In the gardens perched on the sky
The ones where snakes sing lullabies
I met a man who spoke to me
A dead man hanging from a tree
He craned his neck and whispered this
"Perfection is the great abyss
Leave now lest you share my fate
A ghost dangling at heaven's gate"
Why should I fear paradise?
I lived free of mortal vice
So I trudged on past the sycamores
And stood before the pearly doors
Through the bars I saw the fields
The stars mere cogs in ox cart wheels
The earth a pebble in a stream
But not one human to be seen
Undeterred I gripped the latch
I pulled but it came unattached
Despite my rage, the gates stood firm
Then grew so hot I smelled flesh burn
I ran back injurted to the groves
And washed my wounds in waterfalls
As I bathed I heard the groans
Of voices wrapped in funeral pall
Count leaves dangling from a branch
Thus numbered bodies overhead
Specters moaning for another chance
To escape the orchard of the dead
An empty noose caressed my neck
The way my first love had
A soothing feeling on my neck
To forget the good and bad
To forget the ones who hurt you
To forget the ones you hurt
To forget the hate all men accrue
When their feet still touch the dirt