There Was A Country By The Sea

There was a country by the sea
But I cannot say for certain
Whether it was part of a lonely isle
Or merely some coastal region
A landing-stage of rotten planks
Stretched carefully into the waves
And for one moment I did wonder
What frightening purpose it might serve.

O, heavy, roaring, endless seas
What secrets does this rage entomb?
Have ancient memories or hungry ghosts
Gathered all their strength, to call for this storm?
Deep-seated gardens, almost a labyrinth
Walled in by ruins and rocks ivy-clad
Perhaps this strange place had once been a palace
Where now viole (n) t bushes bear dark thorns instead.

A young boy was taking me by the hand
And unerringly he was leading me down
Below the gardens, which I hardly remembered
The moment T took the first step underground
We came to a room with only small windows
And to my surprise I could somehow still hear
Though reduced to a murmur, now chant-like and humming
The once savage voice of the roaring sea
The boy has built a catacomb, he is living in a tomb
Below the ground, where there's no sound
He is hiding from the world.

Something resembling an altar was built there
A secret overshadowed structure and use
Underneath, in inanimate self-contemplation
Lay a jet-black mass of coal-like granules
Yet, this dark material had an unearthly lightness
And when I touched it, to feel what it was
It did seem to totally ignore my presence
Without leaving a trace, it came trickling off
Then out of a sudden from under the barrow
Something appeared, unexpectedly
It was the bones of the little boy's mother
Which he had placed with greatest care underneath.

There must have been something in my look (s)
'Cause the little boy started to speak
And to my unvoiced question of why he had done this
He answered these words to me
"This is the only way I can be save from her
Only this can guarantee
That she will not rise again, because when she does
She is always following me
There's just no alternative, I cannot escape from her
Because as soon as I try
She will get up again, merely to haunt me
Oh, believe me, I have tried numerous times!
But here in these vaults I have finally found
Something that works like a seal
These jet-black granules do keep me from harm
And her bones can no longer hurt me.

Piled up in a certain, specific form
All the remains must be covered with it
Then everything keeps still and for a brief moment
I can pretend, that she does not exist
Yet, all the time I must be on my guards
Because now and then it can happen indeed
That frequently the earth does tremble and shaken
And some of the stones are starting to slip.

So, constantly I have to control the barrow
The jet-black darkness of the coal-like mass
In order to be there, to repair the damage
To pile all back safely and to replace..."

The boy has built a catacomb, he is living in a tomb
Below the ground, where there's no sound
He is hiding from the (terrible) world
It took me a while to realise, that we all have secrets and fears
Is it then a surprise that we close our minds
From the pain that is causing these tears?