Feet know the path to the old stone church
Puddles catch the glow of carved pumpkin light
Breath makes clouds like incense in the search
Night wraps round me like a surplice white
Lantern light writes hymns on black water
Cold wind carries notes I used to know
Altos hum beneath the maple daughter
Hallowed night sings soft and sweet and slow
Lantern swings heavy in my calloused palm
Black water holds the flame in perfect frame
No organ swells, just wind through elm and psalm
Reflected fire calls each saint by name
Lantern light writes hymns on black water
Cold wind carries notes I used to know
Altos hum beneath the maple daughter
Hallowed night sings soft and sweet and slow
Latin verses rise like smoke from cracked lips
Dies irae dissolved in frost and bark
Sopranos gone, just altos in eclipse
We sang the dark to make the morning spark
Lantern light writes hymns on black water
Cold wind carries notes I used to know
Altos hum beneath the maple daughter
Hallowed night sings soft and sweet and slow
Puddle psalms ripple beneath my boots
Each step a note on water's manuscript
The veil is thin where melody takes root
I sing the saints a lullaby crypt
Lantern light writes hymns on black water
Cold wind carries notes I used to know
Altos hum beneath the maple daughter
Hallowed night sings soft and sweet and slow
Black water holds the final note
