolved? Whatever doesn't kill you Only helps you die inside When every day consumes you As every day crawls by And what are the scars that never faded? And what are the wounds that never closed? And what are the wrongs still unforgiven? And what of the pain still unresolved? Whatever doesn't kill you Only weighs you down Throw off the stones that drag the drowning And watch them sink, no longer bound And what are the scars that never faded? And what are the wounds that never closed? And what are the wrongs still unforgiven? And what of the pain still unresolved? And what are the scars? And what are the wounds? And what are the wrongs? And what of the pain?

Submitted by Cyberwaste — Apr 25, 2025

The time for tears has long passed us by when every day is dark and cold and all those fruits of hope half-come to bear are stinking dead upon our own threshold There are those who laugh, choked full of pride while all their coffers are spilling full and all the rest who grasp will not ever know the touch of purse nor strings to pull It's time to rise and dry your eyes The time for tears has come and gone when every life is locked and barred And all the rivers of blood and sweat spilled before the crooked smiles of crude, carved scars which all the stagnant, still in dull slumbered sleep, have wasted vane and flushed afar and handed back the reigns of bought liberties to hardened hearts as black as tar You'd better rise and dry your eyes The time for tears has long passed us by when every day is dark and cold and all those fruits of hope half-come to bear are stinking dead upon our own threshold There are those who laugh, choked full of pride while all their coffers are spilling full and all the rest who grasp will not ever know the touch of purse nor strings to pull It's time to rise and dry your eyes

Submitted by Corpse Defiler — Apr 25, 2025

Before the spark becomes the fire Before the fuse becomes flame Before the war there comes the skirmish Before the trick becomes shame Before we know, there comes the learning Before the mystery is gone Before the mission comes the yearning Before these things, a reckoning must come In every chance you take And every choice you make, a lesson well learned a reckoning, discerned Before the birth becomes destruction Before the seed can take root Before the cub becomes the lion Before the child becomes man In every chance you take And every choice you make, a lesson well learned a reckoning, discerned Before I felt the pain of knowing Before I saw in your face Before I knew you were a liar Is when I fell for your grace Before you ripped it all to pieces Before I lost all hope Before I knew only anger Before we met, before I let you in In every chance you take And every choice you make, a lesson well-earned a reckoning, discerned

Submitted by Lake of Tears — Apr 25, 2025

Blessed are the longing For they will call heaven home Blessed are the mourning Soon comfort will long no more But cursed is the man whose words invite conflict and pain And cursed are the lips that murmur and spew the same Woe! unto him and his kind Ravaging nations, placating the blind left behind Blessed are the seeking Whose hunger will be replete Blessed in their mercy In mercy they're made complete But cursed is the man whose actions can only bring harm And cursed is the hand that stokes the fires of war Woe! unto him and his kind Savagely stalking and walking in darkness of mind, Woe! Blessed is the vision Which sees with a purer heart Blessed are the peaceful Whose kindness is set apart But cursed is the man who welcomes all manner of strife And cursed is the fool who peddles his death with his life Woe! unto him and unto his kind Killing, instilling, unwilling to be refined Woe!

Submitted by BloodShrine — Apr 25, 2025

The braver that they are the harder they fall But they don’t always fall Some return alone without a curtain call So little left, some never left at all Never having seen such cruelty What remnants of a heart could remain? Rattled by the inhumanity Sometimes the lucky are the slain 'Cause you’re a soldier now Did what they told you Now the only enemies are inside The braver that they are the harder they fall But they don’t always fall Chewed up, spit out having answered the call So little left, some never left at all When all seems a loss When all turn away When all pass you by Know some remember you Buried ‘neath the broken sanity Enveloped in the constant toil Swallowed by the gross calamity Could anything remain unspoiled? We'll never know the count or casualty The veterans of a quiet war Where everything, magnified, Every sound, amplified The screams you can't ignore 'Cause you’re a soldier still And there’s no switch to kill Only the broken will to live The braver that they are the harder they fall But they don’t always fall Chewed up, spit out having answered the call So little left, some never left at all When all seems a loss When all turn away When all pass you by Know some remember you Know some remember you Know some still honor you

Submitted by Warbringer — Apr 25, 2025

I feel it tightening, strangling me The tension growing, it's clear to see Something's changing, it's bursting through With cracks appearing Now it's time to shed my skin Iron sharpens iron, steel sharpens steel Grinding the dullness to naught Untethered, adrift, this current is swift When no longer anchored By things we'd thought we thought I'm suffocating, I'm paralyzed Choked in conflict, it slowly dies What once was healthy, a pallid hue This rotting vesture Now it's time to shed my skin Iron sharpens iron, steel sharpens steel Grinding the dullness to naught Untethered, adrift, this current is swift When no longer anchored By things we'd thought we thought Where something's dying, there, something grows I'll drag these shackles of doubt no more Once naive notions were all I knew The veil is tearing Now it's time to shed my skin Iron sharpens iron, steel sharpens steel Grinding the dullness to naught Untethered, adrift, this current is swift When no longer angered by things we'd thought Iron sharpens iron, steel sharpens steel Grinding the dullness to naught Untethered, adrift, this current is swift When no longer anchored By things we'd thought we thought

Submitted by BloodShrine — Apr 25, 2025

From the halls of the sanctuary Comes a distant cry Protocols of truth lie buried And the word denied Have you forgotten grace? Did you forget what bought and brought you here? Did you forget your place? Did you forget that you are fallen too? We are only worthy of the righteous judgement coming And we are only worthy of what we give for what is taken And we are only worthy of wrath There, but for the grace of God, go I Still we are given mercy Because the blood and grace are greater As you play judiciary From your seat on high In the role of the adversary Do you right divide? Have you forgotten love? Did you forget the price your vices owed? All you're deserving of? Did you forget that you are guilty too? We are only worthy of the righteous judgement coming And we are only worthy of what we give for what is taken And we are only worthy of wrath There, but for the grace of God, go I Still we are given mercy Because the blood and grace are greater Self-appointed emissary With a fist and a shout And the fire of a missionary You drive them out Have you forgotten? Do you strut the yoke that you still wear? Have you forgotten? Did you forget its weight you could not bear? We are only worthy of the righteous judgement coming And we are only worthy of what we give for what is taken And we are only worthy of death There, but for the grace of God, go I Still we are given mercy Because the blood and grace are greater

Submitted by johnmansley — Apr 25, 2025

All questions answered by lying to yourself Confusion filling your mind The blinders fall, the light that floods your eyes Too bright to see what lies behind We've heard lies all our lives This comes as no surprise What they hide and disguise Is not what they've described All meaning pondered, all reason lost to time Deceit supplanting all truth Unlock the cell, the keys beneath your feet Turned, slay the tales of your youth We've heard lies all our lives This comes as no surprise What they hide and disguise Is not what they've described We're starved on rations Of rotten, poisoned scraps Right from the day of our birth The sky is falling, to wash away this trap Look to the ends of the Earth We've heard lies all our lives This comes as no surprise What they hide and disguise Is not what they've described We've heard lies all our lives This comes as no surprise What they hide and disguise Is not what they describe

Submitted by Warbringer — Apr 25, 2025

I walked along And saw the name among the shadows And felt a coldness run I read the words Beheld your face in recollection But felt the absence still I called your name And no one answered And no one came And no one came It's years and tears are falling From eyes that no longer see The breeze and leaves falling Are all that accompany me I sat alone And touched the stone ever so gently I knew you were not there I mouthed the words And breathed a wish at my reflection To see your face once again I called your name And no one answered And no one came And no one came It's years and tears are falling From eyes that no longer see The breeze and leaves falling Are all that accompany me If I could slip Into the world in which you slumber To feel your presence near I'd take your hand Recall the time in pleasant whispers And hold you so close again I'd call your name And you will answer We'd be the same again The same again It's years and tears are falling From eyes that no longer see The breeze and leaves falling Are all that accompany me It's years and tears are falling For things that can never be The past and absence of presence Are all that encompass me

Submitted by Corpse Defiler — Apr 25, 2025

They force their goals and dark demands Guided by the hidden hand Born through deceit and mystery Versed in fraud and trickery Light up the shadows In shielded cliques they organize Masked and cloaked in vile disguise They operate in secrecy Their worship, only sorcery Light up the shadows They force their goals and dark demands Guided by the hidden hand Born through deceit and mystery Versed in fraud and trickery Light up the shadows Rend the veil, reveal their deeds Swift-exposed for all to see Lying bare their might abates As the lie disintegrates Light up the shadows

Submitted by VladTheImpaler666 — Apr 25, 2025

This child, his offspring His true bastard wing His kin, sacrificed Betrayed, sold for vice Once he soared beyond the sky Chasing dawn in faithless flight Pierced through by his bloated pride The eagle died This branch, his seedling To him, worth nothing His own, left behind Scorned and maligne Once he stood in my defense Where he watched with diligence Having sired a malcontent Here, he stands no more Gone, the father who reared in me An onerous destiny Its weight upon my shoulders Once he'd limped away ashamed, he denied his seed His sins and his legacy are lain upon the orphan Defend myself, protect myself Sustain myself, preserve myself Once elegant, her torch aflame Dignified, her word, her name Beautiful, her face, her frame Now vile to look upon Gone, the one who had birthed in me The flame of her progeny Her torch has been extinguished Having gone astray, The mother who carried me The one who abandoned me left, Whoring for acceptance No flesh bore this flesh No blood bore this blood Conceived from ink alight Liberty, my birthright Life is just lonely cage The world is just an orphanage Never will I be assuaged As long as I am contained Where is the father who reared in me This onerous destiny Which weighs upon my heart? And where is the mother who birthed in me The flame of her progeny Whose torch has all but Been extinguished now? No, no, no! Damn this family I thought I knew I pledged my allegiance to These parents who are only a memory They're only a memory They're only a memory

Submitted by MetalElf — Apr 25, 2025

Trust in me Take these words and hold them as your own Take from me Replace the things that held you at the seams And exit wearied haunts of the skeptic For I can make you whole again For I can make you new Look to me Envision sights that greet the infant eye Where features pull to form a face Unscarred by history And enter into this as the newborn without fear Without suspicion Won't you let me dream of righting every wrong? Dream of righting them all I dream of righting every wrong Of erasing them all Words of comfort given you mean nothing When your crumbling walls come down again And promises without intent without meaning Hollow-hearted, not worth keeping Are promises not worth making Trust in me Hear these words as fresh as morningsong Breathe with me Drawing air to cleanse the baneful lung And exit wearied haunts of the skeptic For I can make you whole again For I can make you new Look to me Envision sights that greet the waking eye Focusing upon a face unmarred by yesterdays And enter into this as the sleeping, without fear Without suspicion Won't you let me dream of writing every single wrong? Dream of righting them all I dream of righting every wrong Of erasing them all

Submitted by The Void — Apr 25, 2025

Asleep in shadow of fallen idols For they hadn't answers worth believing I Need an Angel to take my hand And lead me in time of doubt and grieving And I'm watching through darkness I see the light gone out... I fought the dying to save my life When there wasn't life inside worth saving A watching angel so beautiful I couldn't have seen with eyes alone And watching through darkness She'd seen the light gone out... And I close my eyes as I lie my head back Stretch my arms out And I'm letting go as I fall towards you I'd let me soul go with you If you would take it I fought the dying to save my life When there wasn't life inside worth saving A watching angel took my hand And led me in time of doubt and grieving And I'm draining the poison To drink the heaven through me... And I close my eyes as I lie my head back Stretch my arms out And I'm letting go as I fall towards you I'd let me soul go with you And I close my eyes as I lie my head back Stretch my arms out And I'm letting go as I fall towards you I'd let me soul go with you If you would take it

Submitted by Pestilence — Apr 25, 2025

You've grown into this faceless mask and empty shell And, like a ghost of your indulgence, you wear them well Still haunting something, by your own hand, lost And you shiver with the chilling sense You've saved nothing for yourself… The lies, the games Devoid of guilt or shame Now you resent what you became And the reality of only you to blame You wander through each desperate hour and numbered day And long to hold each wasted moment spent in vain Still missing something you've slain so recklessly And ignored it through shortsightedness The thought that someday you might care The lies, the games Devoid of guilt or shame Now you resent what you became And the reality of only you to blame Now you resent what you became And the reality of only you to blame You've grown into this faceless mask and empty shell And, like a ghost of indulgence, you wear them well Still haunting something, by your own hand, lost And you shiver with the chilling sense You've saved nothing… Nothing for yourself… Now you resent what you became And the reality of only you to blame

Submitted by Pestilence — Feb 23, 2026

For forever living in For forever dying in The shadow of a killing cross Born and held accountable Sworn to bear the burden, now For sinful nails Driven deep But I can't be responsible For having done the unthinkable And won't... No, I won't play that role For forever living in For forever dying in The shadow of a killing cross Born and held accountable Sworn to bear the burden, now For sinful nails Driven deep But I can't be responsible For having done the unthinkable And won't... No, I won't play that role For forever living in For forever dying in The ashes of a smoldering cross Born and held accountable Sworn to bear the burden, now For shameful hands Which held the flame But I can't be responsible For changing the unchangeable And won't... Don't, to ourselves, we owe release? With rusted chains We incarcerate and cage ourselves Cease We patronize and crucify And kill ourselves We seduce the past And draw it close And hold it tight And never let it go Until we hurt ourselves And hate ourselves And blame ourselves again Again... No, we can't be responsible For bearing the unbearable And won't... Don't, to ourselves, we owe release? With rusted chains We incarcerate and cage ourselves Cease We patronize and crucify And kill ourselves We seduce the past And draw it close And hold it tight And never let it go Until we hurt ourselves And hate ourselves And blame ourselves again Again...

Submitted by Pestilence — Feb 23, 2026

We have pretended far too long Ignoring far too much Accountability long overdue We have neglected far too long Assuming far too much Hoping our ignorance will see us through We have hated far too long Hurting far too much Feelings of compassion stripped away We have followed far too long Denying far too much Responsibility has gone astray I hope in my heart of hearts With all my soul and mind That it's not irreversible That this isn't all there is We have accused for far too long Blaming far too much Never really able to accept We have doubted far too long Distrusting far too much Our contempt leaves no room for empathy I hope in my heart of hearts With all my soul and mind That it's not irreversible That this isn't all there is

Submitted by Pestilence — Feb 23, 2026

For all of our wandering We've still so far to go For all of our questioning We've still the need to know... Are we still the frightened child? Are we still the angered youth? Or are we old before our time? Are we getting any closer to the truth? We're force-fed reasoning Yet, still can make no sense The mind misses the point Blind in its arrogance Should we build a "better way"? With whatever we can find? If, in turn, it means we lose ourselves? Should we force a common mind? We're weaned on empathy To satisfy our doubt While attempts at unity Have scattered us about Should we invent a "common bond"? Through means misunderstood? Or are we simply widening the gaps? Should we force a brotherhood?

Submitted by Pestilence — Feb 23, 2026