I once wore gold and bathed in fire My breath was warm, my heart had choir But centuries have turned to stone And now I rule the dark alone The blood I spilled, the lives I stole They haunt the silence of my soul But hunger speaks in sweeter tones Than mercy ever dared to own A crown of dust, a throne of ash A scepter carved from every clash No king remains who dares defy The lord who never learns to die A crown of dust — and still I reign The stars have burned, the moon has fled But I still hear the songs of dead They sing of grief, they sing of pain And beg to feel the sun again I do not cry, I do not rest My love was buried with the blessed I walk through tombs that bear my name And whisper truth through lips of flame A crown of dust, a world gone gray I trade the light for slow decay The winds forget, the rivers dry Yet still I stand — I cannot die A crown of dust — and none obey What was a man is now a shade A soul dissolved, a choice unmade And though I carved the heavens red I envy all the silent dead But kneel you must, and bleed you will For even gods must one day kneel And when they do, I’ll be the last To wear the crown built from the past A crown of dust, a price well paid Immortal wrath in twilight laid So fear the night — for it is mine I forged it bright with death’s design A crown of dust — and endless blade
