The Alchemy of the Feast

The field-mouse garners the golden grain Unknowing of the shadow on the lane The velvet paw, the silent stride The marten watches where the brambles hide A turn of the wheel, a breath in the night The lesser is swallowed by the greater might The wolf keeps vigil upon the crest To tear the fur from the hunter's breast Oh, will you be the velvet paw, or the creature of the hill? Will you bow before the maw, or execute the will? The price of breath is rising high, the market dines on gold They barter for the copper sky, and lives are bought and sold Do not become the yielded meat upon the silver plate Walk steady on your own two feet, and out-fast the hunger of fate The ledger grows long in the counting-house towers They weigh the rain and they tax the flowers The small are gathered to feed the great While the watchmen feast at the iron gate The shepherd has bartered his flock for a song And the night grows heavy, the winter grows long But the jaws of the world are gaping wide To swallow the ones who have nowhere to hide Oh, will you be the velvet paw, or the creature of the hill? Will you bow before the maw, or execute the will? The price of breath is rising high, the market dines on gold They barter for the copper sky, and lives are bought and sold Do not become the yielded meat upon the silver plate Walk steady on your own two feet, and out-fast the hunger of fate Gold may tarnish, and iron may rust But the hunger of empires turns all into dust They weave a net of silver thread to bind the quick and bold But a soul untamed can ne’er be bought, and never shall be sold Choose your coat, choose your stride But never let them see inside So let the hound bay, and let the wolf roam The hearth is cold in the traveler’s home But the wisest beast is the one unseen Who walks the shadows where the grass is green You are the hunter, you are the prey Until the breaking of the final day Be neither the mouse, nor the wolf on the stone... Keep your hunger your own. Yeah, keep your hunger... your own.