Devil and The Maiden

I

Devil from deep within the unknown;

Rise from your shadowed throne.

Toll the bell and cast the spell.

Tell us a tale you know well.

That of the noble maiden fair;

Go on mein lieber herr.

Maiden fair from the barley lair;

Include me in your parley of air.

Tell a tale that makes the fear swell.

Tell me of the eve your heart fell. 

Wind, brush her hair of gold, 

Make the barley dance bold.

What a sight it is to behold; 

The barley maid of old, 

Dancing in this meadow of gold.

Maiden of the pale face, 

You dance in the meadow of grace.

In the moonlight the barley did pray,

In the starlight and into the dawn gray-

To be spared of your scythe’s blade. 

Prayed for another dance in this glade.

Begged to feel once more the rain, 

To feel the winds that sway the grain. 

You toil maiden fair;

To harvest the barley lair. 

Yet the barley pleads, Spare.

The barley slayed, falls as if faint. 

As it falls the sun proclaims it a saint;  

And the heat stares in plain complaint.

Blazing vastness of midday. 

Maiden, come seek shade of a tree.

Unforgiving is the noon ray. 

Your beads of sweat are a plea;

A protest against the heat beastly. 

As you walk through heath, 

The sweat on your brow is a wreath.

As you walk in the sun's wrath.

Flowers be your guide, your path.

There is a thorn tree far down,

And shade abides under its crown.

This shadowed glade, 

Where the faes at night bathe; 

Is where the maiden laid. 

She slept in the hawthorn’s shade.

And the hawthorn blooms

Whispered of looming dooms.

II

Devil, come unto the world, 

Watch this story unfurl.

Devil, come up to see the sky;

Reminisce on what you once had.

Devil, through the woods so sly,

Spare the wandering lad. 

Devil, follow the trail of birch

Glide past the hallowed church.

Devil, you spy the maiden

Asleep beneath the tree flower laden.

Your steps snap sticks, a quiet fanfare;

Stay hidden son of nightmares.

Maiden, awake. 

Maiden, I ask. Do you hear a sound?

Is it a doe, a crow, or a foe?

Devil, do not stir.  

Hidden as you are dear sir.

Maiden, something stirs; 

Something quakes in heart yours. 

Devil, dressed in fine silk; 

Approach the maiden pale as milk.

Devil, you are in view, 

It is the maiden who has spotted you. 

Maiden with golden braids;

Can you see the devil, hidden in the shades?

Come both pale as moths;

Come Maiden of the embroidered cloths. 

Maiden, you gift him hawthorn flowers;

Gathered from your shaded bower.  

III

Devil play your violin;

Delirious melody of sin.

Maiden, now listen;

The Devil is arisen.

Devil, now play!

Play for the fae.

Maiden, now see; 

See him in full plea.

Devil, now play!

Play til you kill the day!

Maiden, now smell;

The scent of the flowers that fell.

Devil, now play!

Play on this eve of may. 

Maiden, now taste,

The witches thick paste.

Devil, now play!

You make the flower decay.

Devil, play your tune. 

The one which tortured the moon;

Condemning her to wane.

As her tears fell in vain.

Devil, offer the maiden fair

The fruit of ruby sheen;

The one that condemned the queen.

Persephone of the quick feet, 

Condemned by the pomegranate sweet.

Maiden, your lips turn paler; 

Your eyes fixed on your jailer.

Maiden, your hands turn cold;

Your hair is no longer gold.

Maiden, you turn so pallid

As the devil plays his ballade.

Devil, take her to the place you dwell,

Deeper than any well, darker than any spell.

Your kingdom haggard of death.

Devil, permit the maiden one last breath.

The barley and thorn blooms; smell and spell,

In the distance tolls the iron bell.

Devil, you have made her queen yours

Take her to your palace doors. 

Maiden, you will wear the crown of bone.

Devil, play for her majesty at the throne.

All hail the King and Queen!

The flowers whisper what they’ve seen.

The story of this tragic scene. 

All hail the King and Queen!

Majesties of the deep within.

All hail the King.

All hail the Queen.