Middle Path

[Intro] Footprints in lichen Mud on my heels. Right sole in cold water [Verse 1] With fawn's grace I move, trace Secrets of each hidden place The herbs self-grown, them I know, Spines I keep, milk stays pure Each plant I tend, each seed I sow Bears my words I bound [Verse 2] I took nightshade from the edge of the grave-yard, Packed thick with lard and mouse-bone-dust. Spoke the words three counts backward Summoned the faceless force I trust. [Verse 3] That first flight felt like edge of knife Chimney soot still between my teeth Village small below me; - I felt alive I thought the night belonged to me. I was eager - hand before thought my own demand instead of other's needs. [Pre-Chorus] [low chant] What flows out has to flow back in, As above so below, The cup can dry out, bottom split The breaking yields the wisdom I keep Leave the small roots Or don't come next year Some spells don't fade They keep walking through roots, through rivers, through the people who drink from them. The strongest magic isn't force It's letting nature take its course [Chorus] pour the water pour the oil watch them spin and dance Pull too hard and the roots break Hold too tight and stems rupture Strongest hand is not what's hard It's the one that heals what's scarred [Breakdown] Alder recalls a careless cut And tells about it for springs to come New antler relieves what was Many antlers ago New knurl branches because It broke there years back [Verse 4] Every cut root is replanted All spirit I summon I greet humbly, I've found gentle ways, for since i thrice repent. I listen instead of speak. Old Mara taught foxglove bells "one leaf slows the hammer steady three leaves stop it cold" same root same hand Dose yields grace [Breakdown] Earth holds bone, Water holds memory, Air is pure breath, Fire transforms - not a seat of force I hold all four of them steady, Together with the fifth. [Verse 5] Wolf came bleeding, fur flickers in firelight Iron twisted in his leg. Boiled willow cleanses the wound, A thick coat of yarrow mash comes next. I let him bite me I feel the bite, the pain, the teeth by dawn - all calm, he limped away three-legged tracks in wet black loam [Instrumental break - 4 bars] [Verse 6] I found her in the fat and semen stained soil Below the old gallow: crown of leaves, Awning over rugosed roots Shaped like a gnarled child, pale in the dark soil Old ways say a dog must tied to pull her up And let they take the course. I have a better way. I sang three night, gifted bread, milk and bone, Asked the Earth's permission before I pulled. She screamed, a yell like tearing cloth, a strange soul Caught between worlds, she would form words if she could Stood my ground, held her, said my name, wrapped her Into fresh cloth. She trembles in the root cellar A drop of blood eases the worst pain, heals the wound Not due to strong magic, but mutual trust [Chorus 2] Everything that flows out now flows back in, What sees me now I cannot unsee. Root feeds soil which feeds grass, Death feeds life that feeds death [Verse 7] A mother brought her daughter burning, skin red-hot, mouth desert dry. I cooled her slow with bark and water— Fever has burn then die on its own. Not all flame gets to smothered. [Pre-Chorus] Rot feeds earth. Earth feeds root. Root feeds blood. Soul lives in all. [Chorus] Everything poured out must find its way back in. Water to water, blood to rain to blood [Verse 8] Steady on my two feet One in river, one on moss Seven nights I stood there Firm like concrete Never lost My resolve Eels brushing my ankle, Ants exploring my torso. Rain filled both my cups Just hold them...~ - merely carry- Not taking but keeping, Healing with perfect balance [Verse 9] Apprentices stumble in wanting all the rush I watch them bleed some, I do not push Let them learn the way they should I sit beside an old man He coughs up black muck from his lungs watch his breaths until they stop Close his eyes with silent prayer [Final Chorus] pour the water pour the oil watch them spin and dance Pull too hard and the roots break Hold too tight and stems will crack Strongest hand is not what's hard It's the hand that heals what's marred [Outro] Nature grows all around my home People seek my guidance on these verdant grounds, I pour love into their souls And mend and heal their aching wounds.