The Dance of the Puppets The rusted chains of prison moons Are shattered by the sun. I walk a road, horizons change The tournament's begun. The purple piper plays his tune, The choir softly sing; Three lullabies in an ancient tongue, For the court of the crimson king. The keeper of the city keys Put shutters on the dreams. I wait outside the pilgrim's door With insufficient schemes. The black queen chants The funeral march, The cracked brass bells will ring; To summon back the fire witch To the court of the crimson king. The gardener plants an evergreen Whilst trampling on a flower. I chase the wind of a prism ship To taste the sweet and sour. The pattern juggler lifts his hand; The orchestra begin. As slowly turns the grinding wheel In the court of the crimson king. On soft gray mornings widows cry The wise men share a joke; I run to grasp divining signs To satisfy the hoax. The yellow jester does not play But gentle pulls the strings And smiles as the puppets dance In the court of the crimson king.

Call her moonchild Dancing in the shallows of a river Lonely moonchild Dreaming in the shadows of the willow Talking to the trees of the cobweb strange Sleeping on the steps of a fountain Waving silver wands to the night birds song Waiting for the sun on the mountain She's a moonchild Gathering the flowers in a garden Lovely moonchild Drifting on the echoes of the hours Sailing on the wind in a milk white gown Dropping circle stones on a sun dial Playing hide and seek with the ghosts of dawn Waiting for a smile from a sun child

Rusted chains of prison moons Are shattered by the sun I walk a road, horizons change The tournament's begun The purple piper plays his tune The choir softly sing Lullabies in an ancient tongue For the court of the crimson king... The keeper of the city keys Puts shutters on the dreams I wait outside the pilgrim's door With insufficient schemes The black queen chants the funeral march The cracked brass bells will ring To summon back the fire witch To the court of the crimson king... The gardener plants an evergreen Whilst trampling on a flower I chase the wind of a prism ship To taste the sweet and sour The pattern juggler lifts his hand The orchestra begin As slowly turns the grinding wheel In the court of the crimson king... On soft gray mornings widows cry The wise men share a joke I rush to grasp divining signs To satisfy the hoax Yellow jester does not play But gently pulls the strings And smiles as the puppets dance In the court of the crimson king...

Night: her sable dome scattered with diamonds Fused my dust from a light year Squeezed me to her breast, sowed me with carbon Strung my warp across time Gave me each a horse, sunrise and graveyard Told me only I was her Bid me face the east closed me in questions Built the sky for my dawn Cleaned my feet of mud, followed the empty Zebra ride to the cirkus Past a painted cage, spoke to the paybox Glove which wrote on my tonque Pushed me down a slide to the arena Megaphonium fanfare In his cloak of words strode the ringmaster Bid me join the parade "Worship!" Cried the clown, "I'm a TV" "Making bandsmen go clockwork" "See the slinky seal cirkus policeman" "Bareback ladies have fish" Strongmen by his feet, plate-spinning statesman Accrobatically juggling Bids his tamers go quiet the tumblers Lest the mirror stop turning Elephants forgot, force-fed on stale chalk Ate the floors of their cages Strongmen lost their hair, paybox collapsed and Lions sharpened their teeth Gloves raced round the ring, stallions stampeded Pandemonium seesaw I ran for the door, ringmaster shouted "All the fun of the cirkus!"

The wall on which the prophets wrote Is cracking at the seams Upon the instruments of death The sunlight brightly gleams When every man is torn apart With nightmares and with dreams Will no one lay the laurel wreath When silence drowns the screams Confusion will be my epitaph As I crawl a cracked and broken path If we make it we can all sit back and laugh But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying Yes, I fear tomorrow I'll be crying Yes, I fear tomorrow I'll be crying Between the iron gates of fate The seeds of time were sown And watered by the deeds of those Who know and who are known Knowledge is a deadly friend If no one sets the rules The fate of all mankind I see Is in the hands of fools The wall on which the prophets wrote Is cracking at the seams Upon the instruments of death The sunlight brightly gleams When every man is torn apart With nightmares and with dreams Will no one lay the laurel wreath When silence drowns the screams? Confusion will be my epitaph As I crawl a cracked and broken path If we make it we can all sit back and laugh But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying Yes, I fear tomorrow I'll be crying Yes, I fear tomorrow I'll be crying Crying Crying Yes, I fear tomorrow I'll be crying Yes, I fear tomorrow I'll be crying Yes, I fear tomorrow I'll be crying Crying

The Dance of the Puppets The rusted chains of prison moons Are shattered by the sun. I walk a road, horizons change The tournament's begun. The purple piper plays his tune, The choir softly sing; Three lullabies in an ancient tongue, For the court of the crimson king. The keeper of the city keys Put shutters on the dreams. I wait outside the pilgrim's door With insufficient schemes. The black queen chants The funeral march, The cracked brass bells will ring; To summon back the fire witch To the court of the crimson king. The gardener plants an evergreen Whilst trampling on a flower. I chase the wind of a prism ship To taste the sweet and sour. The pattern juggler lifts his hand; The orchestra begin. As slowly turns the grinding wheel In the court of the crimson king. On soft gray mornings widows cry The wise men share a joke; I run to grasp divining signs To satisfy the hoax. The yellow jester does not play But gentle pulls the strings And smiles as the puppets dance In the court of the crimson king.

Talk, it's only talk Arguments, agreements, advice, answers Articulate announcements It's only talk Talk, it's only talk Babble, burble, banter, bicker, bicker, bicker Brouhaha, balderdash, ballyhoo It's only talk Backtalk Talk, talk, talk, it's only talk Comments, clichés, commentary, controversy Chatter, chit-chat, chit-chat, chit-chat Conversation, contradiction, criticism It's only talk Cheap talk Talk, it's all rhetoric Debates, discussions These are words with a D this time Dialogue, duologue, diatribe Dissention, declamation Double-talk, double-talk Talk, it's all talk Too much talk Small talk Talk that trash Expressions, editorials, explanations, exclamations, exaggerations It's all talk Elephant talk, elephant talk, elephant talk

Earth, stream and tree encircled by sea Waves sweep the sand from my island My sunsets fade Field and glade wait only for rain Grain after grain love erodes my High weathered walls which fend off the tide Cradle the wind To my island Gaunt granite climbs where gulls wheel and glide Mournfully glide o'er my island My dawn bride's veil, damp and pale Dissolves in the sun Love's web is spun, cats prowl, mice run Wreathe snatch-hand briars where owls know my eyes Violet skies Touch my island Touch me Beneath the wind turned wave Infinite peace Islands join hands 'Neath heaven's sea Beneath the wind turned wave Infinite peace Islands join hands 'Neath heaven's sea Dark harbour quays like fingers of stone Hungrily reach from my island Clutch sailor's words, pearls and gourds Are strewn on my shore Equal in love, bound in circles Earth, stream and tree return to the sea Waves sweep sand from my island From me Beneath the wind turned wave Infinite peace Islands join hands 'Neath heaven's sea