Salem // Pyromania

Salem

That place, a vampire
Only the dead persist there
Linger too long and join their ranks

They prey on those filled of hope
With spirits unbroken
Till nothing is left but a lifeless husk

At night they prowl
Looking for the brightest of sparks
Innocence makes the nectar sweeter

Deep do their fangs penetrate
Crimson oozing down their chin
Just another victim of circumstance

Seen it happen too many times
Lost many a friend to that place
Promised myself I wouldn’t meet the same fate

Felt myself withering
Knew I couldn’t stay
So I turned my back on everything

Under false pretenses I fled
Claimed the spirit of adventure
To elude suspicion

Found sanctuary in the unlikeliest of places
Here, too, monsters roam the streets
Just as lethal, somehow more manageable

Script has been flipped
I am hunter, they are hunted
Still I am not at ease

The beating of wings echoes on the horizon
In the dark they creep closer
It won’t be much longer now

Years they scoured the earth
Looking for the one who escaped their grasp
Sin so unforgivable, it cannot go unpunished

Trained for this moment, yet
Fear clutches at my heart
Though I will run no longer

Come, ye beasts!
Come, ye vampires!
Come, ye creatures of the night!

Unfinished business we must attend
Ready thy fangs
Prepare to meet thy maker

Pyromania

It’s funny
They told you the truth
Yet you kept on pretending like nothing happened

To be honest
I don’t care about collateral anymore
I’m ready to raze it all to the ground
Just give me a reason

I’ll relish in the flames
Let the fires warm my heart
Watch the embers drift by
Twinkling like fireflies
Raise my arms high in victory
And declare, Liberation!

I’ve been dreaming of my demise since I turned nine
Never thought I’d make it this far

Crawled from the deepest of depths
Against all odds
Bloody and broken
And yet I remain

I wasn’t given a choice
It was this or a noose
I chose life

My existence
An act of defiance
A warning to any who dare stand in my way
I will be denied no longer

Still you don’t understand what this is
Still you fail to grasp the implications
Still you refuse to recognize your complicity
Still you shield your eyes from the pain you wrought

I am bitter
I am angry
I am hate

I have been denied life
I have been denied a childhood
I have been denied peace

You have denied me an identity
For the sake of your ancient ideologies
And absurd ideas about who I am or what I should be
As if you had any fucking right

You, who cannot see the forest for the trees
You, who is incapable of reckoning with their own behavior
You, who has utterly failed to uphold the values you claim so dear
You.

For this, you will be the recipient of my fury

Beware
This is my calling card
Deny me and be doomed¹
Ere long you will lose that which you cannot replace

Soon we’ll be bathed in illustrious flame
Flesh will give way to bone
Bone will turn to ash
And at last, I will be rid of you

---