Garou Songs and Poems
This list is by no means complete. If you have additions, please forward them to me.
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- White Veils
- (By Elizabeth, private notes.)
White veils draw across my sight, I am white-blinded
My lover travels with the tall riders by moonlight, beyond the curtain.
I dance in a cloak of snow, of stars, of dreams without end
And in me, the dark beast, the bright angel, looms weft and warp.
I spin, holding the threads of legend in my hands, weaving the tapestry.
Reality grows dim as the veils thicken; I cannot see for dreaming.
When will I lose my step and fall into my soft white shroud?
- The Sept of the Western Eye
-
(Written as Chiminage by Elizabeth when she traveled
to the Sept of the Western Eye in Muir Woods, CA.)
Bright burns the hope in the Western Eye.
Strong is the Vision, Strong those who forge it.
The eye sees far, filled with wisdom.
Honor to the Sept of the Western Eye,
Among the Redwoods.
Led by Snowtop, kind and knowing,
Voice of the Goddess, the Patient One.
Raised by Rowantree, strong in Action,
Gaia's Right Arm, soul of honor.
Held by Able Heart, always watching,
Warder, Caern Keeper, Close to Duty.
Deep in the Redwoods, green and umber,
Untouched forest near the Western Sea,
Dwells a light, a force of Gaia,
Sept of the Western Eye,
Among the Redwoods.
- Hope Song
- (By Elizabeth.)
I will not die before I've lived to see that land,
Firm in the Earth, Gaia's promise.
I'll not let go until I've held it in my hand,
That world of hope, and gentle laughter.
I will not sleep before that dawn is in my eyes,
That fragile light, new like morning
I will not rest before I've wakened to that sunrise,
And all the Earth lives in Glory.
For I still hold in me all of Gaia's Strength
Despite all my fears,
And she fills me with life.
I shall stand firm in that mighty wind of Justice,
I'll know my name, and rise up singing.
And I'll cry out until my words bring on the Thunder
Washed in that rain, there I'll find it.
I'll see a world clothed in beauty and in splendor,
All shackles broken, balanced, perfect,
There will be peace, then, for all of Gaia's Children
We hold this as our banner before us.
For we still hold in us all of Gaia's strength,
Despite all the tears
We shall renew the world.
- Song of Thunder
- (Written by Elizabeth to 'one-up' the Shadow Lords.)
Dark
Free
Wise
Wild
My voice is the silence;
My eyes rip the sky.
Child of Wolf, and Child of Man,
Run howling in terror at the power of my hand.
My cloak is the rainfall.
I choose at my will
The Power of Life, the Power to Kill.
No shackles can bind me;
My will is my own.
The skies my domain, the clouds are my throne.
All the Earth trembles at the Power of my rage -
Ice falls, fires burn, floods swallow the plains.
My name is the Thunder; I bring on the rains.
- The Tall Riders
- (By Elizabeth: Private Notes.)
There are tall riders in the woods at midnight.
The moonlight shines in their hair,
And with them rides one in the shadows,
Beyond love, beyond worry, or care.
And with them rides one in the shadows;
My love who is silently there.
I watch at the hill for the sunrise;
A beggar, I stand at the door.
But I know the tall riders have entered,
And I will not see him any more.
My lover has walked into darkness,
Beyond the grassy gate of lore.
Janet could capture her lover,
With speed and the will to hang on.
While others must wait here forever,
Weeping, we wait for the dawn.
But did Janet remember the terror,
When she stood with her husband and son?
I've no wish for magic or shadows.
Just show me my lover at dawn.
- Cougar
- (Written by Elizabeth during the return of Cougar to the Wheel Renewed)
Cougar's coming, can you hear her quiet pads?
Cougar's coming, hide gleaming in the sun;
Cougar's coming, Cougar is not dead,
Ice can kill Cougar, but Cougar cannot die.
Cougar's Daughter makes her Kill,
Laughs in sunshine gleaming,
Will she find us worthy?
United force before her?
Sing, for Cougar is here with us.
You cannot kill all life, now.
We have seen her, all as one
And all as one defend her.
- Chaser's Folly
- (Written as satire based on a real incident between Chaser
and a certain boyfriend of Elizabeth's.)
The wind blew through the starlit sky,
The woods were dark and deep.
The Faery Son stood at the gate,
And all the birds did sleep.
A trickster on this moonlit night,
Thought she would take a stroll.
A tough bitch with a cutting tongue,
And, oh, so in control.
She ran into the Faery Lord,
A-sipping, drinking wine,
And thought, to sharpen up her tongue,
To give him a hard time.
She snarled and growled, she growled and snarled,
To put the Lord afright;
He told her quiet to stay her tongue,
And to be more polite.
She said, "I am." and 'shit' and 'damn',
She could not keep them out.
The Faery Lord just shook his head,
And warned her watch her mouth.
He told her once, he told her twice,
She would not stay her tongue,
And soon the Fey folk grew in rage,
For manners she had none.
He warned her there a final time,
And Earth-Trolls in the grass
Popped from `neath both twig and leaf
To kick her in the ass.
He looked at her, and bade her run,
He bought her freedom there.
And she turned tail and made quick trails,
For her language so unfair.
Little would she know the price
Her freedom cost that day.
The Moral is: With Faery Folk,
Be careful what you say.
- Bloodfang's Song
- (This was Elizabeth's first song, written as a cub to stop Echen
and Stormcrow from fighting over Bloodfang's corpse.)
There was a mighty warrior died,
He had a lot of friends.
It was an evil Wyrm creature
That got him in the end.
He was a mighty Warrior,
But how the Wyrm would cheer,
If it heard how all the Warrior's friends
Were doing the job right here.
- Maury in Spite of Herself.
- (This is by Elizabeth also, to Maury. Not all songs are written for good reasons.)
I stand upon the edge of the storm
The Chaos in the mind.
My rules are broken,
Undefined,
Crying to the sky.
I scream the storm defiance,
And the hands that love and care.
Maury-Stands-Alone
Always am I,
Biting the hands that near.
So what if my deeds always fail?
I failed them alone.
If I need rescuing,
What then?
I am Maury-Stands-Alone.
My Pack has left, Thank God, at last.
I know that I know best.
And when I fall,
(It won't be long.)
Then I will join the rest.
- The Lay of Sky Burning
- (By Elizabeth. This was written 'on hire' for Rachel-Weeping, to warn
Echen about his relationship with Chloe.)
Sky-Burning was Garou, wolf and man.
Colleen held the power to bend worlds in her hand.
Their love flared like a shadow-cast fire.
They stood on the road washed in sunset's desire.
"Sky, why do you leave me to run with the wolves?
I need you now," whispered tearful Colleen.
"Never you fear, sweet Love of my Life.
I follow my Sept on a hunt tonight
To howl with rage at the pale moonlight,
But I shall return in the morning."
The Chantry's rooms are tall and wide.
She sate with her teacher and guide at her side.
Said her mentor, "Young Colleen, now, why do you weep?
And watch the moon rising without thought of sleep?"
"Master, I'm afraid - my lover is gone.
And from the woods, can you hear the howling?
Though I shouldn't fear, still, the Love of my Life
Follows his kin on a wild hunt tonight,
To howl with rage at the pale moonlight,
But he shall return in the morning."
The Chantry's rooms are wide and tall,
With eyes at the locks and ears to the wall.
And within was one, maddened with taint,
Who had bided his time with the will of a saint.
He'd waited, an army of beasts held at bay,
But now he knew when his triumph would ring.
"Now I shall have the Love of my Life.
The Sept rides out on a hunt tonight.
They'll howl with pain by the pale moonlight,
But I'll hold the Power in the morning."
He mantled the Bawn in a silent shroud,
So none heard the guards as they screamed aloud.
He cut down the wards with a magical blast;
His banes spilled the life of the cubs in the grass.
When the Sept came from hunting, wounded and worn,
The mage held all strength - it was over by dawn.
Said Sky-Burning, "Colleen, sweet Love of my Life,
I followed my Sept to the hunt tonight.
We fought and died by the pale moonlight,
And I will not return in the morning.
- Songs of War
- (By Elizabeth on the death of Arcadia. Not for Get of Fenris, though.)
Chorus:
Songs of war, songs of fury,
Horns of glory, drums of pain.
Look out, Cub, the world is weary,
Cold and dreary, blind and lame.
Garou, tell me why we’re fighting,
Why we through our lives away?
Is it worth the living, dying
Hell we go through every day.
Look around you, see the results,
Of the battles we have waged.
Was this for love, or for the Glory,
For the Honor, for the Claim?
I feel the Wyrm, and have to wonder
Why the world turned out that way.
Is there an end to all this sorrow,
This Armaggedon Game we play?
- Untitled
- (By Elizabeth for a prostitute in downtown St. Claire.)
The roads are long and dark and cold,
And there are stories that can't be told,
And I am lost, I'm all alone,
I've turned my flesh to steel and stone.
Tears are hot, and mine are gone,
For only ice is bright and strong.
Despite the world, I will go on,
Until the other side of morning.
- Last Song for the Ice King's Fallen
- (By Elizabeth for those who fell fighting the Ice King.)
Gone form the Northern plains swept with snow,
Gone from the Mother's white blanket,
Gone as the word is gone on the wind,
For the Wendigo, Wind, no homecoming.
Long journeys, Uktena, have you walked,
This will be Walker's farthest.
You travel now to the other shore,
A gulf of death between us.
Your eyes see now what ours have not,
Sing we your song, Fianna,
Shana, may you see light and love,
And joy beyond all knowing.
Hand-of-Sekhmet, you have passed,
Chosen Strider, now you meet her.
In verdant forests now you dance,
Light on wings of silver.
You counted coup, Little Mouse,
With the Uktena, I sing your praises,
Laugh at the Wyrm for us beyond...
So we may all have laughter.
Gnawer, who had the courage to
Control even his pride,
Velasquez, in glory your deeds raise you up,
From the city to the sky.
Flying Bear, last blow to scratch
The Wyrm's foul eye, Farewell.
The Children's Claw, I hope to see
Thee beyond the Third Dying.
Go with honor, tired Warriors,
Go mantled in glory.
Go and we will track your star
When we fall from the story.
- Lauren's Deathsong
- (By Elizabeth for Lauren, Child of Gaia Ragabash.)
I have to smile to see the stars tonight.
Their thousand thousands remind me
Of all the times I've seen you lighten hearts,
Juggle and laughed the keen edge off despair.
To teach us all never to take
Ourselves too seriously.
As many stars there count your deeds,
Lion in coyote dress,
Who walks, eyes open, clear, and unafraid,
Or did you fear, but with more courage yet,
Would never let it show?
I cannot cry, for tears would be too weak,
Like all the words of the Galliard.
Bright Lauren, travel far by Gaia's Grace,
To where we dream of decay no longer.
- Banestriker's Deathsong
- (By Elizabeth for Banestriker, Get of Fenris Ahroun.)
The wind cries softly in the mountain's cold halls.
The rain falls heavy on the wide, empty plains.
The hammer of thunder beats on the sky.
There is peace in the songs sung by waterfalls.
They know Banestriker has entered
Valhalla's gold halls.
The sun on the clouds above us is gold.
The storm from above is a radiant white.
Where together we stand `fore this dark which appalls,
For Banestriker has entered
Valhalla's gold halls.
From the edge of death by fire and claw,
He climbed, never yielding, to strike at his foe.
A foe that would make the greatest afraid,
He fought alone, it fell to his claws.
When Banestriker entered
Valhalla's gold halls.
Here, we might sorrow, as this loss on us falls,
But Banestriker has entered
Valhalla's gold halls.
- Horus's Deathsong
- (By Elizabeth for Horus, Silent Strider Galliard.)
The Wind that blows form the East is dry,
Carrying the sands of the desert.
A whirlwind of fire from the lands of his birth,
Whirling Vortex of Passion,
Dusts of time,
Fires in the blood,
Horus - born of the East Wind.
The Wind that blows from the South is hot,
The furnaces of Malfeas scorch it.
Crisps the fur in the battles of his youth.
Burning fury of rage,
Dance of combat,
Scarred by sunlight,
Horus - fighting the South Wind.
The Wind that blows from the West is wet,
Bearing the waters of Wisdom,
Unwinding the Wheel in the words of his age.
Rituals of tears,
Stories in pools,
Cooling the red silver,
Horus - watching the West Wind.
The Wind that blows from the North is cold,
Though the snows of age did not blind him.
The cold of ice, of age, promising death.
He rose with the spear,
Frozen in crystal,
Honor, Wisdom, Glory,
Horus - dying, fighting the North Wind.
- Deepsprings's Deathsong
- (By Elizabeth for Deepsprings, Child of Gaia Ahroun)
Sleep, my friend, and peace attend thee,
All through the night.
May bright spirits all dance with thee,
All through the night.
Joy will come to thee at morning,
When a sunrise gives fair warning;
Fly, and hear no more our mourning,
Soft in the night.
Dream, Deepsprings, the end of sorrow,
All through the night.
We will join thee on the `morrow,
All through the night.
Here a solemn bell is ringing,
O'er these hills in slumber steeping,
We our lonely vigil keeping,
All through the night.
- Maury's Deathsong
- (By Elizabeth for Maury, Fianna Philodox)
Chorus:
Gu astar mo caiden fada
Deann aindo siubhal, Mairi, math de madadh-alluidh.
Maury she was named at the time of her birth,
Under the divided moon,
Proud daughter of Fionn,
Daughter of wolf.
Destined in the cry of the Raven,
The leap of the Stag,
To play twice hunter,
To play twice prey,
Under the divided moon.
Buffalo-slayer, hunter, winning the prize,
The respect of the Totem,
After long chase.
Rising from cubhood as hunter,
Under the divided moon..
Iron Jaws, prey, captured by Ice,
Caught in crystal in Giant's embrace,
Captured and dragged to the mouth of hell,
Singing defiance
Under the divided moon.
Grey-Eyes, prey, torn from sleep,
Beyond dream into nightmare, standing alone.
Lost in the darkness,
The bosom of a fell mother,
Terror and struggle
Under the divided moon.
Golden-Eyes, hunter, claiming her own,
To rise like a banner to rally the hunt.
Seeking her packmate, bitterest prey,
Rise tooth, rise claw,
When will and hope fails.
Rising from hunter, the spirit,
Under the divided moon.
- Noor's Deathsong
- (By Elizabeth for Noor, Silent Strider Ragabash.)
Dear Noor,
- You always knew how to raise a smile
Out of a barren face.
I remember your rite of passage,
With stars and sand in your eyes.
I remember nights by the fire,
Green spray paint, tears.
Warriors fall, Serpent-Blinder.
But so do stars.
- Oaken's Deathsong
- (By Elizabeth for Oaken, Fianna Galliard.)
I would I were on yonder hill;
There I would sit and cry my fill,
And every tear could turn a mill.
The road, the road is long, farewell.
I see your face, I see your smile,
And I would walk ten thousand miles
To sit and talk with you a while.
The night is long, farewell.
The winter sky was cold and pale,
As you slipped from teller into tale,
And the space between is but a veil.
The hurt, the hurt lasts long, farewell.
Oh, this is all Fate will allow,
But you're still in my dreams somehow,
And there I'll seek you, Friend, for now,
The wait is long, farewell.
The wait is long, farewell.
- Elizabeth Waiting
- (By Elizabeth, Private Notes.)
Look at the sunrise, look my love,
Where it touches the soul-black trees.
Listen, you'll hear my voice, my love,
My song on the morning breeze.
There were dances last night at dusk, my love,
The fiddles and flutes all played.
But now it's just me, at the foot of the hill,
Watching the breaking of day.
During the day, I learn, I live,
During the night, I fight, I die.
But the moment between is saved just for you,
My love, where the shadows lie.
Under the hill is cold, is dark,
And death to all but few,
I've buried and sang so many friends;
My love, have I buried you?
- Ken Stark
- (By Carl to Elizabeth on her deathbed)
I dreamed I saw Ken Stark last night
Alive as you and me.
Said 'Aye but Ken you're many years dead.'
Said Ken, 'I never died.'
Said Ken, 'I never died.'
The Dancers they killed you Ken.
Killed you defending those who turned away from you.
Said Ken 'They only broke my shell.
My spirit can never die.
'My spirit can never die.'
The spirit smiled and said to me
'I'm never very far.
"Whereever garou fight the wyrm,
'
That's where you'll find Ken Stark.'
That's where you'll find Ken Stark.